Massachusetts Business Survey: Things Don't Look Promising

According to a recently-released Associated Industries of Massachusetts survey, Bay State employers don't think much of the business climate there. The AIM survey matches the picture painted by the state's tech leaders.

Here's how the AIM press release summarizes findings.

When asked to rank specific business concerns that impact the competitiveness of their respective operations, the cost of health care, fuel, electricity, employment costs (unemployment insurance/ workers compensation), and state taxes all   ranked as the areas of most concern.  Issues such as costs of HR, labor laws and environmental regulations along with the quality of elementary and secondary education, transportation, workforce availability, local taxes, housing costs and global trade issues were also significant in the rankings.

I'm not singling Massachusetts out for special attention, although by any measure it's a state that Washington business leaders benchmark against for its strong tech sector and cluster of top academic institutions. Rather, I think it's important to recognize how business leaders across the country assess their competitive challenges. Health care, energy, employment and state taxes would surely top the list of a similar survey here.

The 2009 legislative session will be the most critical test of our commitment to a competitive economy in more than a decade. And the stakes are higher than ever before, with the increased mobility of labor and capital.