Many Massachusetts Republicans are tearing into Governor Maura Healey after she posted a cheerful Small Business Week message praising local entrepreneurs, while many business owners say they are barely surviving under the state’s rising costs. This isn’t the first time she has come under fire, but this moment looks especially bad, as the state is in bad shape for small businesses, and lately, more have closed than have remained open.
In a recent social media post, Healey celebrated small businesses as the “heart and soul” of Massachusetts and thanked owners for supporting local communities during National Small Business Week. But the online response quickly turned hostile, with critics accusing the administration of ignoring skyrocketing rents, taxes, energy costs, and regulations that are crushing independent shops across the state. Here is her statement in full.
Happy Small Business Week, Massachusetts! Small businesses are the heart and soul of our neighborhoods. That’s why the Mass Wins Act will help entrepreneurs get started, cut costs and grow their business. Shop small and support local.
As you can imagine, with the reputation she has earned due to expensive taxes and electrical prices, policy on big business moving in, and frequent pandering, the local GOP had plenty to say about the celebration.
“She doing her best to put small businesses out of business unless you are a minority. DEI is racist.”
“Cut costs and grow their business’? That’s outright gaslighting. Massachusetts ranks 49th in the country for cost of doing business and is one of the most expensive states to operate in—driven by high taxes, wages, utilities, and real estate.”
“Then why are you crushing them with high energy costs and taxes?”
“The small business of the fake Somalian daycares costing millions to the taxpayers but you don’t care.”
The anger is palpable among many frustrated residents, and Massachusetts Governor Healey’s upbeat Small Business Week message landed poorly at a time when many local shops say survival is their primary concern ahead of a big midterm election.
