It's night Sime with Dan Ray. I'm telling you easy Boston Radio.
Well, we have occasionally talked about the whole question of what they call out migration from Massachusetts, and I was reading the Globe this morning in John Chesto, one of my favorite columnists in the Globe, wrote a very interesting piece saying, people still leaving, but exodus is slowing down. I guess there's some good news there, John Chesto, how are you tonight.
I'm doing great. Yeah, I'm trying to find the silver lining here.
Yeah.
You know, before the pandemic, we were losing a net twenty five to thirty thousand people to other states. Now this doesn't factor in immigration from other countries, which is a whole other topic, but we were basically a net loser to other states in a big way. But then in twenty twenty two it got a lot worse. Essentially the loss double to fifty five thousand.
Except that these people were working remotely and they decided, yeah, I'd like it down here.
In Florida exactly. You wait, a lot of people moved everywhere, now, not just Florida, but a lot of places are cheaper than Massachusetts. And so during that work remote time, we lost a lot of people, and then it's been slowly coming back. It dropped the loss to other states dropped to thirty six thirty seven thousand the following year, and now it's around twenty seven thousand, which is the recent history pre pandemic and is sort of in the range
of where it was before the pandemic. So I think you.
Piece today you said that we have not been a plus migration state. I think you said for fifteen years. That would take us back to deval Patrick's first term.
Right, yes, our last it would either be two thousand and nine or twenty ten. We had one year where we had a net gain of about five thousand people or so. And I've heard different theories on why, but one my own personal theory is we during that time
was the Great Recession. In Massachusetts, believe or not, did much better than most areas of the country, and the Great Recession, we weren't hit quite as hard, we didn't have as many layoffs, and so there were probably more job opportunities here at the time.
How do we do every year between births and deaths, because that has to be somewhat of a factor as well as mind is that.
Is the factor as well. And I can't remember the exact number, but that you know, generally speaking are When I looked at it, it seemed like we were in line with the nation.
Uh.
And in that that the birth the birth rates are slowing down, so we and we have the baby boom generation reaching you know, they're not I wouldn't I hate to say death age, but you know that there's a large there's a big bulge in the population that's getting older, moving toward retirement, past retirement.
The baby Boomer generation, which I think technically started in nineteen forty six post World War Two. Those first baby Boomers are going to be turning eighty in the next year or two.
Yeah, but I don't think we're any different than other states. The Lord and I can check the numbers. It's seem pretty similar. So that doesn't really help us. But we are helped by immigration. And of course we have budget issues in terms of accommodating immigrants who are coming here who don't have a place to live or stay, or don't have a job. But there's also we have a lot of high earning immigrants that move here from other
countries too. Because of the knowledge based economy does draw people from all over the world.
How does that break down between people who are coming here legitimately on a visa, whether there are you know, a doctor at one of Boston's major hospitals, are a professor at a college, versus those who are coming here without benefit of a visa.
I honestly don't know that the exact breakdown. I think it's a I don't think it's overwhelmingly one category or another. I think there's this, you know, substantial number of both types coming here. I mean, obviously, looking at how much we're spending on you know, you know what, do we at one point five billion dollars or something in in terms of almost in one year?
Yeah, no, yeah, but more than that. Actually, I think that the governor has just asked for a supplemental of
four hundred yeah, gets us close to two billion. It was projected all along going to be a billion a year once this really kicked in the high gear beginning, and you know, in twenty twenty three, and now the governor, as you know, is looking at it and saying she's actually, it looks to me I've seen some reporting that's suggesting that that he wants to go back and review the original purposes of the legislation, which I remember.
I think, Yeah, I think I think there's a movement to try to tweet that legislation that you know, where the only state that really has this, you know, to make it, to make it so that if you're if you have to be sort of an actual legal resident of the state for to receive these housing benefits, rather than have it just be open to everybody.
