Governor Patrick and Senate President Murray appear poised to offer a plan they say would help grow jobs here, according to a story in today’s Boston Globe.
Growing jobs in Massachusetts should be our state’s top priority. But you have to wonder… isn’t this plan a day late and a dollar short?
The plan under discussion would create a $50 million small business tax credit, it would make $25 million of small business loans available, it would freeze unemployment insurance rates, and it would merge together several state agencies that deal with small business issues.
I give this plan some credit because these ideas all seem worthwhile to consider. There’s no question that our state needs to do something to help job growth, particularly when it comes to the small businesses that serve as the lifeblood of our economy. And I am always happy to hear of proposals to merge responsibilities in state agencies as a reform that would save us money and increase efficiency.
But it’s also worth considering that these modest proposals come on the heels of other recent decisions that have put a stranglehold on businesses here. For example, we have levied hundreds of millions of dollars of additional corporate taxes from businesses here in recent years, increases that Governor Patrick proposed and the Legislature approved. The same goes for recent hikes in the sales tax, which makes it difficult for businesses to compete in the same way that it increases costs for individual consumers.
There is no question in my mind that these tax increases, along with other business-unfriendly policies, have forced businesses and their jobs out of Massachusetts. The latest plan from Governor Patrick, however good it might be, probably won’t be enough to get those jobs back here.
So, while I applaud these most recent efforts, I have to stop and wonder if these are really heartfelt efforts to grow jobs in Massachusetts, or if they’re just window dressing on an otherwise crucial problem our state is facing. I guess only time will tell.
What do you think? Would passing these proposals make Massachusetts friendly enough for businesses to grow jobs here, or is this plan just a glimmer of hope? Please post a comment below and let’s get a discussion going.
