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Hinds, Rosenberg Discuss A Berkshire Innovation Economy

JD Allen
/
WAMC
State Senator Adam Hinds and Senate President Stan Rosenberg of Amherst, both Democrats, met with representatives of the Berkshire creative economy.

Massachusetts Senator Adam Hinds hosted a roundtable with state Senate President Stan Rosenberg on Friday in Pittsfield. The focus was how the Berkshires can overcome economic limitations.

State Senator Adam Hinds and Senate President Stan Rosenberg of Amherst, both Democrats, met with representatives of the Berkshire creative economy, business leaders, municipal officials and residents to discuss participation in the Massachusetts Innovation Economy program.

“You know, often you have heard me talk about there is sometimes this disconnect between what is happening in the eastern part of the state and what we feel out here,” Hinds says.

Hinds, in his first term, says the innovation economy is really taking off in Boston, but is lackluster in the Berkshires.

“And as we kind of look through what our own strategies look like to capitalize on some of those opportunities, we have to be very deliberate,” Hinds says.

Patrick Larkin, director of the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative's Innovation Institute, says innovation starts at home.

“You concentrate on your own indigenous strengths in your region,” Larkin says.

Art and tourism is the state’s third-largest industry, creating about 135,000 jobs and generating more than $1.3 billion in tax revenue. And the Berkshires brings in a lot of that money.

But Senate President Rosenberg says there are regional and statewide challenges to overcome.

“If we don’t address the revenue system and we don’t address education, transportation and climate change, in particular, and if this region, if we don’t address energy crisis, and statewide if we don’t address healthcare,” Rosenberg says. “Those five challenges are the challenges of the moment.”

An aging population coupled with declining population growth have hindered the region’s ability to teach and find skilled workers to settle down in the region, Rosenberg says. 

"Overall, in general, the commonwealth as a whole, we are a high-quality state for life, work, and building businesses, and quality of life. And… but we are being compromised in terms of the next generation of this because we don't have transportation infrastructure and we don't have the education infrastructure,” Rosenberg says.

Rosenberg says the region has fallen behind in public education funding over the past 15 years – and in closing the achievement gap, which especially limits minority and poor communities. He says 40 percent of the state can’t read at grade level by grade 4, and it’s been that way for the last 20 years.

Rosenberg also wants to upgrade the state’s tax system.

“People are buying online instead of on Main Street. People aren’t making as much money so they don’t have as much disposable income. Kids are coming out of college with extraordinary debt and that is where our population growth is: immigrants and college students,” Rosenberg says.

On transportation, Rosenberg says improving roadways and rail systems will draw more residents, a better workforce and tourism – vital to the Berkshires economy.

The Massachusetts Senate approved an amendment to the budget that will direct MassDOT to create a working group to explore the feasibility of establishing seasonal passenger rail service from New York City to Berkshire County.

Seasonal weekend rail service is predicted to have an impact of $700 million over a 10-year period by connecting more out-of-state tourists to the region’s cultural attractions.

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