Well, housing benefits in addition to EBT cards and in addition to medical appointments, uber uber rides and cab cab fares. There's this one company down the Cape, I think it's Centrual. They got a no bid six point one million dollar contract. Uh, you've got to live. You've got to have a lot of cab rides to the birth through Oh wow, yeah.
To get I mean, I will say that the contracts that we've seen, and the Globe has done some significant reporting, not me, but some of my colleagues on these no big contracts. They're astounding just how much money is going to you know, the hotels, going to the food prep companies. You know, it's really really deserves a thorough scrubbings. You know, there's a reason why we have bidding laws here in Massachusetts.
Yeah, it looks to me like that the governor is finally coming around to saying, wait a second, or what are we doing here? There's there's no other state like Massachusetts. Now she says, we're not a sanctuary state. But but whether we are or not, in practicality.
Yeah, we do have that law. No law exactly.
Which was signed by governor to Caucus. I actually was at the ceremony. The only reason I remembered is I I watched a report of it on two or three months ago, and I heard my voice asking the concass of question. And I do remember that if you remember, homelessness really became an issue around that time, but particularly
women homelessness. A lot of you know, women found themselves out in the street, and at that time, again it's forty years ago, people were shocked and said, well, wait a second, it's one thing if guys are out in the street, we kind of have women and children out of the streets. And I believe that was the impetus for the law, which was.
Did you ever expect back then that it would be, you know, such a budget buster today?
No?
No, because it was always thought that, and then they got into a controversy subsequent to that where they had a lot of people they didn't have enough shelters and they were they were they were housing people in hotels and that became kind of a controversy.
Oh yeah, that's been an issue off and on, Well, I think ever since really.
Exactly exactly, but no, this was never contemplated, the idea of, you know, thousands upon thousands of people arriving here on their own or being flown into the country, and then that they would become beneficiaries of the law. The only other there's no other state that has a law like that. MI understanding is that there is in the District of Columbia, which is not a state but obviously a part of
the United States, they do have some similar statute. And I think New York also, the City of New York, had some sort of statute which also became a magnet when people started heading up to New York a couple of years ago. And now that has fallen into disfavor amongst the political leaders in New York. So John Well, I got to take a quick break. I'd love to see if people want to ask you a couple of questions, and I also got a couple of questions as to
where this trend, Can this trend continue? And what do we have to do in Massachusetts to reverse this trend because we have the millionaire's tax, which is now on the books. There are still people who were leaving Massachusetts. Twenty seven thousand people and twenty in the year ended, according to your column as I read it last last June thirtieth, the prior fiscal year, fiscal year twenty twenty four, that's enough people almost to fell Fenway Park, a lot.
Of people the other state.
Yeah, yeah, So let's see what if people want to ask a couple of questions. My guest is John Chesto, his columns in the Boston Globe. I read them all the time. Chesto means business. I love that his piece today. People still leaving, but exodus slowing down. Mass was once losing eleven hundred people a week to other states was just an extraordinary number during the COVID nineteen pandemic. It has been cut in half, but it's still a lot. Twenty seven thousand, and of course we won't have this
year's stats until the end of June. Back with John Chester, if you'd like to talk a little business six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty six Poe seven nine three t back on Nightside following these.
Messages, Now back to Dan Ray live from the Window World Nightside Studios on WBZ News Radio.
My guess it's John Gasto Busino, business columnists from the Boston Globe. And John, obviously the trend the last two years is in the right direction, but it's still a disquieting trend. I mean, it's not as if we've turned the corner here. What is it about Massachusetts? You follow this more closely than anyone I know. What is it about Massachusetts? How would you categorize it? Is it the
millionaire's tax which is still hurting us? Is it the fact that the state tax structure in Massachusetts across the board is less a kind or pleasant to its taxpayers than Tennessee in New Hampshire? What is or is it? Or is it weather? What is it?
Well?
