STATE HOUSE — With the ink barely dry from Gov. Charlie Baker's signature on an expansion of solar development incentives, the Bay State's power generators on Tuesday plan to intensify their opposition to the governor's efforts to import large-scale hydroelectric power to Massachusetts as the debate over energy moves to the next phase.
The New England Power Generators Association, whose member companies operate the lion's share of the generation capacity in Massachusetts, are launching a digital ad campaign targeting the expense, reliability and economic impact of importing hydropower from Canada.
Feminists are celebrating New York State's recent move to establish a government-run paid family leave program for all workers, and they are fighting for a similar law in Massachusetts and at the national level. But those who value workplace flexibility and economic liberty shouldn't cheer; this one-size-fits-all "solution" will come with serious consequences for women both as workers and as taxpayers.
Advocates of government-mandated family leave like to portray the United States as backward and grim, noting that in international comparisons of government-guaranteed paid-leave benefits, the U.S. often ranks last, behind much less-developed countries. But these comparisons overlook the fact that most full-time American workers today enjoy paid-leave benefits at work without government mandates, and they are free to work out the details of their leave directly with their employer in a way that satisfies all parties.
