Manufacturing, gambling and basic trades are pivotal to the Massachusetts job market, according to Independent Gubernatorial candidate Tim Cahill in an exclusive interview with Spare Change News.
“The job growth problem trickles up to people with Bachelor’s degrees trying to get entry level jobs,” said Cahill, the current Treasurer of Massachusetts, at his campaign headquarters office.
Cahill stated that while Governor Deval Patrick’s investment into life and biological sciences has kept the state’s economy afloat, those sectors simply do not provide steady income for people without extensive levels of higher education.
The treasurer noted a particular manufacturing plant he visited in Springfield where they created environmentally friendly shingles that has an international demand for their product but currently cannot expand because they only have 20 employees.
“Everything they make is recycled and they’re saving trees that don’t have to be turned into cedar,” added Cahill.
Cahill argued that manufacturing has declined because of the state’s high taxes and highly regulated business community, as well as the strict environmental rules.
“There needs to be a balance,” said Cahill, in reference to creating new jobs and meeting regulations.
Like Patrick, Cahill supports and promotes gambling and the creation of casinos in the Commonwealth as a method of bringing revenue to the state and jobs for blue collar workers.
“In fact, I came out before Patrick in 2006 to support gambling and even one step further I am open to slot machines.” said Cahill.
“I oversee the state lottery. It gives people the opportunity to spend their entertainment dollar. It doesn’t mean that it won’t create problems. Adults should be able to spend money the way they see fit. I think they should be spending it here, instead of Connecticut or Rhode Island.” added Cahill.
While the treasurer admitted that gambling may cause cyclical poverty, he argued that it is only among a small percentage of the population and that unemployment would be far more severe.
In reference to housing crisis, Cahill argued that people should have the rights to keep their houses by giving them the authority to challenge banks when their homes have been foreclosed.
Cahill stated that he is opposed to changing the 40B referendum which created affordable housing by building complexes in densely populated areas.
“We have to do everything that creates a supply of affordable housing,” said Cahill.
While Cahill believes that the state’s current health care system is severely flawed, he argued that it should be reformed but not completely abandoned.
“It is just too expensive and eating too much of our budget. We need to seek more competition for health care providers. There needs to be tort reform on medical malpractice insurance and people should not have to pay for services they do not need,” argued Cahill.
Cahill noted that he fears national health care system similar to that of Massachusetts because of its high costs.
“We should strive to get everyone covered but we need to look at ways that are feasible to balancing the budget,” argued Cahill.
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