The biggest, the biggest issue is cost of living in Massachusetts, and I would put housing as the primary driver of that, you know, to the rents and the median home sales prices in Massachusetts now, particularly in greater Boston are through the roof, and there's no real sign of it falling back even with you know, there's no sign that home prices have not slowed come down, even though the interest rates have gone up. So it's become so much harder
to buy a house here. I think, you know, we see the biggest problem, the biggest problem area in terms of about migration right now is the twenty five to thirty four year old demographic. And I think you have you know, up to that point, you're willing to kind of stick it out and like four people buddies in a three decker apartment, you know, you know, living on
top of each other. But as soon as you want to think about buying a house or starting a family, you need a little more space, you need one more room. It just becomes almost impossible. Now that's the biggest driver. You mentioned taxes, and our tax situation is not great. Tax Foundation ranks us in the bottom ten, at the top of the bottom ten. You know, we're better off than California, New Jersey and New York, but you know
New Hampshire is in the top ten. They do great and they do draw a lot of people from Massachusetts because they don't have an income tax. The issue of the millionaire's tax may not be chasing a ton of people.
That took effect two years ago, and we're still we still don't have the IRS data because it even lacks the sense its stata to see how many wealthy people are leaving the problem with that is the people who are going to leave are the people that probably contribute the most financially to the economy, either in filling throfic work or in just spending money. So that is chasing
some people a way. I've talked to a lot of people, and you've seen some prominent people change their residency to other states because of the millionaire's tax, which affects people who earn more than a million dollars in any given year. We also have a high estate tax, still one of the highest, even after a reform that just took effect. We have a pretty high capital gains tax too, So those are those those sort of counting against us. But the high cost of housing, it really is a tough
one to overcome. And yeah, the weather doesn't help us either. I mean right now, it's what twenty twenty degrees you know out here, you know, with the windshields a lot, a lot colder. But I'll tell you I also did. I was talking to a colleague of mine who's who has a friend in la and she's her apartment is or her house is not affected by the fires, but she's you know, she's done with worrying about fires. So she's wanted to see, if you know, look at job
opportunities in Massachusetts. So you know that we do we we don't have when it comes to those big natural disasters. We we don't have a lot of those, which I'm thankful for. But the cold can be pretty inhospitable, that's for sure.
Yeah. No, I look, the worst thing we're going to get around here are blizzards. I mean, I think I have friends of mine in the Plaine States, and beginning in April and May, it's like hurricane you know, tornado season.
And yeah, I mean the hurricanes here. Really we have not had like high death toll type hurricanes like you have in the Gulf Coast that usually by the time they get here there they've had a little bit of the wind knocked out of their sales.
Why is it, though, Okay, why is it? In your opinion? And this is my last question really that we have this state where they try to tax people wherever they possibly can, uh, and we have One of the things that bothers me right now is you know what's going on in New York with the congestion pricing, and I think that's going to be coming to Boston. It's going to be impossible to get into Boston between the like lanes and if and when they introduced congestion pricing. Are
the politicians that they have that amount of avarice? They just need more and more money to keep people on the payroll. We looked at the globes U Mass Amherst salaries last hour and it's like.
Oh yeah, pretty high.
Yeah. I mean it was ten percent increase of the mass budget with a decrease of I think it was three percent or whatever in students. There's just a disconnect that seems to me between the leadership on Beacon Hill. I always thought that Governor Healy would be sort of a a mitigating factor.
Yeah, like a moderate check and bounce type on them. And I think she's I think she's tried. She's tried to be I mean really obviously you know as well as I that it's really up to the legislature in terms of what taxes get asked. She she did sort of help. You know, there was a tax reform package that didn't get done in the legislature before her, when Charlie Baker was still governor. She helped get that across the finish line. But you know, I do I think
congestion price. I mean, you saw what happened when her state transportation secretary started making maybe too much noise about putting tolls up everywhere. So there she she she knows that there's a there, it's a that's a like a third rail to use a transportation pun of politics is, you know, putting tolls up everywhere and using suggestion pricing.
