We are Massachusetts. You can’t rain on our parade.

We are Massachusetts. You can’t rain on our parade.

Massachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, the first to pass a minimum wage law, and the first to adopt a child labor law. Massachusetts is home to the first public library, the first public school, and the first subway. Massachusetts was the first to recognize July 4th as a state celebration and John Hancock, representing Massachusetts in the Continental Congress, was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence.

John Adams, another Massachusetts representative to the Continental Congress, would be pleased with our resilience these past couple days. 238 years ago, in a letter to his wife, he believed the signing would be “celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival … with pomp and parade”

When most people think of the Declaration of Independence we celebrate every July 4th they recall the line famously attributed to Thomas Jefferson:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

To me, there’s no better reason for America to proudly proclaim ‘you can’t rain on our parade’; however, a hurricane is a different story. With the parades actually being cancelled, the power out, and some time to read to my daughter, I was struck by the lines that come next.

“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, … laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

Our founders fought against a hurricane of tyranny. The hurricane I’m worried about today isn’t named Arthur - the power was back on quickly. It’s that nationally we’re besieged by forces trying to tear us apart and do what the British Empire couldn’t - destroy our Government. Those forces stem from the agenda that Chris Christie, Charlie Baker, and the Tea Party are pushing - slashing taxes for the wealthy, slashing social services for the most vulnerable, and destroying the organizations and policies that created the middle class. Once again Massachusetts needs to lead the way and show that ‘the government’ isn’t some bogeyman under the bed trying to waste your money. Governments are instituted among people. That means that WE - all of us - are ‘the government’. It’s up to us to end the new tyranny of inequality.

Over the past eight years Governor Patrick has proven what we have known all along - if we believe in the Good inside each of us, then our Government can also be a force for good. In the past eight years we’ve seen Massachusetts achieve near complete coverage for health insurance; we’ve seen our schools improve to top performers in nationwide rankings; we’ve seen our economy recover faster and stronger than the rest of the nation’s. The work is not yet done and many are still in need; but the results have shown what’s possible when we realize that we all have a stake in the success of each other. If your neighbor paints and improves their home, the value your house goes up. It’s the same thing with the Commonwealth as a whole. That’s why we need to press on.

I’ve experienced this as a Cambridge City Councillor. I know Cambridge has a reputation as "The People's Republic" for its commitment to social programs, but what often surprises people is that Cambridge has one of the lowest tax rates of any city or town in Massachusetts. More so, we don’t just have a balanced budget, we have a budget surplus. It’s not because of Harvard or MIT - many failing cities have great universities at their core. Only a few decades ago Cambridge was a city in decline - manufacturers were leaving, unemployment was rising, and the city was struggling with its bills. In the decades since, Cambridge has decided to invest intelligently in people and infrastructure; it’s because of those choices that its residents are now realizing the benefits.

Everyone’s heard someone call themselves ‘socially liberal, fiscally conservative’; but after hearing one of my Democratic competitors for Lieutenant Governor describe his philosophy using the same words as those on the Republican ticket, I realized it’s time for a new paradigm.

So I recently released a video about how the policies that have made Cambridge successful could be scaled to every city and town in the Commonwealth. Companies invest in order to gain a return. Our government is no different - only we're investing in technology, education, and transportation. Investing in each other attracts jobs and creates economic growth, which starts a virtuous cycle that provides increasing tax revenue, to again reinvest in each other and the next generation. That’s what I call being a Fiscal Progressive - investing intelligently in our values. You can visit the website - FiscalProgressive.com - to learn more.

The hurricane is happening all around us, across the nation, as DC politicians debate not whether, but how deeply, to cut back on our commitment to one another. Massachusetts needs to lead the way and double down on a strategy that’s been working - investing in one another. We can draw inspiration from our founders and realize that respecting unalienable rights is the means to an end, and the end goal of our Government is effecting Safety and Happiness for everyone.

Leland Cheung
Candidate for Lieutenant Governor
www.LelandCheung.com