Last week, the Joint Committee on Housing met to hear testimony about Governor Healey’s Affordable Homes Act. Speakers were held to 2-minute talks, and the talking went on from 11 AM to 10 PM. Governor Healey, Lieutenant Governor Driscoll, and Housing Secretary Edward Augustus spoke (in person). As did Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston (by
The Boston Globe article about the transfer fee, last week, was pretty confusing. I think the R--®s like it that way. I wrote about similar transfer fee proposals just three weeks ago. Since then, I gave testimony to a committee at the State House in support of a transfer fee. Last week, a transfer fee
This summer, I have been out front on efforts that aid affordable housing in metro Boston. I was approached to work on an op-ed with colleague Brian Sullivan that was published at the end of August in the Boston Business Journal. It was about a proposed transfer fee in Massachusetts. A quick timeline on affordable housing: The
Affordable housing is not just a good idea. It is essential to a functioning economy. Eastern Massachusetts’s economy runs on hospitals, colleges, and businesses. They employ tech workers, building construction and maintenance workers, and many young professional workers. There is a chronic problem with recruiting nurses and entry level professionals because of the cost of