So she's very reluctant to go that direction. I think it's some I know some legislators have been really trying to because they they view tolls as an act of it's unfair because commuters from the west are getting hit, but not commuters from the north or south who benefit from the big dig but don't have to drive through a toll road. So I think I don't. I think
congestion pricing is going to be a tough sell. And Beacon hild but I do think now that you can just throw these gantries up and you don't you know, that over the highway and you don't need to have toll takers. I think you will probably see tolls on some of the other highways eventually. It's going to take time because you know, it's a real complicated federal process you have to go through to the state. Can't just
decide to put tolls up on federal highways. I think I think they're you know, I would say the Healthy administration's cognizant of the backlash the state legislature. Some of them are. But you know, you know, if you look at how compare to Boston's budget increase, which was they were.
Moving.
You know, the wool administration just got through an eight percent budget increase, including a one percent related to the transfer of bp A onto this onto the city's budget. Uh, the state was less than half of that. I don't remember what the exact percent increase. Of course, the downside is what you don't what what what you don't here
get added into the total until way later. These supplemental budgets that pop up during like you mentioned, the one that you know is being talked about for Yeah, so though, like you hear about the regular budget that gets approved always late, but usually in the summer, and it's like a two or three percent increase. But then these sub budgets keep coming through. So I honestly, if you're throwing
the sub budgets, we might have a lot more. I mean, it's uh, and it's funny how that's there are these We always still have a ton of money in the Rainy Day Fund. It just seems like we might be able to use a little bit more of that to soften the you know, avoid avoid the I would say, like any sort of increase because now we are getting to the point where we're going to have to we're talking about we need to do something about the MBTA, and that's that's going to be a real painful discussion.
Uh.
They're talking about using some of that millionaire search share tax money millionaires tax or tax money to prop up the MBTA, which has a seven hundred or eight hundred million dollar operating deficit. But I don't think that's going to cover it all. Of course, there's probably some savings to be found in the MBTA as well. And see the state saying, you know, we really keep savings.
John, in Massachusetts have a tendency of disappearing. I remember when they went to they got rid of all the toll takers, and I thought to myself, this is a good idea, because whatever the number was, two hundred toll takers. You know, you think about the pensions and you think about the salaries. But ah, I don't see an yeah.
We didn't get we didn't get any benefit from that saving, not a penny.
Yeah, or or or someone at least could have said, well, here what the savings are. Again. Obviously there was some infrastructure costs to put up the what you mentioned. I forget the name of Gantries, Elbert Gantry, right.
Actually remember that.
But yeah, I just don't get it. And I think that that you look at all these numbers. We've seen these numbers for a while. We've had Republican governors, we've had democratic governors, and it just seems the legislature continues on their merry way and they do whatever they want. John Cheste, I love the piece today. I follow you
very closely. I appreciate you coming on and explaining it because you make it understandable to people who might look at a piece and look at numbers and kind of gloss over you make it clearly understandable.
And saying that I'm always happy to join you. It's always fun.
Absolutely, Thanks John, we'll talk soroon. Okay, all right, you two. John of the Boston Globe again, if you read the Globe, you read the business section. He's a columnist who I think really puts it on the line. This article today says, yeah, things are looking better for Massachusetts. However, however we're still losing. Last year twenty seven thousand people choosing. More people left Massachusetts than came in. So I want to open it up here for the balance of this hour. You listen
to John Chesto. Do you have any hope that Massachusetts can can turn it around? I don't, Frankly, you know, I don't know where else they're going to go, increach the millionaire's tax, double the triple, quadruple the millionaire's tax, maybe maybe increase the state income tax. Whatever. There's always people out there saying those people need to pay their fair share, people need to pay more. Well, you know, eventually there'll be no people left to pay. Uh. That
is economics one oh one in my opinion. Uh And maybe in yours. Have you ever thought that is going to come a day when you're gonna just say sayonara to Massachusetts and either head north to New Hampshire or head south to places like South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, or Texas. Now again, significant change of people's lifestyle, no doubt about that.
