Good Government in Boston

Today's Wall Street Journal includes this piece about efforts by the Patrick Administration to reduce useless red tape that wastes businesses' time and resources.

In a lot of cases, Gov. Patrick is looking to get rid of regulations that have sat on the books for reasons unknown, causing hassle without social benefit.

From the article:

"Under Massachusetts regulations, a hair salon owner who wants to sell her shop to an employee must first temporarily close down. A funeral director can't hire a part-time apprentice -- only full-time is allowed. The state's legal size for a sea clam differs from what federal requirements specify."

Glad to see that Gov. Patrick is looking to clear this stuff off the books. This isn't a Republican or Democrat issue -- and it shoudn't be -- but rather one of good governance.

Also from the article: Massachusetts ranked 24th among US states in overall business tax climate in fiscal 2012, according to the Tax Foundation's annual State Business Tax Climate index. And our unemployment rate is 6.9 percent, while the national average is at 8.3 percent.