National report ranks MA as #1 most improved in tax fairness

Primarily due to the passage of the Fair Share Amendment, a new national report finds that the Commonwealth is the top-ranking state for improvements in tax fairness. The middle class in Massachusetts pays a smaller share of their income in state + local taxes than in 32 other states. Today, the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) released "Who Pays?," the only distributional analysis of tax systems in all 50 states. The comprehensive 7th edition of the report ranks the progressivity and regressivity of state tax systems by measuring effective state and local tax rates paid by all income groups. Massachusetts's relative ranking among the 50 states (in terms of tax progressivity since 2022) improves several positions, the most of any state. This is overwhelmingly a result of the Fair Share Amendment. However, there is still work to be done. Massachusetts's top 1% still pay a lower share than the bottom 95%. With our tax system still regressive under current law, we can look to neighbors Maine, Vermont and New York for examples of states that have created fair (progressive) tax codes. Read more.  Read our summary ▶️Watch on YouTube: Phineas Baxandall speaks on the findings of ITEP's report The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) is a leading think tank advancing policy solutions to create an inclusive, thriving Commonwealth for all. Support our work today!

Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center | 1 State Street, Suite 1250 , Boston, MA 02109 Sent by pbaxandall@massbudget.org powered by Try email marketing for free today!

Metrowest Networkers Group Meeting on Fridays

1st & 3rd Fridays of the month.  10 am - Noon

7 Bishop Street, Framingham, MA 01702

At the headquarters for the South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC)

Our next meeting is this coming Friday Jan-19.

We have two brief presentations scheduled!

Our standard agenda is based on the Acton Networkers agenda.

Parking:   From Bishop Street, turn east into the access road opposite Clark St.

Plenty of parking! Park in back, in the BIG parking lot. Go in the back entrance to the CUDDY CENTER. This is the building located closer to the south. Once inside, turn left, proceed to a corridor and then turn right to go to our meeting area.

 Website:   http://mwnetworkers.wix.com/home

It has menus for articles, videos, and a forum (in case you prefer to post instead of email). It even has a list of area coaches.

 Google Group: metrowest-networkers-group@googlegroups.com

LinkedIn Group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12943261/

If you need a job and want to meet people, we hope to see you there!

--

Ed Lawrence

www.getstart-ed.com

CPRW; NCOPE

Certified Interview Coach

Authorized DISC Administrator

Member, CPRW Certification Committee

Metrowest Networkers Group Meeting on Fridays

Franklin TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) schedule for Thursday, Jan 18, 2023

• wfpr.fm or 102.9 on the FM dial = Thursday

9:00a/12:00p/6:00p   A Priest, A Minister, and a Rabbi

10:00a/1:00p/7:00p   Frank’s Music – Frank Falvey and Jim Derick

11:00a/2:00p/8:00pm   Frank Presents – Frank Falvey Presents

• Franklin All Access TV - Our Public Access Channel (Comcast 6, Verizon 26) = Thursday

8:00 am Veterans' Call: Steve Crouteau

9:00 am Arts Advocacy Day: Marketing

10:30 am SAFE Coalition: Task Force

11:30 am Cooking Thyme: Appetizers

12:00 pm Brook'n'Cookin: Waffles

12:30 pm The Only Cure Is Education

1:30 pm Pizzapalooza: Healthy Pizza Crusts

2:00 pm New England Candlepins: Summer 2018 Show 1

3:00 pm Riffin' on Main Street: Thomas J. Lynch

4:00 pm Winning Ways with the MIAA: Pete Smith

4:30 pm Second Sunday Speaker Series: Rob Lawson

6:30 pm Extended Play Sessions: Acoustic X

8:00 pm Frank Presents: Daniela Masters Pt 1

9:30 pm The Black Box: Disney Stars of Broadway

• Franklin Pride TV - Our Educational Channel        (Comcast 8, Verizon 28) = Thursday

7:00 am Public School Concert: Elementary Winter Music Pt. 3 01-15-19

8:30 am Public School Event: Lifelong Music Pt. 1 01-28-19

10:00 am FHS Varsity Swimming v Attleboro 01-12-24

12:00 pm ArtWeek: Theater in the Open

1:00 pm Public School Event: Concert Hour Day 1

2:30 pm Metrowest Arts & Culture Symposium 2023

5:00 pm MICCA Festival 2019

8:30 pm FHS Girls Varsity Basketball v Wachusett 01-10-24

• Franklin Town Hall TV - Our Government Channel (Comcast 9, Verizon 29) = Thursday

8:00 am Conservation Commission 01-11-24

12:00 pm Master Plan Committee 01-10-24

2:00 pm Conservation Commission 01-11-24

7:30 pm Zoning Board of Appeals: LIVE, Remote  915 7481 6603

Get this week's program guide for Franklin.TV and Franklin Public Radio (wfpr.fm) online  http://franklin.tv/programguide.pdf   

Watch Listen Read all things that matter in Franklin MA

Franklin Cultural District: Ben's Book events all week & more as #artshappenhere

Wednesday, January 17

9:30am Ben Franklin Autobiography* LIVE Readathon (Franklin Historical Museum)

11:00am Franklin Q&A (Franklin Senior Center & remote)

6:30pm SPECIAL Trivia Night (Teddie Gallagher’s)

7:00pm State of the Commonwealth Address (online, & YouTube)

Thursday, January 18

8:30am Town Council Office Hours (Franklin Senior Center)

6:30pm World PREMIERE, “The Boatbuilders” Pre-release Screening & Discussion (Franklin Public Library)

Friday, January 19

1:00pm Library Book Sale (Franklin Public Library)

