You read on Monday that South Hadley, MA, voters were being asked to accept up to 50% tax increases over the next five years to fund their town budget. Thankfully, voters rejected the plan to raise their taxes, and now the town must look to trim spending to reasonable levels. WCVB’s Phil Tenser reports:
According to unofficial results, both of South Hadley’s ballot measures failed by at least 1,000 votes.
In response to the failed budget vote, students staged a walkout protest. The Daily Hampshire Gazette’s Emilee Klein reports:
Some 12 hours after the $9 million and $11 million override votes failed at the ballot box on Tuesday, 95% of the South Hadley High School student body walked out of the building and marched to Town Hall on Wednesday to send a message to voters: You failed us.
In response to the vote, Randy Ternbach, leader of an opposition group known as Alliance for Fair Taxes, told The Wall Street Journal’s Scott Calvert:
I think the results of the election show voters do not want to try and fix the government by increasing taxes on those least able to pay. They want more efficiencies in government and less taxes.
Action Line: Most of the blame must be placed on town administrators who mismanaged the budget so badly that its failure will now tear the town apart. The people of South Hadley will now have to find new solutions to their town’s spending problem, but many are happy that they won’t be forced to sell their homes and look for a better America. If you are looking for a better America, begin your search with Your Survival Guy’s 2026 Super States. And click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
