Governing magazine and the Pew Center for the States give Massachusetts a "C" in their annual Management Report Card. Only New Hampshire and Rhode Island got lower grades for how well their state governments handle money. Massachusetts got mediocre marks for its budget process, the management of its public workforce, and the setting of performance goals, but it really ended up in a ditch thanks to the condition of the state's infrastructure. And the report's authors see no sign that we'll be patching up our potholes soon:
If Massachusetts did decide to make infrastructure a top priority, it's hard to know where the money would come from. The state's total outstanding debt already exceeds $18 billion — the highest in the nation per capita — and the Massachusetts budget for next year already faces a $1 billion shortfall.
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