Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker is a heated contest with Vermont Governor Phil Scott for most Democrat-Republican governor. This has the odd effect of making left-leaning New Hampshire Governor Sununu look responsible, a goal to which Baker appears committed.
Baker, who is desperate to fund Massachusett’s bloated state government, has decided to do the opposite. He is extending an incentive not to work that depletes revenue and suppresses growth.
The governor said Wednesday his focus is to “aggressively reopen our economy and create the jobs for people and then let people find their way back to work.
Speaking at a Moderna lab in Norwood, Baker added, “Massachusetts, as we all know, is a very high-cost state and the majority of people who were most profoundly impacted by the pandemic and by some of the rules that we put into place were what I would refer to as working people.”
It’s not his money, you say; why would he care? He thinks like a Democrat, so he doesn’t care. And paying people not to work will get you more people who don’t want to work.
Related: Remote “School-Yard” Bully Massachusetts Lands MA and NH at the US Supreme Court
The only aggressive thing about t his is how aggravatingly stupid it is.
As with all Left-Wing ideas, they do the opposite of what would solve the problem they claim to be addressing. In this case, unemployment.
First, they (through COVID policy) are responsible for much of it.
Second, if you want to generate revenue, people have to work.
Third, instead of paying people not to work (if you must throw money at problems because you can’t cut taxes), pay employers to offer bonuses to hire them—anything but hand-to-mouth state dependency for able-bodied residents.
Give them incentives to work but not just bonusing employment but removing the incentive to sit on your ass and do nothing.
Baker chose the latter probably because he’s spent the past year devastating the state’s economy with pointless lockdowns and mandates.
Of course, the ultimate cause of all of this is Massachusetts residents who keep voting for progressives to run the government while pretending to balance that with a Democrat (Baker) registered as a Republican for Governor.
How’s that working out?
Well, if you’re not working and collecting unemployment benefits, great.
Not so good for anyone else, which is the majority of the state’s residents.