Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, CAFR, FY2009 (PDF – very large file)
Cut to the chase: Ten Year Spending, CAFR pages 164-165 (PDF)
Massachusetts Legislature: Historical Budget Information (web page)
What is the CAFR? What do you mean the Budget isn’t the same as Total Spending? Scroll down to learn more.
When government officials talk about the state’s “budget,” they [...]
Is Kamal Jain a Republican…or an Independent? Both. Political reality in America and many countries around the world is that the system is dominated by two major parties or two major coalitions. In choosing to run for office, Republican or Democrat were the only viable options, and it is the Republican party which is home to many of my fellow patriots and kindred spirits.
My commitment to transparency means I tell you the good, the bad and the ugly — about everything you should know about. Usually that takes the form of me calling out waste or impropriety in our government, but this time I’m pointing out that my estimate of the profligate spending on Beacon Hill was…
The media are reporting that the Massachusetts House of Representatives has already paid over $378,000 to the law firm of Gargiulo/Rudnick for working on the Federal corruption case against former House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi. The law firm was awarded their contract with the House by DiMasi when he was Speaker, shortly before he resigned [...]
Kamal Jain is an Independent candidate running for MA State Auditor in 2010. If you have no idea what an auditor does and what crucial role this individual plays in your government, then allow Mr. Jain to inform you. If you have no knowledge of Massachusetts state budget and how your hard earned money is being spent or if you have downloaded and perused the budget reports to be left puzzled and confused – discover how Kamal Jain plans to fix this issue once and for all.
One of the things that I really enjoy in writing about libertarianism is that I get to meet many different and interesting people. Recently I came across a gentleman who is a libertarian minded independent running for State Auditor in Massachusetts. Kamal Jain, a man who’s interests range from technology to history to philosophy, has also shown quite a keen interest in politics.
Looking back at FY2008 one can plainly see that what our politicians call “the budget” was $26.8 BILLION, total CAFR spending was $50.8 BILLION — $24 BILLION more than what the annual General Appropriations Act covers. What does FY2009 have for its total?
A recent Lawrence Eagle-Tribune article (http://www.eagletribune.com/punews/local_story_306013132.html) entitled “Lawrence has $9.5M deficit, DOR says” stated that the city of Lawrence “municipal budget is roughly $80 million”. Knowing that much more than that is spent on the Lawrence school system alone, it is clear there is something wrong with those numbers. Thankfully, the city has to file [...]
If you have read Kamal Jain’s story, then you might be wondering about total spending, and what, exactly, “off budget” spending is and how it fits into the budget. The answer is that it does not. When officials such as the Governor, the Senate President or the Speaker of the House — or any member [...]
As a long-time political activist, one of the most common disagreements I have seen among people is around taxation and spending. Many well-intentioned people argue that taxes are too high. Others argue that some government programs are not adequately funded, and that taxes ought to be raised rather than lowered. In the end, most reasonable [...]
