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Local Republican state representatives announced on Wednesday that they are sponsoring the newly unveiled House and Senate Republican Caucus’ “Road to Opportunity” Jobs Package.
State Reps. Paul K. Frost, R-Auburn; George N. Peterson, Jr. R-Grafton; Peter J. Durant, R-Spencer; Ryan C. Fattman, R- Sutton and Kevin J. Kuros, R- Uxbridge are among the sponsors.
The GOP Jobs Package is made up of five major categories which covers 25 different pieces of legislation which will improve the economic climate of the Commonwealth and help create jobs in Massachusetts. The omnibus jobs package seeks to address several key areas including, lowering taxes to create jobs; address regulations and the high cost of doing business in Massachusetts; Lowering barriers to hiring and creating incentives to hire new employees; Enhancing the abilities of our Vocational Schools and Community Colleges to place workers for existing and future job opportunities; and to address the high cost of energy and healthcare in the state.
The jobs package came as a result of input received from the GOP Jobs Tour the Republican Caucus in the state legislature held throughout the state in the Fall of 2011. Several Jobs Tour Meetings were held in Central Mass, including Sutton.
Frost, Durant, Fattman and Kuros all said this is the most comprehensive measure ever offered in recent memory in the state legislature to create and save jobs.
The Republicans said they welcome Democrats to join them in pushing a comprehensive and ambitious pro-jobs agenda forward in the state legislature before session ends.
“There are many ideas here which if passed together can put our Commonwealth on the road of opportunity. These measures will help our business community grow and will support job creation for our constituents and job retention for those in fear of losing their jobs if matters don’t improve. I’m proud to stand with my Republican colleagues in offer this ambitious pro- jobs agenda and hope our fellow Democratic colleagues choose to join us," Frost said.
“These economic times have been incredibly difficult on Massachusetts,” Durant added.
“This legislation aims to help the citizens of the Commonwealth get working again through a broad approach that makes doing business in this state easier and more affordable while seeking accountability and efficiency from government,” Fattman said. "In the last 10 years, there has been zero job growth in Massachusetts on a net basis. Rep. Frost, Durant, Kuros, Peterson, and myself held a jobs forum to find out why. Our proposal is a major step forward for the Commonwealth. We have identified the problem areas where reform is necessary by reaching out to the business community and can now begin a bipartisan effort to effectively improve the climate for business in Massachusetts.”
The local Republicans were included on last year's GOP Jobs Tour, a listening tour in which they met with people across the state.
“One thing we learned on the GOP Jobs Tour is that there is no magic bullet for job creation because the impediments to growth vary from business to business,” said Kuros, a small business owner. “However, I’m confident that this comprehensive package of legislation will give employers some of the tools they’ll need to feel confident investing in their businesses.”
Highlights of the proposed GOP Jobs Package include five major areas.
The Jobs Package will be filed two ways: five separate bills covering each category listed below and will also be filed as 25 individual stand alone bills.
• Business Regulations: Reduce costs for employers, reform the current Unemployment Insurance paradigm and streamline and consolidate processes for businesses.
• Education: Empower vocational schools by strengthening collaborations with community colleges and employers, improve overall access to higher education, and qualify veterans for licensure and/or academic credit at public institutions of higher learning.
• Energy: Decrease the cost of electricity for businesses and ratepayers, increase the efficiency of Green Initiatives and promote cost-effective renewable energy.
• Healthcare: Shift focus to the consumer, increase options for employers and employees and make healthcare affordable for all.
• Taxes: Reduce commercial vehicle registration fees, simplify and eliminate corporate fees and taxes, incentivize first-time home buyer savings accounts, and establish a job creation tax credit.
The Chief Executive Group ranks Massachusetts the sixth worst state to do business. The Group’s study polled over 500 CEOs regarding criteria that included taxation, regulation, workforce quality, and living environment.
The Tax Foundation ranks Massachusetts as having the least favorable Unemployment Insurance Schedule in the country. According to the study, Massachusetts has the country’s highest maximum UI tax rate, thus, the worst maximum UI tax rate, of 15.4 percent.
As a comparison, the lowest maximum tax rate is 5.4 percent. Moody’s Analytics ranks Massachusetts number one on its Cost of Doing Business Index. According to Moody’s, business costs are a clear indicator of economic prospects and have a direct correlation with the pace of economic growth.
This proves true in Massachusetts: the Commonwealth has a very low average annual growth rate of nearly .5 percent, much lower than that of most other states.
Forbes Magazine ranks Massachusetts as the number one most expensive state for conducting business. Forbes incorporates Moody’s Analytics Cost of Doing Business Index which includes labor, energy and taxes in its rankings, as well as the new state tax index from the Tax Foundation that looks at the tax burden on businesses in each state across different industries. Associated Industries of Massachusetts Business Confidence Index is currently at 52.8, weaker than a year ago, when the index registered a 55.2 reading. A reading above 50 is considered “positive” - which this reading is rarely above.
According to Raymond Torto, Global Chief Economist at CB Richard Ellis Group and chair of AIM's Board of Economic Advisors, "Massachusetts employers are telling us that this continues to be a slow and halting recovery."
Unemployment numbers do not offer an accurate picture of the true employment issues facing citizens of the Commonwealth. According to the Center of Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University, the number of people who took part-time jobs because of an inability to find a full-time job has grown fourfold since 2000.
In the first eight months of 2011, the number of “underemployed” workers in Massachusetts increased by 18 percent to 200,500. The state-wide unemployment figures do not accurately represent the state as a whole. According to Steve Poftak of Pioneer Institute, the metro Boston area has strong employment, while some other cities in the state, like Fall River, New Bedford, and Lawrence have unemployment rates just under 10 percent. Despite arguments that the Commonwealth has recovered from the Great Recession, the current unemployment rate is 6.8 percent - nowhere close to pre-Recession level of 4.4 percent.
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