Romney Makes Plans to Hustle New Business to Mass…While Legislature Works to Scuttle Deals
By MassNews Staff
              Mitt Romney, speaking to business leaders in a Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce meeting Monday announced his initiative to bring businesses back to Massachusetts.  Part of his proposal involves hiring a sales force that would target businesses in other states, and pitch them on making a move to Massachusetts.
              “Since my first day in office, I’ve asked the Legislature for a sales force,” he said. “We have 60,000 state employees in Massachusetts,” he added, but only one assigned to work with businesses either here or elsewhere looking to grow.”
              Yet, while the Governor talked about solutions for the economic woes of Massachusetts, politicians on Beacon Hill were working on new initiatives that would be obstacles to just such economic growth.  Among them, raising the minimum wage and the new “universal” healthcare proposal, which forces businesses to pay for healthcare for everyone whether the individual wants healthcare, or not.
              The minimum wage bill would give the state the highest minimum wage in the Northeast, raising it from $6.75 to $7.75 over the next two years.  Few in the legislature understand that labor rates need to be able to move with “supply and demand”.  Because of our low unemployment rate, precious few work at the minimum rate.  A sixteen-year old can work entry level at McDonalds for higher pay than the minimum wage.   But that doesn’t give the state the license to raise the rate.   If there was a glut of workers and few jobs, a high minimum wage actually exacerbates the problem by forcing businesses to look to moving jobs and contracts out of state.  Frequently, the most adversely effected by a state’s high minimum wage is unskilled minorities. 
              The healthcare initiative is unique in that we will be the only state to essentially fine businesses that don’t provide healthcare, and heap new taxes on companies so we can boast of our “universal” coverage.  One has to wonder how Romney’s “salesmen” are going to pitch that to prospective businesses.
              Massachusetts is quickly becoming the most business “unfriendly” state in the union.  Whether it is forcing Wal-Mart to sell the “Plan B” pill, or the above examples of new anti-business initiatives, the word is out about Massachusetts.
              Consequently, we have experienced a loss in population in the state for two years in a row…a dubious honor that is unique to Massachusetts.  And until the citizens of the state can reign in the radical liberal elements in the state government, whether it is in the legislature, judiciary, or executive, we will continue to slide towards economic stagnation.