Brown’s account lacks accounting

And how did Massachusetts solve its problems? “[I]nstead of raising taxes … we tightened our belts and balanced the books by cutting spending,’’ Brown maintained. “It wasn’t easy, but … we turned our deficit into a surplus and the economy and jobs started coming back.’’

No it wasn’t easy. Nor was it done simply by cutting spending.

In fact, in 2002, the Legislature passed a revenue package worth about $1.1 billon - tax increases that took effect on Jan. 1, 2003. That was part of a balanced approach that saw the state reduce spending, raise taxes, and tap rainy day reserves, notes Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

Surprised by Brown’s account - one the senator is repeating in speeches around the state - I called on Monday to ask him about it. I’d caught him just as he was walking into an event, Brown said, but added that he’d get back to me “when I can.’’

He never did. Instead, spokeswoman Marcie Kinzel called shortly thereafter. She said the senator was talking specifically about action taken under Mitt Romney, who became governor on Jan. 2, 2003. And to be fair, later in the column, Brown does write that “when the Legislature was faced with those daunting deficits in 2003, we didn’t panic and increase taxes.’’

That’s certainly a convenient starting point, ignoring as it does the big tax hike that began to benefit state coffers that very year. But even then, the notion that once Romney took the helm, Beacon Hill simply cut spending is misleading. Under Romney, the state hiked fees for permits and licenses and closed corporate loopholes to raise hundreds of millions in new revenues.