Proposed tax hike

Members of the Alliance for Business Leadership have raised their families, built strong companies and created good jobs in Massachusetts for decades. In “Proposed state tax hike bad news for Massachusetts“(March 25, 2022), Charles Chieppo ignores the commitment and investment it takes to keep business growing and our communities strong.

Employers choose Massachusetts because, historically, we’ve boasted one of the highest skilled workforces in the nation, with an effective transportation system to facilitate education, work and family life. But state spending on transportation now stands at 39th in the nation, with nearly 650 bridges identified by our own Mass Dept. of Transportation as in a state of disrepair. The commonwealth’s investment in public colleges is just as disappointing; we rank 44th in public higher education funding.

We spend too much time in traffic. Middle-class families can’t afford to send their kids to a state university anymore. Demand for vocational skills training far exceeds available seats in our vocational schools. Like many of my colleagues in the business community, I went to school here. I’m a proud UMass Amherst graduate. My wife and I are raising our children here. This is my home.

If families and businesses are going to recover from the COVID pandemic, we need the Fair Share Amendment and the more than $1 billion it will dedicate every year to our schools, roads, rails and bridges. — Juan Carlos Morales, managing director at Surfside Capital Advisors; chair of the board of directors at the Alliance for Business Leadership, Boston