But I just wonder how many of you out there have actually thought about that or or are you committed to staying in Massachusetts no matter how much how deep the politicians dig into your pocket. That's the issue. That's the question. You got the answer six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty six one seven, nine three, one ten thirty. My name is Dan Ray. What we try to do one night Side is make you think. Okay, that's all I'm trying to do. So if you're out there thinking,
I want to know what you're thinking. That's what the program is all about. There's no one better than John. You listen to him for the half an hour that he joined us. Now it's time for us to listen to you. Come back on night Side right after the news at the bottom of the hour.
You're on night Side with Dan Ray on WBZ, Boston's news radio.
We're talking about the future of Massachusetts, and we had in the first half hour of the ten o'clock hour, we talked with John Chestow the Boston Globe. I think the guy does a great work for the Globe, and he I think put it in really good perspective today. So my question took all of you out there, particularly those of you in Massachusetts or those of you outside of Massachusetts. Are you sick of the tax policies in your state? I certainly am sick of the tax policies
at Massachusetts. I was born, brought up here, raised here, worked here for my entire life. But I don't feel a great loyalty to the state. Maybe you do. Let's see what what others think. Six one, seven, five, four, ten thirty, six, seven, nine, three, ten thirty. I'm going to Bill and Danvers. Bill, you're here for the long run in Massachusetts.
Uh No, I'm definitely not. I mean the implation slowed me down a little bit from making maybe some moves. But I mean I've been sort of looking at maybe Myrtle Beach. Uh if they could fix some of the insurance issues maybe in Florida. Uh, that would be even a cheaper tax wise, but I'll pay a little bit. In South property taxes are very cheaper Myrtle Beach. I mean, I've been down a few times. It's uh. And you know, I know the gentleman he had on he talked about
the housing price and stuff. I was fortunate. I've been annoying it. But I tell you I couldn't buy my condoc now if I had them. It's ridiculous. And uh, you know, I'm a single guy. I mean, I don't know how a guy with a kid or two and the wife, I mean, unless they're really hustle and hustling. I got friends of mine, it's very difficult. Some of them had three kids and that's very hot. Also, you know,
we didn't talk about utilities. I mean, when you have natural gas, if you look at delivery charge this time a year, and that stems really from them killing the originally I think five six years in fact, I talked to Governor Sanoona one time he was on your program because New Hampshire they would have benefited if they had brought up they wanted and they wanted to bring almost one close to New Hampshire. There was originally two they were going to bring up out of Pennsylvania. Then they
tried one and then that died. But uh, not bringing those pipes lines up here and the delivery charge and the natural gas issues has really damaged the state in New England. Actually it's unfortunate, you know. So you know, I don't really hold out a lot of hope. I don't think there's too many deep thinkers up and becon held. They just want to get by one thing to the eye there and cover whatever they got going on and and and and eventually the music is gonna stop playing
because the people that are leaving and the most productive citizens. Unfortunately, and I'll tell you this, guys, if you put in the hotel is not going to make it.
Yeah. If you want to talk about utility bills, check out your your electric bill this month, uh and checked out check out the supply charges. Those were the supply charges on my bill. The supply charge was doubled from like you know, zero point one zero to point two two. And I watched that stuff pretty closely. So I went back a year ago and there was no jump in the supply charge. It was almost as if they said, well, well we gotta we got to raise some aspect of
this bill. You know, I don't understand that the natural the National grid bill has actually been more reasonable to me this winter than uh, than it has been in the past. But you're absolutely right. They wanted to bring some pipelines into Massachusetts and we had officials from an Astro grid on talking about that three or four years ago, and they they said, hey, look, if if we don't increase the supply, the price is going to go up. Uh. And sure enough that is what has happened. So welcome
to Massachusetts. You know, how many how many more years do you think you'll you'll work out here? What? What's what's your target date?
I don't know.
