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Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
How should Mass. lawmakers spend the money from the state's millionaires tax? We asked around.
Write to us at . To subscribe, . TODAY'S STARTING POINT Call it the $1.3 billion question: How should Massachusetts spend the extra money that its so-called millionaires tax raised? First, some background. In 2022, Massachusetts voters approved a 4 percent surtax on annual income over $1 million. The constitutional amendment that created it requires that the money go to transportation and education initiatives. Last fiscal year alone, the tax raised more than $2.4 billion, or about $1.3 billion beyond what officials budgeted. This year, revenue has again The amendment left the Legislature with a lot of leeway to decide which initiatives to fund, and lawmakers have been Advertisement This week, lawmakers Advertisement More for the T The Legislature's compromise proposal would give $535 million to the MBTA. But some argue that the T, which has languished with insufficient funding and a backlog of repair work for decades, could use more. Amy Sutherland, a Charlestown resident and Starting Point reader, framed it this way: 'Making the T work at a 21st century level would solve traffic, economic, social, and climate problems in Boston and the surrounding metro area,' she wrote in an email. Jonathan Cohn of Progressive Mass, a liberal advocacy group, suggests using some millionaires tax revenue to expand efforts to make MBTA buses and trains free to ride. Other transportation needs The MBTA isn't the only transit service in the state that could use money. There are also Another possibility, Wilson said, could be to expand so-called Advertisement The federal funding gap But paying for transportation needs alone would leave little for other challenges — including ones that didn't exist when voters first approved the millionaires tax, like the Trump administration's efforts to cut federal funding to states. The administration has moved to 'Resources should be allocated to protect the schools impacted by these attacks,' Dominic Copeland and Davian Pagan of the Massachusetts Communities Action Network, a faith-based organizing collective, wrote. Jessica Tang leads the state branch of the American Teachers Association, which supported passage of the amendment. Tang said that $690 million — about half the Legislature's compromise proposal — could support low-income students and students with disabilities, as well as cover the Medicaid reimbursements that schools use to provide speech therapy, nursing, and more. The administration is also pushing legislation in Congress that would cut federal student aid, which helps low-income What's next? There's no shortage of ideas about what to do with the money, but the debate over the millionaires tax may be unfolding on borrowed time. Some business leaders remain staunchly opposed, arguing that the tax is a drag on the economy and will cause wealthier residents to leave the state. Research groups that support the tax recently reported that Advertisement Even if it stays in effect, it's unclear how much the tax will raise in the future. The surtax is tied to inflation, which means its income threshold has risen. In effect, the millionaires tax may Still, any repeal effort would likely take years. And for now, the tax continues to bear fruit, raising more than state officials expected. Wilson, of Transportation for Massachusetts, sees a long list of possibilities. 'There are a lot of needs across the state,' he wrote. 🧩 9 Across: 83° POINTS OF INTEREST A black bear chewed on a garbage container in Wolcott, Conn., back in 2006. Steven Valenti/Associated Press Boston and New England What do we do now? The Karen Read retrial may be over, Beth Teitell writes, but Filthy animals: Rats in Boston are spreading leptospirosis, Struggle to survive: Amid tough tariffs and harsh immigration policies, Connecticut bears: Encounters with humans are happening so frequently that some lawmakers want to start a bear-hunting season. ( Vermont visitors: Tourism businesses in the north are feeling the impact of Trump's rhetoric against Canada as Quebecers start to boycott US travel. ( Trump administration Iran options: President Trump's announcement that he could take up to two weeks to decide whether to attack Iran not only buys him time, it also gives him several new military and covert options. ( The Tok isn't really Tiking: Trump delayed the ban on TikTok by another 90 days. The new deadline for a sale is Sept. 17. ( Silent treatment: Trump honored Juneteenth in each of his first four years as president. But yesterday, he said nothing about the holiday. Instead, he complained on Truth Social that there are 'too many non-working holidays in America.' ( The Nation and the World Israel and Iran: The countries Social Security rush: Worsening finances and claims of fraud are prompting nervous recipients to take their retirement payments earlier than planned. Adding insult to injury: NFL widows who struggled to care for ex-players who had the devastating degenerative brain disease CTE say a new study is insulting and dismissive of their experience. ( Rout: The Indiana Pacers rolled to an easy Game 6 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA Finals, forcing a Game 7 Sunday night. ( VIEWPOINTS The Globe's Opinion pages featured two different takes on Israel's war with Iran. Matthew Levitt, director of the Reinhard Program on Counterterrorism and Intelligence at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the case that Ankit Panda, the Stanton senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Nicole Grajewski, a fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, warned that the US Meanwhile, the Globe's editorial board weighed in on the Karen Read verdict, Advertisement BESIDE THE POINT By Teresa Hanafin 💘 Blind date: He's a data analyst whose family immigrated; she's a teacher who used to work in immigration law. 📖 Contradictions: Jen Hamilton, a nurse with 4.2 million followers on TikTok, picked up her Bible a couple of weeks ago and 🦁 The next 'White Lotus': Travel writer Christopher Muther tried to have a non-working vacation. But when he entered the Mahali Mzuri 📺 Top TV picks: From 'The Better Sister' to 'Forever,' here are Chris Vognar's 💦 A watery escape: Of the Charles River's 80-mile journey from Hopkinton to Boston Harbor, the last 6 miles are a pure delight. Here are 🧒 Keeping kids busy: Here's a sample of 🌮 Keeping kids fed: And after all that excitement, Kara Baskin suggests some stress-free and delicious Advertisement Thanks for reading Starting Point. This newsletter was edited by ❓ Have a question for the team? Email us at ✍🏼 If someone sent you this newsletter, you can 📬 Delivered Monday through Friday. Ian Prasad Philbrick can be reached at
