CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – A comprehensive plan for the Bay State economy, aimed at creating “a culture of opportunity,” was unveiled this morning by Gov. Deval L. Patrick.
“State government has its limitations, but it has its responsibilities as well,” Patrick said in his 10:30 address at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Business Management.
“The vitality of our Commonwealth is driven by uncommonly talented people,” he added. “Whether you manage a mutual fund or work in the State House, whether you toil over a lab bench or manufacture precision tools, people are the source of our prosperity today – and the source of my confidence in tomorrow.”
His stimulus plan calls for a $3.8 billion structurally deficient bridge program, to begin repairing the hundreds of faulty bridges across Massachusetts. It seeks $20 million in local infrastructure grants for “development-ready” projects, to stimulate job and economic growth.
It calls on the Mass. Department of Housing and Community Development to create a $20 million pool to buy vacant foreclosed properties. The money would be loaned to local nonprofit developers “to secure properties for rapid rehabilitation and re-occupancy, keeping them out of the hands of speculators and revitalizing our neighborhoods.” Funding would be concentrated in areas like New Bedford with a high concentration of vacant properties.
But it also calls for $200 million in additional savings from this year’s budget, on top of the $500 million in budget reductions proposed last year and the $344 million Patrick included in this year’s budget plan. And it directs state Cabinet members to “forego non-essential hiring and postpone programming,” even though state revenue so far this year is “running ahead of benchmark.”
Meanwhile, Patrick said, his administration will continue to work with the Legislature to provide energy assistance, limit health care costs and otherwise strengthen the state’s safety net.
It also will pursue economic development opportunities, encouraging innovation; seeking opportunities for investment and collaboration with foreign markets, as in the recent China Trade Mission; and working to foster regional economies by focusing attention on gateway communities, using Devens as a model, “so that we can reinforce long-term economic opportunity for all regions of the Commonwealth.”
“As we face uncertain times in our national economy, we must continue to take actions that will keep the Commonwealth’s economy moving forward,” Patrick said. “Government alone cannot create new jobs, but we create conditions that foster a culture of opportunity that helps secure the state’s short-term fiscal health and guarantees our long-term economic prosperity.”
MassDevelopment, MassHousing and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative already have agreed to pledge resources and assistance to help implement the plan, the governor said. Joining him at the Sloan School for the announcement were business and government leaders including House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, Senate President Therese Murray and MIT President Susan Hockfield.
“Even before taking office, Governor Patrick understood that two of the great intellectual strengths of this region could also be great economic strengths: the life sciences and clean energy,” Hockfield said. “From cancer research, to biological engineering, to the leading edge of energy technology, MIT is developing ideas that can help improve the human condition and accelerate the state’s economic growth.”
Sloan School Dean David Schmittlein added: “When people across the world hear ‘MIT,’ they naturally think about innovation, about technology and science. And they’re right. But they don’t always recognize how directly this affects economic development in the Commonwealth.”
Additional news and information from the governor’s office can be found at www.mass.gov.
