“Anyone who makes more than a million dollars in a single year can easily afford to pay a little more to help build a stronger economy for all of us.”
The last time we checked in with readers about Question 1, known by supporters as the Fair Share Amendment, news had just broken that Patriots owner Robert Kraft and other moneymen are funding the campaign against a proposed constitutional amendment to add a 4% surtax on annual household income above $1 million. It was no surprise that football fans didn’t revolt, but we still wanted to make sure that the details registered for those who are rightfully turned off when golden turds like Kraft fight measures meant to help the common Masshole.
And we’ll keep reminding you about how this battle is going until it’s over. And if it fails this time around because people are too stupid to do what it good for them, as happened with the ballot question over nurse-patient assignment limits in 2018, then we’ll still hammer the point home until it comes back up again—the wealthiest do not currently pay their fair share, and it’s important to do anything we can to make sure they cough it up.
This past weekend, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu stepped up to the plate, joining Q1 supporters in Jamaica Plain for canvassing. The day of campaigning came on the heels of the Fair Share Amendment’s fourth (and dare I say strongest) TV commercial to date; titled “Brewery,” the spot features Karsen Eckweiler, co-owner of Democracy Brewing in Boston, “explaining how small businesses like ours have struggled during COVID.”
“Question 1 is a great opportunity to make things better for everyone,” she says. “It raises $2 billion that the constitution requires goes to public schools, colleges, and roads. That means more jobs and better opportunities. That’s good for all businesses, big and small.”
“Question 1 wouldn’t make small businesses like ours pay a single penny more. But every business in Massachusetts will benefit when we have a more reliable transportation system to get our customers in the door and our employees to and from work,” Eckweiler added in a statement. “We’ll all benefit from better schools and colleges that prepare a well-educated workforce. And anyone who makes more than a million dollars in a single year can easily afford to pay a little more—just four cents on every dollar from their second million, and everything above it—to help build a stronger economy for all of us.”
Needless to say, we’ll be supporting Democracy Brewing and the other 75-plus businesses whose owners are selfless enough to back the ballot measure, as well as Question 1 in November.
A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.