How low can we go?

Speakers to examine state fiscal crisis

By Susie Davidson

Advocate Correspondent

BROOKLINE - Last week at the Holiday Inn in Brookline, House Speaker Thomas Finneran presented a stark overview of the state of the economy. “I don’t sugarcoat things,” he cautioned at the monthly Chamber of Commerce Business Breakfast. “All we’ve got left in our pockets is lint.”

Finneran went on to detail staggering deficits, extensive local aid cuts and radical governmental restructuring, before discussing a constitutional amendment which might ease the situation by equitably distributing present and future financial peaks and valleys, according to individual issues and community need. “We’ll get through this,” he said, noting that by comparison, people in third world nations worried about basics such as food and water.

Across the street this Sunday evening at Ohabei Shalom from 5-7 p.m., public policy experts will elaborate upon the nitty-gritty of the budget crisis at the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action’s Young Activists’ “First Sunday” meeting. Newton State Representative Ruth Balser, Brookline State Representative Frank Smizik and Executive Director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center Noah Berger will discuss “How Low Can We Go? The State Budget and Tax Policy.” Berger, a Harvard Law School graduate, served in the State House for many years as Counsel and Policy Director to former Senate President Thomas Birmingham. “The MBPC, formerly known as TEAM, provides independent research and analysis of state budget policies, as well as economic issues, that affect low and moderate income people in Massachusetts,” explained JALSA Outreach Consultant Cindy Rowe. Berger’s father, Alan, is a Boston Globe correspondent; his mother, Pam, is a film producer and director.

“How much can we cut from the state budget before the public cries out?” asked Rowe. “Education, health care, housing, human services, and the environment are all at risk. Should we be proposing major changes in tax policy instead of decimating services?”

Sunday evening’s presenters will speak on how state services can be maintained, even in this time of crisis. The Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, headed by Rowe and Executive Director Sheila Decter, organizes speaker events for young social activists in their 20's, 30's, and 40's which occur on the first Sunday evening of every other month.

Upcoming JALSA-sponsored events for April include the April 8 Technology Seminar for Progressive Organizations at the CHAPA Conference Room, Room 401, 18 Tremont St., Boston, from 10 a.m.-noon, where Josh Friedes of the Freedom to Marry Coalition discuss emailing technologies; the April 10 MCAS discussion “Alliance for High Standards, NOT High Stakes” from 10 a.m.-noon at the JALSA Office, Room 320, 18 Tremont St., Boston, which will overview continued efforts to remove the high stakes component of the MCAS exam; a Citizens for Public Schools meeting directly following it at noon, where constitutional safeguards including vouchers and privatization will be discussed. Decter will speak on the effect of ongoing changes in civil liberties upon the role of government on April 11 at Shir Tikvah in Winchester, and on April 27, JALSA will co-sponsor, along with the Workman's Circle, the Jewish Labor Committee, the American Jewish Historical Society and Jobs with Justice, a presentation by Steve Lerner, director of Justice for Janitors, on “Jews and the Labor Movement,” from 7-9 p.m. at Hebrew College. On April 30 at the State House, JALSA will co-sponsor, along with several health and human services organizations, a “Rally and Lobby Day on the Budget.”

At Sunday evening’s meeting, a kosher dairy or veggie entrée will be provided; donations of dairy or vegetarian desserts or appetizers which can be served at room temperature are welcomed. Childcare is furnished upon request; please RSVP to Cindy@jalsa.org or 617-742-1836. The next "First Sunday" event will be June 1.