Tells us what we want to hear

You got to give Gov. Deval Patrick and his team credit, they're very slick. They recently set-up a website for residents to prioritize their needs and wants from state government. They give you a list of initiatives like "affordable housing" and "top quality health care for elderly" and ask you to rank your level of concern.

At the end, they ask you how you would be willing to pay for all those services and list a number of taxes. I said "no" to every one and in the comment box I told them to make cuts to the budget.

This is obviously a ploy to get people to think about all the services they feel are necessary and then feel bad about the price tag. They guilt you into asking for a tax increase.

Yet, Patrick still employs his neighbor, the MBTA retirees get free health care, and state hacks get raises and sweet pensions.

Nice try Deval.