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          Premier Event
          2025 Annual Meeting

          Join us for our highly anticipated Annual Meeting, Greater Boston's top business convening of the year.

          05/20/2025

          4:30pm - 8:00pm

          Omni Boston Hotel

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Pacesetters
          Doing Business with Columbia Construction

          This virtual event gives small business owners the chance to hear directly from procurement officers about opportunities to work with them.

          05/29/2025

          12:00pm - 1:00pm

          Virtual

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          City Awake
          Art of Connection: An Evening at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

          Join us for an exclusive networking event at the Museum of Fine Arts and enjoy self-guided tours of John Wilson and Van Gogh, showcasing the deep bond of family, friendship, and community.

          06/05/2025

          5:30pm - 8:30pm

          Museum of Fine Arts

          arrow-go
          Read More
  • Learning & Development
        • Learning & Development

          • Overview
          • Call for Nominations
          • Insights
        • Transformational DEI Certificate

          This program is in redevelopment. Click this page for DEI resources.

          Read More
          Women’s Leadership Program

          Our Women’s Leadership Program enables you to take your leadership to the next level by arming you with the most in-demand leadership toolkit.

          Read More
          Boston’s Future Leaders

          Our Boston’s Future Leaders (BFL) program provides emerging leaders with a socially conscious and civically engaged leadership toolkit, as well as the opportunity to apply their knowledge through experiential assignments.

          Read More
          Authentic Professionalism for Early Career Professionals

          Join us on June 12 for a highly interactive virtual workshop with Strategic Career & Leadership Coach Carole-Ann Penney.

          Read More
  • Economic Inclusion
        • Economic Inclusion

          • Overview
          • Pacesetters
          • Resources
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          City Awake

          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
          Economic Inclusion
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          arrow-go
          Read More
        • ...
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          Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.

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          Small Business

          Small businesses are the backbone of the Boston economy. Learn more about the resources available through the Chamber.

          Read More
          City Awake

          City Awake empowers young professionals in a variety of ways that encourages these rising leaders to stay invested in the region’s future success.

          Read More
          BIMA

          BIMA (the Boston Interactive Media Association) serves a vibrant community of like-minded professionals from agencies, brands, publishers, and ad-tech companies with business interests in the New England market.

          Read More
          Women’s Network

          For over 30 years, the Chamber’s Women’s Network has connected female professionals of all background and career levels. Today, our Women’s Network is the largest in New England, strengthening the professional networks of women each year.

          Read More
          Massachusetts Apprentice Network

          The Massachusetts Apprentice Network convenes employers, training providers, and talent sources interested in developing and implementing apprenticeship programs in occupations across industries and statewide in fields such as tech, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and more.

          Read More
          Pacesetters

          We are developing an ecosystem of corporations and partners with the influence and buying power to transform economic inclusion for minority business enterprises (MBEs).

          Read More
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The Road to Economic Recovery

October 15, 2020

Read the Road to Economic Recovery policy recommendations here.

Massachusetts faces a stark economic picture that underscores the need for a strong recovery. Employment is worse than the Great Recession, there are job losses in every sector combined with fewer jobs being posted, small businesses are struggling, and less freight cargo is arriving at Logan Airport. Plus, there’s an existential threat to the state’s competitive advantage: the shift to remote work means that having talent in close proximity to business could become less important for both employers and employees.

When policymakers consider which steps to take to restore and strengthen our economy, the Chamber recommends using the following core principles.

Principles for The Road to Economic Recovery

  • Avoid policies that damage or inhibit an economic recovery. Economic growth generates new state revenue organically, while a stagnant economy places ever-rising burdens on residents in the form of both spending reductions and tax increases. Supporting a strong economic recovery will benefit the residents of Massachusetts, employers, and the state budget.

 

  • Recovery must provide equal opportunities across race, gender, income, and geography. Massachusetts can use this recovery to reduce inequality by ensuring that its policies embrace and support residents who were historically left out of the region’s economic growth.

 

  • To close budget gaps, the burden must be shared. The state should balance controlling expenses, borrowing, and revenue in ways that support equitable economic growth. Revenue includes federal aid, stabilization fund, and tax amnesty. If federal funding becomes available, the state should be prepared to obtain maximum federal aid as soon as possible.

 

  • Any revenue increase to close the budget gap should be temporary, simple, and based on the existing tax structure, with a share of the increase dedicated to stimulating economic development and growth. It should also be accompanied with other changes to ease the burden of doing business in Massachusetts, like unemployment reforms and liability protections, and relief for low-and moderate income individuals, such as increasing the EITC or expanding access to online training opportunities.

 

  • Policymakers should review proposals in the context of existing burdens. These include but are not limited to:
    • Unemployment Insurance: According to the Department of Unemployment Assistance’s August report, UI rate increases are projected to cost an average of $319 per employee in 2021 and an additional $55 in 2022.
    • 2018 Ballot Measures: Paid family and medical leave is a major new mandated employer benefit and benefits begin on January 1, 2021. There will be costs for employers in the form of both premiums and replacement workers and lost productivity. Compounding the burden for small employers, a higher minimum wage also takes effect on January 1.
    • State’s Contribution to Federal Revenues: The federal government has already authorized $3 trillion in coronavirus relief and that may increase. While the state can and should benefit from additional aid, the bill for federal spending will eventually come due. Since Massachusetts pays a disproportionate share of federal taxes – accounting for 3.4% of all gross IRS tax collections but only 2.1% of total US population in FY 2019 – when it comes to restoring federal finances, the burden will fall on Massachusetts employers and residents.

Download the Road to Economic Recovery

Download

Carolyn Ryan

Senior Vice President, Policy & Research

[email protected]
617-557-7310

265 Franklin Street
Suite 1701
Boston, MA 02110
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