Well, since I was a little kid I wanted to live in Massachusetts. And a
few years ago my dream came true. This state feels like home, and
always has. But I can’t expect everyone to feel like that; many other
folks are taking off, and frankly, because of the current cost of
living vis-a-vis the strength of our economy, it’s understandable. And
it seems to be high-earners who are leaving, and immigrants who are
still coming. Unfortunately we need both. That imbalance can’t possibly be good for the local economy, short-
or long-term.
Local blogger reaction is mixed: <a
href=”http://www.bostonist.com/archives/2005/12/23/massachusetts_8639_residents_so_what.php”>Bostonist
is pretty flip, <a
href=”http://leftcenterleft.typepad.com/blog/2005/12/housing_and_emp.html”>Chris
isn’t worried, and <a
href=”http://johnakeith.typepad.com/boston/2005/12/young_urban_pro.html”>John
Keith does a good job of putting the issue in perspective, and
finding a real culprit: the economic woes of 2001-03. sco has a <a
href=”http://point08.blogspot.com/2005/12/population-woes.html”>terrific
post,
wide-ranging but especially strong regarding real estate prices: MA has
always been one of the more expensive places to live, but now it’s
pretty depressing what $300,000 won’t get you, especially
compared to other places.
All of these factors will provide the backdrop of this year’s
gubernatorial race: The basic issue is quality of life in
relation to the cost of living. What are you getting for your
dollar?
- <a
href=”http://johnakeith.typepad.com/boston/2005/12/young_urban_pro.html”>John’s
right, to some extent: It’s still the economy, stupid, and <a
href=”http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/12/25/warily_we_crawl_along____to_06/”>job
growth is still lackluster. - Real estate is still gut-wrenchingly expensive, which combined
with the above, is really not a good sign. That’s just got to mean a
speculative bubble. <a
href=”http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/12/08/doughnut_franchises_in_saugus_medford_close/”>Foreclosures
are up. - Energy prices: At the federal level, Al Gore is not walking
through that door, folks. [Pause for hysterical weeping and tearing out
of hair.] We’ve got to become an innovation leader in alternative
energy, wind farm or no (and I hope yes). In terms of quantum
technological leaps, <a
href=”http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-fi-kyoto19dec19,1,786733.story?coll=la-news-environment”>This
Could Be The New Internet. You heard it here first. </hype> - We’ve got to contain the cost of health care (<a
href=”http://bluemassgroup.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=1076″>start
with drugs), and use the dollars we do spend more wisely, to insure
more people. An insured workforce is a healthy, economically productive
workforce. - We’ve just got to have a governor that understands our unique
strengths as a state, and will go to bat for us, not put us down to
appeal to slack-jawed Republican hacks who lap up stereotypes like
cream. (How’s that for ironic?)
What am I missing?
We need to play to our strengths and make sure Massachusetts is the education leader — public and private — for the country. That is where the jobs increasingly do, or do not come from for our state. Blocking creation of a state law school, for example, was a blunder. Expanding state investment in tertiary education would help bring people and jobs to the state and probably create more tax revenue to boot. Massachusetts really, after all, is a state of mind.
Of course, that’s our saving grace — that folks have been coming to MA to get their educations for 350+ years, and many of them like it and stick around. Another reason why Congress’s student loan cut was such a kick in the gut.
I forgot this one — rising property taxes as a result of local aid woes and higher assessments. Kerry Healey may be getting her wish: Gramma and Gramps may well be moving out of the manse.