Charlie Baker Has a Good Idea (Boston: credit, home, schools)

[AtkinsonDan]

I have been really annoyed with the lack of action from the state on growing traffic and transportation in general, but this is definitely something the state should be offering.

https://boston.curbed.com/2019/7/26/...ing-tax-credit
“Nationally, there has been an increase in the proportion of workers who work from home, but telecommuting is not as prevalent in Massachusetts,” Baker said in prepared remarks. “We still have a larger share of workers that ride transit rather than work from home, which is the opposite of the national trend. The Greater Boston area also ranks far below other areas with similar economies and demographics when it comes to remote working.”

The big question here is why is Massachusetts so far behind the rest of the nation?

[OutdoorLover]

I do think that's a good idea, thanks for sharing.

[yesmaybe]

This is a bad idea. If companies wanted/hired remote workers, they wouldn't want to be in Boston because of how expensive it is.

[CaseyB]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

This is a bad idea. If companies wanted/hired remote workers, they wouldn't want to be in Boston because of how expensive it is.

You have a point, but some companies want them in the general vicinity but they can work from home a few days a week.

It sounds to me like he knows the transportation system will never be adequate for the large volume of workers here so he's trying to pressure employers to offer this.

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

You have a point, but some companies want them in the general vicinity but they can work from home a few days a week.

It sounds to me like he knows the transportation system will never be adequate for the large volume of workers here so he's trying to pressure employers to offer this.

Here is a second article on the subject. This article actually identifies the metro areas that are more friendly to remote workers. Believe it or not but on this topic Atlanta is much more progressive than Boston. Atlanta is in-line with the more well known to be progressive cities in the west.
https://www.masslive.com/news/2019/0...outputType=amp

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by CaseyB

You have a point, but some companies want them in the general vicinity but they can work from home a few days a week.

It sounds to me like he knows the transportation system will never be adequate for the large volume of workers here so he's trying to pressure employers to offer this.

I agree. I am in pharma/biotech and most of these companies want to be here primarily because of the local workforce in my opinion. If you're a scientist and work in the lab doing experiments, you have to come in pretty much every day. But for most other employees, working from home 1-2 days a week is doable without significant adverse impacts on e.g. communications.

[yesmaybe]

The other problem is that remote work doesn't really work (heh) with inexperienced workers, and a big part of the appeal of Boston to employers is all of those cheap college graduates the schools pump out.

I'm assuming Charlie is talking about more than just working from home on Fridays.

[bugelrex]

Working remotely - careful what you wish for. When companies have the infrastructure to work with a large number of remote workers then paying someone in India 10k a year vs 100k a year becomes very attractive to the bean counting CEO to boost their bonus...

[massnative71]

"Charlie Baker has a great idea".


Resign?

[AtkinsonDan]

Originally Posted by massnative71

"Charlie Baker has a great idea".


Resign?

I know you don't like him but in my opinion he presented an outside the box idea for (partially) addressing the insane level of vehicular traffic in eastern MA. I'd still like to see the state upgrade some critical intersections and interchanges but this idea is good if done in tandem with other improvements.