Editorial: Mass. must act fast to boost private job growth — or else

A new statement puts Massachusetts politicians on notice get a grip on housing costs and taxes or the state is in for a world of hurt According to a initiative brief from the Pioneer Institute while nearly every state has expanded private sector employment since the onset of the COVID- pandemic Massachusetts has seen a net decline in private sector job enhancement This puts the state s economic wellbeing and long-term prosperity at serious threat Bureau of Labor Statistics statistics shows that Massachusetts private sector employment has contracted since January while states such as Florida North Carolina and Texas have each seen private sector job upsurge The nation is growing jobs but we are losing them declared Jim Stergios Pioneer Institute s executive director There is no clearer and no more troubling economic signal And Mass pols need to sit up and take notice without more private sector jobs who s going to pay all those general sector salaries A look at the mass gov website shows that in January of this year authorities jobs were added while were added over the year Must be nice Of curriculum you d need a leadership job with a plush paycheck to afford the housing costs and high prices in Massachusetts The outlook for the rest of us isn t so good if these trends continue The Pioneer Institute warns of far-reaching implications including rising economic inequality reduced opportunities for residents diminished outlay and innovation and an increasing outmigration of talent and businesses to states with stronger job markets and lower costs of living That s already happening We ve read the reports on outmigration from the Bay State to lower-cost lower-tax states Who can blame them In Raleigh NC a roomy -bedroom will set you back Try that in Boston State taxes are lower there too How can Massachusetts compete To secure a prosperous future we need bold decisive action to create an economic habitat that allows both individuals and businesses to thrive announced Aidan Enright who wrote Massachusetts at Jeopardy The Alarming Decline of Private Sector Employment Advancement for the Pioneer Institute That means Enright says tax reorganization regulatory improvements strategic workforce investments and aggressive housing expansion policies We ve had aggressive housing policies in the last few days but they involved securing shelter spaces around the state for the influx of immigrants under the Biden administration and homeless local families We paid about billion to cover the costs in fiscal year and several million so far in fiscal year As the number of private sector workers shrink that puts even more of a squeeze on the state s remaining taxpayers This news couldn t come at a worse time as a Wall Street Journal record underscored how fiscally damaging empty office buildings in Boston could be to the city s bottom line Continued downward pressure on commercial values would shift more than billion of Boston s tax burden to homeowners over the next five years according to a overview from the nonprofit Boston Framework Institute the WSJ record states Those increases would be on top of additional tax hikes plenty of owners face because their homes have risen in value The writing s on the wall Massachusetts lawmakers need to act fast to keep the Bay State from sinking Editorial cartoon by Gary Varvel Creators Syndicate