I'm thinking, you know, it depends on how much they increase the rent, you know, the overall bills. I mean, I may have three to five years they had left and then I got it. I have a second thing going to the last few years. I'll see how that goes, and then I don't know, I mean, I'll make this. I would logically, I've always felt that I wanted to keep at least one foothold here, you know, because I do like my doctors. Then I mean, I've been to
a lot of places. We are fortunate still they have the doctors we have, but the medical thing, and to be honest with there's some of the food too. You go to the different areas of the country, they can't make a sandwich. Those are really the only two things that I really have any passion for in the state, to be honest, The roads, the infrastructure, you know, if
you maybe a few friends. But other than that, I can't really say, you know, I you know, ultimately I'll be buried there because I ever bought a plot, but I just don't want to spend you know, the weather, you know, I just I'm every year, I just get
round down more. And I'll tell you if they do the congestive stuff, you know, going out of Boston and the like they're doing in New York, and if they really get crazy with more too, I may just get to the point where I'm just fed up one day, and if the lease is almost done and I put the house up for sale and I'm out of here altogether.
The thing, too, is that if you don't have to go to Boston, you don't wanted to worry about it. Just at pricing. I don't know, if your business takes you to Boston, but try to drive into Boston now the bike lanes have just gone over the top. They've spent one hundred I know, I'm not a million dollars on bike lanes in Boston.
Okay, I'm you know.
I going out around Cambridge too, and it's like, you know, very narrow and uh. I went to the gym not too long ago because I planed a fitness will depending where I am, I have the bag sometimes, you know, And I went to one a mass out by Leslie College, you know, downstairs and back across the street. But get in and out and the little streets around there and the bike lanes, I'm like, you know, and it's the
dark night. You gotta take it slow and hopefully they you know, the usually have these lights and the bikes now they roll up and down. But I don't know. It's tough if you take it streets that were done over one hundred years ago and putting bike lanes on them. And it's tough it was to putting it.
Does it make sense? Bill? I appreciate your callers always. We'll talk soon, okay, when you when I decided to let me know, remember you can get w BZ down in South Carolina. We got a lot of listeners in South Carolina.
Oh yeah, no, I'll be calling them from the golf course.
Sounds great, Thanks, Belle, appreciate it.
Yeah, six.
Eight, nine, nine, ten thirty or better. Yet, here's a couple. It's easy, six one, seven ninety. Peg is in New Hampshire. Peg, have you already left?
I did, Hi, Danne, I haven't talked here in a while.
Right used to be Peg from Haveril.
I know and Peg. That's why I haven't talked. I've been in the process of a move right before Thanksgiving, and it has so much to do with if you remember some of our conversations. My rent had doubled, like in the past couple of years. It went up amazing, and I started looking for something small and I said to the realtor, I can go to the the the northern part of Massachusetts where which is where I've been, or the southern part of New Hampshire. And when something
was found in New Hampshire, I set them in. So, yeah, I am now a much Let me ask you just give me.
A rough idea. How much of a difference is it in terms of I assume the properties. I hope the properties are fairly comparable in terms of size and convenience and all of that.
Well, I have to tell you, in all honesty, because I'm older, I'm getting closer to retirement, which is going to still be a while because it's expensive. So I purchased a mobile home and it's actually cheaper. It was cheaper than my rent, and it's actually cheaper than some of the mobile homes that I saw. And this one's really new, it's like twelve years old. So and some of them, you know, I saw in Massachusetts in mobile
home parks and they were more expensive, you know. And I'm up here now and I'm like, oh, you know, there's no more excise tax. I made sure that at work, I changed it because now I also transferred my job. So even though I didn't change jobs in New Hampshire, I will keep my income tax.
Yeah, so waste.
So you're still working in Massachusetts.
Nope. I worked for a company that is throughout Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York.
So I just transferred.
So I'm in the same company, but a different store in New Hampshire.
