Old news from Boston

Boston Globe: "Healthcare affordability figures update" It's expensive!

Therefore: "Massachusetts House OK's big tax hikes" Of course. Sucks for you smokers.

To its credit, the Globe spotted one reason why taxes needed to be hiked yet again:

The Central Artery project was just about completed last year, the state had no further need for a project director, and Michael Lewis, 46, was out of a job. Lewis then became director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation at a respectable salary of $130,000 a year. But because of a quirk in Massachusetts law, Lewis also enjoys an enhanced $72,578 annual pension - for life. Lavish pensions like these diminish trust in state government, and ought to be curtailed by the Legislature.

Retired at 46 - now that's the kind of public service I can get into! The Big Dig ("Central Artery project") is the gift that keeps on taking.