News this week that the total cost of Boston's Central Artery Tunnel project, the Big Dig, will top $22 billion once interest payments are included set off a predictable dance of denial on Beacon Hill.
Massachusetts taxpayers are on the hook for $18 billion of this massive sum as the share paid for by the federal government, once promised at 90 percent, turned out to be little more than one-quarter of the actual cost. Much of this staggering amount has been financed, and debt payments will continue through 2038, siphoning funds away from other necessary road and bridge work.
If you think Massachusetts' roads and highways are in bad shape now, imagine them after another 30 years of neglect.
The study by the Boston Globe revealed the true scope of Big Dig costs. It prompted new speculation that the state will be forced to increase the gas tax, hike tolls or add new tolls to meet the project's debt payments, now at $600 million a year, while pursuing other highway and bridge repairs.
A transportation commission last year said Massachusetts needs an additional $15 billion to $19 billion over the next 20 years to fix and maintain existing roads and bridges — 543 of the state's bridges have been deemed structurally deficient. The commission recommended raising the current 21 cents per gallon state gas tax by 11.5 cents per gallon and creating a new 5 cents per mile highway user fee on state roads.
But the administration of Gov. Deval Patrick insists new taxes or tolls are off the table right now. A spokesman said the governor instead is focusing on reforms to save money.
Reforms? Saving money? Pardon us if we chuckle. Neither the governor nor the Legislature has given any indication of a willingness to make the tough choices reform requires. The governor's plan to spend $3 billion repairing 250 to 300 bridges over the next eight years involves borrowing $1.1 billion against future federal highway reimbursements. This governmental equivalent of a payday loan is hardly a model of fiscal prudence.
When it comes to having the gumption to enact reforms and reduce spending, the administration and the Legislature are like the character from the musical "Oklahoma!" who sings:
"I'm just a girl who can't say no,
I'm in a terrible fix.
I always say come on let's go,
Just when I oughta say nix."
It's hard not to believe that the governor and the Legislature will eventually turn to higher taxes and tolls to meet the Big Dig debt while continuing to fund every other spending request and pet project that comes their way.
The governor and the Legislature have to learn to say "No!" when state retirees seek a raise despite the fact that the state's pension plan remains underfunded.
They will have to say "No!" to requests for hundreds of millions more for education.
They will have to say "No!" to the idea that some state workers can retire in their 50s and collect 80 percent of their pay for the rest of their lives.
They will have to say "No!" to cities' and towns' requests for ever more state aid.
That means municipal governments will have to say "No!" to employee raises and spending hikes.
If the leaders of government at all levels cannot or will not say "No!" then the taxpayers will have to say "Yes!" on the ballot question this fall to repeal the state income tax.
If elected officials will not control spending of their own free will, the taxpayers will compel them to by shutting down the flow of cash that makes it possible.