Okay, you had been working in Massachusetts, so you were paying such a tax in Massachusetts So not only did you improve you a lot financially from appointed from you your living conditions, but now your salary is going to in effect increase because you don't if they won't be taking new Massachusetts taxes out. That's great.
That is it is And I have to tell you, you know, you and I've had conversations about money before. You know, the rent was so much and I didn't live in Boston. I was forty miles.
Outside of Boston.
You know, Yeah, it's just it's too much money.
When when finally people leave, it's just I guess the last one out, turn out the lights and we'll be all set.
And it's just.
I'm so happy here. But I thought we had lost you as a listener and as a caller, So keep listening. Uh Oh was the mobile home and you want to or one that that was? You know, is there a marketplace for.
It's twelve years old and there's actually quite a few. I wasn't going to do that. I came in with my adult one of my adult children, you know, I said, Okay, we'll just do this together because he's never going to get married. You can have it when I'm gone. But it's big enough it's clean, and you know, it's welcoming, and I'm not putting up with with the taxes and a lot of the prices of things, and I have to admit it's not a sanctuary, you know, city, and I just feel a little more comfortable.
Good for you, Good for you. All right, congratulations, Peg, We'll talk soon. Thanks so much.
I will be calling you again. Thanksgian.
All right, thanks bag.
Thanks, We'll take quick break. I got some open lines here six one, seven, two, five, four ten thirty six one seven, nine three one ten thirty. We're going to hear from another high tax state, which of course is on New York, our sister state here, uh in the northeast. If you'd like to join the conversation. Are you someone who is deeply committed to the to Massachusetts or wherever you live, or are you now somewhat influenced by the tax rate and the weather and whatever other factors are
making you look elsewhere? There are still more people. I think Massachusetts has the fifth greatest out migration of any state in a Marria. At twenty seven tho it's about half of what it was the year before, not half. It was half of what it was two years ago, but more and more people, a lot of people are leaving the car Multa, Massachusetts. Love to know your thoughts. Be right back on Nightside.
Now back to Dan Raay live from the Window World night Side Studios on WBZ News Radio.
Let's keep rolling here, gonna go to will and Long Island. Will. I got a couple of callers behind you, so I want to be a little quicker tonight than usual. How are you, sir?
Yeah, well this is pretty quick because you know, we suffer from the same problems that you guys suffer from. Expensive. I mean I moved from Nashville County about five six years ago, the second highest property taxes in the country and county wise, to the fifth or sixth highest in Suffolk County. You know, the amount of property taxes that I pay per year is someone's salary almost. It's actually ridiculous.
And the services that we get. I go to other states like Florida and I asked them to have garbage men, yeah, did police, Yeah, you have fireman? You have a yeah? Well then how come you pay two thousand and I pay twenty thousand. You know, there's a big difference in my state and other states and I don't feel that I get the services that they get in other states for the disproportionate amount of taxes that I'm paying, and it's a lot of the waste that's bad.
I have a pretty normal house here in Newton, Massachusetts. Want to guess what I pay in property taxes?
I would imagine something extremely high. Thirty thousand. Yeah, no, Dan, let me tell you something I'm not. I'm not a wealthy man, Okay. I have a regular business, like a regular entrepreneur in this country. It's like having a job, you know, and.
Sure that type of the last person gets paid.
And I wouldn't even be so upset about it if it weren't if I were getting, you know, a massive amount of services as compared to other states. Because I have family that lives in North Carolina, I have a lot of family in Florida, And I got to talk. The idea of being from New York is so much better than the actual reality when you travel around the country and people like, oh, you're from New York. Yeah, there's nothing, There's nothing that's special about this. I gotta
be honest. I love the fact that I was raised here, but I think I'm going to spend my twilight year someone else. I tell my kids all the time, I go when you get out of college. You know, as you go out to college, there'll be a for sale sign on the house, and when you come back home, it'll be to a nice, really warm pleasure.
