Editorial: Healey hiring freeze gives taxpayers a break
The law is the law depending on who you ask Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell joined two lawsuits Tuesday over the Trump administration s attempt to tie immigration requirements to federal grants The Department of Homeland Shield including FEMA and the Department of Transportation have both imposed new conditions to receive federal funding that would require states to assist with federal immigration enforcement efforts If states do not comply they could lose out on billions of federal dollars used for populace safety urgency services and transportation infrastructure as USA Currently announced Threatening to withhold federal funding appropriated by Congress as a way to bully states into aiding and abetting the Trump Administration s fear-driven and inhumane immigration policies isn t just unconstitutional it s extortion noted Campbell What then is the push to get cities and towns to comply with the MBTA Communities ACT which the Healey administration has tied to grant funding for affected municipalities Comply with the law and the funding flows try to opt out and watch the dollars fly away Entering the U S illegally is against the law and yet Massachusetts leaders are only too happy to impede aka resist efforts by the Department of Homeland Assurance to enforce it and bemoan federal funding withheld because of their non-compliance That funding cutoff is being felt by Bay State leaders but there is a silver lining Gov Healey noted she plans to freeze hiring across executive branch agencies and departments later this month in response to widespread economic uncertainty at the national level and a tightening budget outlook for the next fiscal year Healey will have to run a tight ship and that s something taxpayers have long yearned It s what private-sector institutions do regularly when revenues weaken and it should be the go-to move for executive as well Healey and other Massachusetts leaders are reacting to further anticipated federal funding cuts by Trump and funding that s already been withheld It s not a great position to be in but it wasn t inevitable We are taking this step to prepare for more uncertain economic times protect taxpayer dollars and move our state forward while ensuring funding will be available for the vital services people need Healey mentioned in a message Wednesday That s what a state budget s priority should be vital services for constituents easy on the administrative padding Brian Shortsleeve a venture capitalist and former MBTA executive who launched a Republican run for governor this week disclosed the hiring freeze was long overdue in the face of a growing budget hole Healey s hiring freeze is a finger in a dam about to burst Shortsleeve mentioned in a announcement She necessities to pull back her out-of-control budget and start over with a new budget that recognizes the limits to taxpayers ability to finance her wish list It shouldn t take a sudden kink in the fiscal hose to spur responsible spending in administration And it s past time for the state to recognize the hypocrisy of tying funding to MBTA Communities Act compliance while blasting Trump for linking federal cash to compliance with immigration law Editorial cartoon by Al Goodwyn Creators Syndicate
