I remember when the Republican governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, was running for office, one of his most oft-repeated promises was to bring job creation to our state. He said things like “I am a businessman, and I will bring a business-like approach to our state government.”
Well, he’s delivered on his promise. In very business-like fashion, the state of Massacusetts has lost over 50,000 jobs on Romney’s watch. Can Romney be blamed entirely for this? Probably not. Some of it can be attributed to bad luck, very much like Clinton’s good-luck during his eight years in office, when events completely out of his control swung our economy up to levels we’ve never seen before and may not ever see again.
So yesterday’s announcement, which targets outsourcing, will give low-interest capital loans and also some grants to companies that add employees in Massacusetts and supposedly incentivize companies to stay in our state, seems too little too late. Romney’s been in office now for well over a year and has virtually said and done nothing to address job creation or outlined any kind of plan to enhance it. Yesterday’s “plan” is a case of simply jumping on the bandwagon against outsourcing, a popular dart board these days and a weak attempt at trying to identify with a hot issue. That Romney and his team couldn’t come up with something more creative or more promising isn’t a huge surprise, really. After all, he’s a white-collar businessman. But it is a huge disappointment.
It could be argued that one of the reasons for our state’s problems can be blamed on the outrageous cost of living. People are leaving this state at a much faster rate than they are moving in. Why? Because you can make a comperable salary in a lot of other cities and get much more value and a better house for the place you live, not to mention far better weather. You can give all the tax incentives you want to big business to come and/or stay here, but if those companies can’t find the right people, what’s the point? Until they come up with a plan to make living affordable within 50 miles of Boston, good people will keep leaving faster than they arrive. Hey, enjoy your grants and tax breaks in the boardrooms. The problem isn’t going away.
Song now playing: Scud Mountain Boys – “Freight of Fire”