EDITORIAL: Baker’s business checklist
It was a closer race than expected, but in the end, much of the business community got the governor it wanted with the election of Charlie Baker, putting a Republican in the corner office after eight years under Deval Patrick.
Chief among Baker's priorities is to sustain the Bay State's economic momentum following the Great Recession. As he prepares to leave office, Patrick deserves some credit for that accomplishment, and for the way in which he nudged the economy forward with an eye on the future. In Baker's column in our Oct. 27 edition (which he co-authored with the lieutenant governor-elect, Karyn Polito), he pointed to some of the accomplishments during the Patrick administration to indicate what he would do after he takes office in January. He addressed continuing the statewide effort (launched by former lieutenant governor Tim Murray) to accelerate the redevelopment of brownfields, and committing to public transit investments that were launched more than two decades ago by Baker's GOP predecessor and former boss, William Weld.
As he begins to put together his administration and a more formal strategy for 2015, these issues should be front and center:
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE — Voters last week resoundingly approved a referendum that repeals a law tying future increases in the state's gasoline tax to inflation. Since revenue from that tax pays for the renovation and construction of roads and bridges, and businesses place a high priority on transportation infrastructure, there needs to be enough money for necessary upgrades, despite the defeat of Question 1. A 2013 federal report said most of the state's bridges are either functionally obsolete or structurally deficient, and 42 percent of roads in poor or mediocre condition. There is no getting around a need for transportation investment.
BUSINESS TAXES — Sturbridge and Fitchburg recently acted to narrow the gap between their residential and commercial/industrial property tax rates. Worcester, due in no small part to a push from the business community, has taken the same action twice in the last three years. Baker can further help lower business taxes by doing away with the personal property tax and lowering the 8-percent corporate income tax.
HIGHER EDUCATION — Massachusetts prides itself on its private and public colleges and universities and, by extension, the brainpower that makes the commonwealth a beacon of innovation and entrepreneurship. Massachusetts ranks near the bottom when it comes to investments in its public university system, and is ranked 48th in its per-student financial aid, according to data from the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts. Last month, Patrick's commissioner of higher education, Richard Freeland, said Massachusetts must invest more in its public colleges and universities, especially in maintenance and student financial assistance.
GATEWAY CITIES — Baker should show some love to the 26 communities that serve as regional economic centers. During the campaign, he showed interest in their further development, and Worcester, Fitchburg and Leominster, which are among the 26, stand to benefit from more attention and funding. Further, with the state having again elected a lieutenant governor from Central Massachusetts, the region's voice should be heard loud and clear on Beacon Hill. n
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