Following Governor of Massachusetts Deval Patrick’s final State of the Commonwealth address, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce made their reaction to the speech abundantly clear. Paul Guzzi, president and CEO of the Chamber, threw the full weight of his support behind the governor’s remarks.
Guzzi and the Chamber are excited about Governor Patrick’s travel initiatives, helping Boston’s Logan Airport to expand its lineup of international fights to a variety of exotic locales.
“The Chamber has strongly supported the Governor’s successful efforts to add international flights to and from Logan Airport,” said Paul Guzzi in a statement. “These flights provide improved access to overseas markets and strengthen our role as a leading destination for business and tourism, benefitting our entire community. We welcome the Governor’s plans to add more international flights to key markets, and will continue working with the administration, city officials, and other business groups to help this plan succeed.”
It’s hard, though, to see Guzzi’s optimism beyond his partisan affiliations. He served under Governor Michael Dukakis as Secretary of the Commonwealth from 1975 through 1979. Prior to that, he held the position of Chief of Staff to Governor Ed King before king crossed the aisle and joined the ranks of Republicans.
Still, the optimism and encouragement expressed by Guzzi and his constituents towards the governor, who even made it clear that he knows he didn’t govern in a perfect sense and made mistakes along the way, is a breath of fresh air.
:The Governor’s comments on unemployment insurance recognized that Massachusetts businesses are burdened by a system that is expensive and in need of reform,” added Guzzi.
As a first step, we need to freeze unemployment insurance rates for 2014 immediately, to avoid a scheduled 30 percent increase. Without a freeze, this rate increase will raise costs for Massachusetts employers by $500 million. We have also advocated for a balanced approach to the minimum wage and unemployment insurance reform issues — any proposals to increase the former should also address the latter. We look forward to working with the Governor and legislative leaders to advance these policies, which will strengthen our cost competitiveness.
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