February 24, 2005 1:45 PM

Recipe for Mass. job growth?
Posted by at 1:45 PM

With this year's Fleet Boston/Bank of America merger and the recent Gillette-Proctor & Gamble deal fresh off the presses, Govenor Romney has proposed a $600m plan for job growth in Massachusetts. The question now becomes, is it enough to keep other local companies here? Also, is the 20,000 jobs over a span of five years goal enough to jump start the Mass. economy and will it pass muster with the Mass. Legislature?

Governor Mitt Romney yesterday proposed a $600 million plan to boost job growth by streamlining development rules, cutting unemployment insurance taxes, increasing the state's marketing efforts, and targeting incentives at companies that expand or relocate in Massachusetts.

Under fire for an anemic economic recovery and corporate takeovers costing the state thousands of jobs, Romney outlined one of the most comprehensive and ambitious economic initiatives of his administration at a breakfast meeting of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He estimated his plan would create at least 20,000 jobs over five years.

Implementing it, however, may be a challenge. Many of the proposed initiatives require approval from the Democrat-dominated Legislature, a body with which the Republican governor has not had much success.