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NH Republicans ‘endorse’ Healey, saying her policies are driving businesses out of Mass.
"If people are going to jump ship and leave the state of Massachusetts, New Hampshire is going to be that life boat," Republican Brian Labrie said.
A group of New Hampshire Republicans gathered inside the Massachusetts State House Thursday to “endorse” Gov. Maura Healey, saying that her policies are driving business to the Granite State.
New Hampshire state reps. Brian Labrie, Joe Sweeney, and Joe Alexander partnered with the conservative-leaning think tank Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance for the event. They displayed a poster comparing New Hampshire’s low or nonexistent taxes to those in Massachusetts, above a message that read “New Hampshire can’t afford to lose a friend like Maura!”
The exercise was meant to send a message to Massachusetts lawmakers, Fiscal Alliance Director Paul Craney told Boston.com.
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“We’re not trying to bash Massachusetts,” he said. “What we’re trying to do is wake up people in the State House.”
Craney pointed to a few developments that he believes should be seen setting off alarms for leaders in Massachusetts.
SynQor, an electronics manufacturer based in Boxborough, announced earlier this month that it would be moving its operations to Salem, New Hampshire next year. The company employs about 250 people, and it is taking all of those jobs to Salem. Analogic, a Peabody-based company that manufactures security equipment for medical facilities and airports, is also moving to Salem and taking some 500 jobs with it.
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Labrie, who chairs the New Hampshire House Small Business Coalition, told Boston.com Friday that he expects more businesses to follow suit.
“This could be the tip of the spear,” he said. “You could see a lot of businesses that are economically strained or taxed out, literally, migrating to New Hampshire. We welcome it.”
Massachusetts is a “valued neighbor,” Labrie insisted. But if residents and businesses are ready to leave, New Hampshire stands ready to take them, he said.
Mass. vs. New Hampshire
“We don’t want any ill will in Mass.,” he said. “But at the end of the day, if people are going to jump ship and leave the state of Massachusetts, New Hampshire is going to be that life boat. We’re going to take them.”
Salem, in particular, is becoming a “powerhouse” economically with the help of Sweeney’s leadership, Labrie said.
Craney also highlighted recent data from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development from the month of September. It showed that the state had 1,200 fewer employed residents that month, and that payroll jobs decreased by 11,100. Officials also reported an improved unemployment rate of 4.7%.
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About one in three Massachusetts voters have considered leaving Massachusetts within the last year, according to a recent poll from Suffolk University and The Boston Globe. According to a survey of former residents who recently left for Florida or New Hampshire conducted by Mass Opportunity Alliance, tax policy was the main factor that caused them to leave. These tax concerns spanned all income brackets and political affiliation, according to that survey.
Other reports paint a different picture. The Massachusetts Budget & Policy Center, for example, has found that data does not indicate Massachusetts is experiencing a crisis of outmigration.
State officials have pointed to findings like the fact that Massachusetts ranked number one in the country in an assessment of healthcare access and affordability by the Commonwealth Fund. The state’s top-tier public education system draws people to Massachusetts, they say.
Craney would like to see Massachusetts emulate states like Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Tennessee, he said. He advocated for cutting taxes, cutting regulations, and fostering innovation. North Carolina, in particular, is seeing a biotech boom that Craney says is linked to its gradually declining corporate income tax rate.
“We can’t continue to do what we’re doing. We need to change course and just mimic the top five states in this country that have tremendous economic growth right now,” he said.
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When asked about the message from the New Hampshire Republicans, Healey told reporters that she has deep affection for the state — she was raised in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire — but is glad that she lives in Massachusetts.
“Massachusetts is a state that leads in education, innovation and health care. Our economy is about eight times the size of New Hampshire’s. Every day, hundreds of thousands of people are actually leaving New Hampshire to come work for companies and jobs in Massachusetts, because Massachusetts, at the end of the day, provides the economic engine to New Hampshire,” Healey said, according to State House News Service. “New Hampshire doesn’t have a GDP without Massachusetts and what we provide.”
Labrie believes that he and his colleagues did succeed in sending a powerful message to officials in Massachusetts. The fact that Healey felt the need to respond at all “speaks volumes,” he said.
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