The Verge
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Verge
Blink's budget buzzer gets some worthwhile upgrades
Amazon's budget security camera company, Blink, has launched the second generation of its popular video doorbell. The new Blink Video Doorbell adds a head-to-toe view and improved video resolution. It can also now alert you when a person is at your door instead of just the neighborhood cat or a strong gust of wind triggering its motion sensors. The doorbell camera comes with a new, more basic hub, the Sync Module Core, which, unlike the first-gen model, is required to use the buzzer. Blink's latest doorbell is still one of the cheapest on the market, costing $59.99 without the hub and $69.99 with it. The lowest-priced battery-powered buzzer from Ring, Blink's sister brand, is $99, and it only claims six to 12 months of battery life compared to Blink's industry-leading two years, powered by its custom silicon. Upgrades on this version include an improved 150-degree field of view with a 1:1 aspect ratio. That should give you a head-to-toe view of your porch so you can see people and packages. The prior version, which is my pick for the best budget video doorbell, has a 16:9 aspect ratio. This buzzer also adds 1440p x 1440p image resolution, according to Jonathan Cohn, Blink's head of product. This is a step up from 1080p, meaning footage should be clearer. There's still no color night vision; it retains the infrared night vision of the first-gen model. The biggest upgrade is the addition of person detection; the first-gen model sends alerts for any motion, but now you can be notified just when there's a person at your door. This is powered by on-device computer vision, so it doesn't require the cloud. But it does require a $3 per month ($30 per year) Blink subscription plan (which also adds 60 days of cloud storage for recorded video). Blink has slowly been bringing person detection to its lineup, adding it first to its wired floodlight camera, then its flagship outdoor camera, and its Blink Mini indoor / outdoor camera last year. The new doorbell requires a Sync Module to work, Cohn says, and it now comes with the new Sync Module Core, rather than the Sync Module 2. This is something of a downgrade as the Core doesn't have the local storage option that the Sync 2 offers. Cohn says the module helps extend battery life and range and enables on-demand live view and two-way audio. He confirmed that the new doorbell can work with the Sync 2 and the newer long-range Sync Module XR, if you already have one or if you want local storage. The new buzzer features a slightly chunkier design to accommodate three AA lithium batteries as opposed to two in the first-gen version. The extra battery helps maintain the impressive two-year battery life while powering improved image quality and the addition of person detection, Cohn says. Blink is unique among security camera makers as it uses its own chip that's optimized for power management, so while it doesn't boast the higher-end features like those from Ring and Arlo, you don't have to worry about dealing with charging or replacing its batteries as often. It can also be hardwired to main power, which allows the doorbell to work with an existing indoor chime. Unfortunately, Blink chose not to upgrade the device's Wi-Fi capabilities; it's still limited to 2.4GHz. Motion-activated recording is also limited to just 30-second clips, and the two-way audio is push-to-talk, which is like using a walkie-talkie, as opposed to full duplex, which is more like a phone call and is what you'll find on most other video doorbells. Presumably, most of these limitations are designed to extend battery life, and Blink's two years is still its standout feature; no other video doorbell on the market comes close. The addition of higher video quality and person detection, all for the same price, makes this a worthy upgrade. The second-generation Blink Video Doorbell is available to buy now on Amazon for $69.99 with the Sync Module Core or $59.99 as a standalone device.
Boston Globe
28-04-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Fear not, the millionaires tax is bearing fruit
As a millennial, I've become accustomed to seeing friends move out of Boston, then out of the state entirely, due to the high cost of living. If you want to buy a home for a decent price or find affordable child care, good luck. We are losing people because affording the high quality of life we tout is getting farther and farther out of reach. Advertisement By supporting massive investments in education, from prekindergarten through college, and in transportation infrastructure that will enable new housing production across the state, Fair Share is addressing the real drivers of outmigration. New policies such as free school meals, free buses, and free community college are making the state more affordable for middle-class families. Get The Gavel A weekly SCOTUS explainer newsletter by columnist Kimberly Atkins Stohr. Enter Email Sign Up I hope our neighbors in Rhode Island join us in building an economy that works for everyone, not just those at the top. Jonathan Cohn Policy director Progressive Mass Boston Fair Share's foes taking their scare tactics to R.I. Opponents of the Fair Share Amendment continue rehashing the same tired arguments that failed to persuade voters to reject Massachusetts' new millionaires tax ('The millionaires tax: A cautionary tale for R.I.'). Advertisement When Fair Share appeared on the ballot, a few wealthy businesspeople spent millions of dollars trying to convince voters that it wouldn't generate much money because all the millionaires would leave, and that the money wouldn't really go to transportation and public education. They were wrong on both counts. The new tax And in just two years, Fair Share has already made an enormous difference for the people of Massachusetts. It's funding universal free school meals, free bus service with expanded routes and service hours, and tuition-free community college. It's funding school building repairs and state aid to local school districts, road and bridge repairs throughout the state, and massive repairs at the MBTA. That's a tale Massachusetts should be proud to tell. Harris Gruman Executive director SEIU Massachusetts State Council Somerville The writer was a cofounder of the Raise Up Massachusetts coalition.