And we also, well, I appreciate it, man, I really do. Thank you much. Sometime next call. Thanks. Just keep rolling. Going to get Betty in the boat. Betty, I want to get you in one more in go ahead.
Betty, I wouldn't move in a New York minute.
Well, you have a special situation here, you're living on a boat. You got it figured out.
I had it figured out. But my host for living on the boat went from ten years ago about eight hundred dollars a month, and now it's up to fifteen hundred dollars a month. I didn't have to pay for my real estate taxes. I didn't have to pay for water taxes. I had it made. Electricity was included.
Now there's a.
Waterways tax now that you have to pay a mooring fee on the City of Boston, even if you are docked year round and you don't use a mooring.
I pay Someone said. Someone said Betty on the boat and people like her, we need to dig into their pockets. That's what happened.
Well, yeah, and they've dug deep, and you know, it was a great retirement. But I'll tell you, Dan, all I have to do is turn the key on and I'm out of here. And the one thing that is keeping me here in Boston is the fact that I have wonderful services that I cannot find elsewhere in the country.
And of course what type of services, what type of services.
Well, for the senior citizens, I have the laundry service. I have a lady who comes in and helps me with the cleaning. I have, you know, so you don't think that.
In a more temperate climate, like a place like South Carolina, that that service doesn't exist. I mean, I don't want you to leave, Betty, don't get me wrong, but I'm just saying that that I want you to stay. Don't get me wrong. But boy, if they're picking your pockets, that's not fair.
I want. When my cat got sick, this is an example of how bad Massachusetts is. Maya got sick with renal failure in August and I took her to the animal hospital and for two nights at the veterinarian hospital. Do you know how much they wanted and there was no guarante that she was going to live.
I'm going to guess one thousand dollars. I'm going to guess one thousand.
Dollars, seven thousand, nine and eighty two dollars and thirty two cents.
I would be turning that key and head into South Carolina. Let me tell you, though, that's ridiculous. That is ridiculous. Seven dollars or two nights for a cat. Oh my god.
And I said, may I worked in neurology at mass General few years and I said, may I see her labs please? And I lift her the labs. I called my very front and I said, and I said, John, this is my problem. He said, whatever you want to do, I'll stay with you. I was told this cat had under forty eight hours to live and live. And you know who just jumped off the kitchen table?
The cat?
The cat?
I remember that, Yeah? The cat?
All right, all right, Beddy, I got one more. I got to sneak in here. I want you to stay, but if you go, you got to let me know. Okay, I'll let you.
I'll let you be the captain.
All right, bags, fatty talk soon. Let me get Warren in here. One last of the hour. You got about a minute and a half. Are you ready to stay or you're gonna go? Warren?
Oh, if I had the money, if I had the means, I would be long gone. I would be somewhere where it's not so congested.
Yeah.
And you know, like in the taxes taxes here, it's return on investment. A lot of people feel like, Okay, for the money that they pay in taxes, we're not getting the services you know back, you know, like when we're when we're paying for a legles to be in hotel rooms, you know. I mean, yeah, that's kind of it's kind of outlandish.
Yeah. And I live in a city where last week or was it last week, No, two weeks ago, I literally spent half the day trying to make sure my actually get picked up. I mean yeah, it's like it's like.
Well, it's I mean, I work with people. I work with people who are barely getting by, barely getting by. I mean, you know, we're you know, we work in a print shop. But it's yeah, a lot of these people are just barely barely.
More and more people just barely getting by, and and I have no idea where all the money that we pay actually goes. And I know I'm getting tired of it.
It goes into the politician's pockets. It's ay amazing. How how a politician one hundred thousand dollars in their bank account when they start and when they leave their millionaires.
Yeah, that's that's that's a that's a good trick on. I gotta let you run because I'm up against it. As always, Thank you, my friends. Thanks, talk to you soon. Really appreciate you taking the time. When we get back after the eleven o'clock news, I think I'm going to change topics. Stay with me. I think you'll like the topic coming up.