A wave of change may be coming for workers and businesses in Massachusetts. Today, the House voted to advance legislation — known as the grand bargain — that deals with wages, paid leave and sales tax issues that were headed to the November ballot. The grand bargain is set to raise the minimum wage from $11 to $15 per hour, establish paid family and medical leave, and make the annual sales tax holiday weekend a permanent fixture in the calendar. The goal was to avoid a costly fight on the November ballot between competing proposals and Gov. Charlie Baker says it was the right move.
But while Beacon Hill seems to have dodged a ballot question bullet — they got a gut check when the Supreme Judicial Court ruled this week against a proposed millionaire tax, which would have raised $2 billion a year allowing a tax-phobic governor and legislature a way to invest in an ailing MBTA and underfunded schools.
So, in an election year when voters are being promised expensive fixes and new initiatives, will taxes be at the center of fall campaigns? Jim Braude was joined by Boston Globe columnist and WGBH contributor Shirley Leung, Chair of the Massachusetts Republican Party Kirsten Hughes, and House Chair of the Committee on Transportation, Democratic state Rep. William Straus of Mattapoisett.
