So, the Patrick administration is launching a “first-of-its-kind study” to scope out the impacts of Massachusetts’ underground economy (“Mass. to study state’s underground economy,” Business, Dec. 5). This is a timely development indeed given the apparent shift in the economy to employment practices that too often result in “misclassifying workers as independent contractors,” where they work in part-time, tenuous positions that lack benefits.
In this state where the politically connected can retire from public-sector jobs (for example, the heads of the Chelsea Housing Authority and the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority) with hundreds of thousands of dollars due them in pension funds and “unused” vacation time, thousands of workers are employed in state institutions under conditions more typical of the underground economy.
Comments
wow... incredibly well put... and what an indictment of a system that mistreats ultra-qualified workers and rewards with cushy jobs the well connected. I am progressive and have tended to vote mostly democrat but am utterly disgusted with the continued cronyism in this state. If I can't vote Republican, I can always vote blank... which has become a more and more tempting option. THank you for your great letter.