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Chris Gabrieli discusses his economic development vision at breakfast sponsored by Mass Insight

Boston, July 27 – "Massachusetts is currently less than the sum of its parts," said Chris Gabrieli at a July 27 Global Massachusetts 2015 breakfast. "We need to embrace growth so we can afford to reduce taxes and fund programs that promote altruism and social justice."

At the breakfast, which was sponsored by Mass Insight and hosted by Berkeley Investments President Young Park at Boston's Downtown Harvard Club, Gabrieli said the most important ingredients for promoting economic growth are innovation and human capital.

Innovation
Gabrieli touted several proposals designed to leverage innovation into economic growth and jobs. He advocated spending $1 billion in state bond funds over a decade to fund advanced technology efforts in Massachusetts. He also said that as governor, he would hire a science and technology director, who would be located within the Governor's office.

He expressed support for the Cape Wind project, but said he thought the Commonwealth could get a better deal. More generally, Gabrieli said renewable energy represents an economic opportunity for Massachusetts, particularly since no other location has risen to the forefront in that developing industry.

Human Capital
Noting that innovation goes beyond just technology, Gabrieli called for increased investment in innovation within the Commonwealth's education budget. He specifically discussed funding a longer school day — which would provide more time for the hands-on learning that particularly lends itself to the fields of science and technology — and magnet schools, such as New York's prestigious Bronx High School of Science.

Gabrieli also endorsed increased investment in public higher education, saying that Massachusetts is not keeping up in terms of producing graduates with advanced degrees.

Think Globally—and Regionally
Gabrieli said we must leverage Boston's international cachet. Through appropriate trade missions and use of international contacts, we should strive to make Boston the U.S. headquarters for international companies, as recently happened with Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company that established its global R&D headquarters in Cambridge.

Addressing major challenges for the next governor, Gabrieli said we must do a better job of extending Boston's economic benefits to places like Worcester and Lawrence. He also said it is critical that Springfield come back from its current fiscal woes and noted that UMass Amherst, as the economic engine for western Massachusetts, should be at the center of that effort.

NOTE: Mass Insight is sponsoring a series of Global Massachusetts 2015 Roundtables to facilitate discussion between gubernatorial candidates and business and education leaders.

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