2:00pm Get to know ‘Ben’s Books’ (Franklin Public Library)

6:00pm Jigsaw Puzzle Tournament and Sale (First Universalist Society in Franklin (FUSF))

Saturday, January 20

9:00am Library Book Sale (Franklin Public Library)

10:00am Ben Franklin, America’s First Scientist (Franklin Historical Museum)

10:00am Jigsaw Puzzle Tournament and Sale (First Universalist Society in Franklin (FUSF))

10:30am Children’s Ben Franklin Story Time (Escape Into Fiction Bookstore)

11:00am Preschool & Kindergarten Open House (Sunrise Montessori School)

1:00pm Library "Books by the Bag Sale" (Franklin Public Library)

6:30pm Vera Meyer and Ben Franklin’s Glass Armonica (Franklin Public Library)

Sunday, January 21

7:30am All you can eat Breakfast (Franklin Rod & Gun Club)

1:00pm Ben Franklin Considered and Reconsidered (Franklin Historical Museum)

1:00pm Children's Museum of Franklin pop up (Elks Lodge)

Tuesday, January 23

2:30pm Rainbow Café

-----------------

The Franklin Art Association Art Gallery remains open for viewing (and purchasing the art displayed) during business hours at Escape into Fiction (Main St, Franklin)

Visit the Cultural District page ->  https://www.franklinculture.org/

Find the full Community event calendar   https://www.franklinmatters.org/p/blog-page.html

If you have an event to add to the calendar, you can use the form to submit it for publication:   https://forms.gle/oPdi8X3ZbHHyrHzo6

The Library calendar of events ->    calendar link

The Senior Center calendar of events ->   https://www.franklinma.gov/node/39/events/month/39/2023-12

The Town meeting calendar is found  https://www.franklinma.gov/calendar
The School district calendar is found  https://www.franklinps.net/calendar-by-event-type/26 

Franklin Cultural District: Arts are happening here!

Franklin Art Association monthly meeting features Phil Pariseau - Feb 7, 2024

The Franklin Art Association's February meeting will take place on  Wednesday, February 7 at 6:30 PM at the Franklin (MA) Senior Center, when our Demo Artist will be painter Phil Pariseau.

Phil Pariseau is a self-taught glass artist working on Cape Cod and Franklin, MA.

Phil's early interest in glass began with a glass blowing class more than 25 years ago and developed into a passion for creating kiln-formed pieces of art and unique glass gifts. Combining various techniques of fusing, raking, temperature manipulation, slumping, his pieces often produce a flow that results in a unique designed to capture light and color beautifully. Phil's glass pieces are known for their distinctive and colorful qualities, including one-of-a-kind wall hangings, sculptures, plates, bowls, and seasonal artwork.

Phil will be demonstrating his approach to glass fusing and designing his sculpture pieces.

Meetings are held at the Franklin Senior Center, 10 Daniel McCahill St., Franklin, MA, with a business meeting starting at 6:45 PM, refreshments and socialization starts at 6:30 PM, the monthly demonstration/workshop starts at ~7 PM  and runs until ~9 PM. As always, our meetings are free and open to the public.

Franklin Art Association monthly meeting features Phil Pariseau - Feb 7, 2024

How to find local news you can trust

A News Literacy Week workshop

NewsLiteracyWeek.org Don't miss out on our free virtual events! How can we determine whether news sources are credible? Local news outlets help us make informed decisions as engaged participants in a democracy, but the process of creating the news isn't always clear. During National News Literacy Week 2024 — Jan. 22 to 26 – we are hosting a free webinar, How to find local news you can trust, which will provide an overview of the news literacy concepts you need to be reliably informed, with a spotlight on local news. We'll pull the curtain back on the practice of quality, ethical local journalism. Thursday, Jan. 25 How to find local news you can trust 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT A free virtual workshop that provides an introduction to news literacy skills you can use to determine whether a source is credible. Register There's more! We have a full lineup of events planned for National News Literacy Week. Monday, Jan. 22 Extra, extra: How to solve the local news crisis 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT Catch the livestream of our National News Literacy Week kickoff event! We've invited a panel of distinguished journalists, media critics and educators to help us shape our thinking on addressing the local news crisis. Featuring Sarabeth Berman of the American Journalism Project, author and media columnist Margaret Sullivan, Steven Waldman of Rebuild Local News and Kimi Yoshino of The Baltimore Banner. Moderated by Tracie Potts of the Eisenhower Institute. Set reminder Wednesday, Jan. 24 How student journalists are filling the gap in local news 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT A student-led virtual panel discussion about how young people are making a difference in local community news coverage. Featuring Sara Maloney of The Eudora Times, Ashlyn Myers of TheStateHouseFile.com and Harsidak Singh of The Arlington Amp. Moderated by Darragh Worland, host of the News Literacy Project podcast Is that a fact? Register   We hope you will be a part of National News Literacy Week in 2024! Now in its fifth year, National News Literacy Week underscores the vital role of news literacy in a democracy and provides people of all ages with the knowledge and tools to become better informed and more civically engaged. Presented by the News Literacy Project and The E.W. Scripps Company, this year's event turns a spotlight on local news and its role in a healthy democracy. View more NNLW events and resources For a future founded on facts, The News Literacy Project   NewsLiteracyWeek.org JAN. 22-26, 2024 Support news literacy by donating today. Visit us at newslit.org, checkology.org, newslitnation.org and rumorguard.org. The News Literacy Project, a nonpartisan education nonprofit, is building a national movement to advance the practice of news literacy throughout American society, creating better informed, more engaged and more empowered individuals — and ultimately a stronger democracy. The News Literacy Project 5335 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Suite 440, Washington, DC 20015