The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) in Massachusetts, which represents thousands of small businesses across the state, issued the following statement from NFIB State Director Christopher Carlozzi in response to Governor Charlie Baker’s proposal allocating federal ARPA funds today:
“During the pandemic, the state of Massachusetts mandated that small businesses close their doors and restrict operations to stop the spread of the virus. That mandate led to a record number of layoffs and unemployment claims. Now, those hard hit employers are being told they are solely responsible for replenishing a nearly $7 billion deficit in the depleted unemployment insurance trust fund over a 20-year span without a cent of federal aid.
While a majority of states used, or committed to use, federal aid to provide UI tax relief for struggling businesses, Massachusetts has yet to allocate any of the billions of dollars in federal money for unemployment insurance. Governor Baker and the Legislature must help struggling businesses and use a significant portion of federal dollars for the UI trust fund to encourage job growth and speed the state’s economic recovery. The state-mandated restrictions and overly generous state benefits helped fuel the current UI crisis, and now the state should help employers pay for it.”
