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Report: Mass. Partly Responsible For Its Economic Condition

A new report suggests that while the state's economic troubles aren't helped by the national recession, Massachusetts is also partly responsible for its own condition.

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center says even before the recession, there were problems with the state's budget structure.

MassBudget Executive Director Noah Berger says revenue was not keeping pace with economic growth. "During the boom in the late '90s," Berger says, "the state reacted to those temporary budget surpluses by enacting permanent tax cuts. And that has really led to a decade of budget problems for the state. Those, obviously, have now combined with a national recession that's hitting states across the country."

Berger says that, had the state not cut taxes, revenue this year would have $1.5 to $2 billion higher.

This program aired on January 14, 2009. The audio for this program is not available.

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