Keller: Who is to blame for Massachusetts's flailing economy?
The opinions expressed below are Jon Keller's, not those of WBZ, CBS News or Paramount Global.
Massachusetts is already feeling the economic pinch, although economists say the broad impact of tariffs likely won't be felt until June or July. And the argument over who's to blame is in full swing.
Nationwide, the inflation rate is down for the third straight month. The Labor Department says consumer prices rose 2.3% in April, the smallest increase in more than four years.
Massachusetts inflation is ahead of the curve
"We have a lot of great things going for us, but like many states right now, we struggle with costs," said Gov. Maura Healey at an announcement of steps she's taking to ease the bite of energy costs.
But when the academic watchdog group MassBenchmarks released its latest report on the state economy, which shows inflation and unemployment are running ahead of national levels amid an economic slowdown, Healey's critics at the state Republican Party pounced.
"We do put the blame really at the feet of the governor," said Massachusetts GOP Chair Amy Carnevale, who claims Healey is squandering state funds on things like housing and services for migrants while driving up the cost of living with expensive rules aimed at reducing environmental damage. "Some of the mandates that were put in place a number of years ago and supported by the Healey administration for the goals for green energy, we think, has had significant impact on the rates for Massachusetts homeowners," she says.
Never mind that those mandates were signed into law by a Republican governor, Charlie Baker.
How tariffs are hurting Massachusetts
"The state's economy has been growing more slowly than that of the nation," noted Northeastern Professor Alan Clayton-Matthews, senior contributing editor for MassBenchmarks. He said Healey's policy choices, while crucial, are not the main source of our economic sore spots.
"The current administration largely affects future growth, not current growth, and that's less true of the federal government, where administrations can conduct fiscal and monetary policy that immediately affect growth," he said.
Countered Carnevale: "Nationally, we are experiencing what we think is a short-term impact at the national level. Here in Massachusetts, the impact is far greater, and we think the tariffs alone does not explain the data that was released this week."
It's Carnevale's job to point the finger at Healey. But two can play the blame game.
"No state in the country can begin to make up for the kind of cuts that are being talked about," said the governor.
Many states may feel the effects of federal cuts and tariffs, but Massachusetts is especially vulnerable. We rely more heavily on federal grants and foreign trade than some other states, and we're counting on a continuing focus on fighting off damage from climate change to fuel emerging climate tech industries.
Carnevale is in sync with a lot of swing voters here when she denounces one-party rule. But her position gets tricky when she has to defend the actions of the one-party rule in Washington.
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