About the millionaires tax
It’s called the Fair Share Amendment for a reason
Boo-hoo to all the millionaires and billionaires who don’t feel they are “welcome anymore” in Massachusetts (“Among the rich, eyes turn to less taxing pastures,” Page A1, April 9). I’m a 25-year-old college graduate who’s lived here all my life, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to afford to buy a house in the state I’ve always loved. I’m tens of thousands of dollars in debt for an undergraduate degree. I don’t ride the T anymore because I’m afraid it might cost me a limb.
Actually, maybe they have a point: I’m not so sure I feel welcome here anymore, either.
JAYE GLENN
Cambridge
The problem with the gossiping and hand-wringing from some business leaders; accountants for the superrich; and the Globe about wealthy Bay Staters “fleeing” Massachusetts for tax havens is that they are entirely focused on the wrong challenge facing our state.
The real challenge is the young people who graduate from our excellent public and private colleges but cannot afford to stay in Massachusetts given their crushing student debt burden, high housing costs, and broken public transportation system.
The real challenge is the low- and middle-income working families who want to continue raising their children here but are struggling due to sky-high child-care costs and other unaffordable living expenses.
The real challenge is the seniors who have lived and worked in Massachusetts for decades and want to retire here but wonder if they will be able to do so with basic financial security and dignity.
Pursuing solutions to these real challenges is what Governor Maura Healey and state lawmakers need to focus on.
STATE SENATOR JASON LEWIS
Winchester
The Globe story about millionaires possibly leaving the state due to the fair share tax said that some of the extremely wealthy are angry that their contributions to the state are not being “rewarded and respected for what they’ve done.”
Consider, who does more for the overall well-being of our Commonwealth than our sanitation workers? Without their literally back-breaking work, we would be living in filth and stench, at risk of many infectious diseases and surrounded by swarms of insects, rodents, and other animals endangering children and adults. Sanitation workers are our foundation of public health and, in that manner, democracy. Yet their rewards are not anything near the requirement to pay the extra 4 percent income tax.
Others whose work is invaluable for sustaining the good life in Massachusetts are child-care workers, educational support professionals, teachers, nurses, librarians, supermarket employees, postal workers, and countless others whose rewards don’t trigger paying the 4 percent surtax. And then there are the many mothers who raise children for no compensation.
No one amasses great wealth without the deep contributions of many workers and public infrastructure and services. So, to those wealthy individuals considering moving to a tax haven, please reflect on what the rest of us have provided for you and pay your fair share.
CRAIG SLATIN
Medford
Be aware of perpetuating antisemitic stereotypes
I was disturbed by the Globe’s front-page article on Easter Sunday that contained this phrase in the first paragraph: The conversation among a group of successful retirement-age individuals “over lox, bagels, and a commanding view of the city below … eventually turned to … the ‘millionaires tax.’” I’m concerned with how Jewish people are seemingly portrayed.
The Anti-Defamation League recently reported a 36 percent increase in antisemitic acts in 2022 over 2021, the majority of which involved harassment. Stereotypes of Jews reinforce hostility toward the Jewish people, giving tacit approval to continued bias and hate.
How ironic that this article appeared on Easter (and in the middle of Passover). The New Testament tells us, among other things, that the whole passion story was ignited by Jesus’ rage over corrupt financial activity in the temple in Jerusalem. Dangerous stereotypes persist.
BETTY MORNINGSTAR
Falmouth