What Can a State Government Actually Do?

One of the unexpected moments after our recent state representative debate came from the conversation afterward.

Someone came up to me and said, “Thank you for mentioning that states can’t run deficits. I didn’t know that.”

This wasn’t someone who was disengaged from politics. They had taken the time to attend a state legislative debate. And yet one of the most basic facts about how state government operates was something they had never heard before.

It’s a reminder of how nationalized our politics has become.

Overly nationalized

Today, almost every political conversation is filtered through Washington. We spend hours debating presidential candidates, Congress, and the Supreme Court. Then election season arrives, and we often carry those same conversations into races for governor, state legislature, city council, or school committee, even though each level of government has very different powers.

During the debate, someone said why can’t we spend money on healthcare if we’re spending money bombing Iran. That’s a good point when debating a Republican for Congress, but Maura Healey isn’t the one launching strikes on Tehran.

If we want better government, we need a clearer understanding of what each level of government is actually responsible for.

Middle level of government

State government occupies a strange place in our system, between local government and Washington.

Cities and towns fill potholes, plow streets, collect trash, and run schools. The federal government controls the military, immigration, Social Security, Medicare, foreign policy, and monetary policy.

States sit in the middle. They have tremendous influence over our daily lives, but they operate within real constitutional, legal, and financial constraints.

One of the clearest examples is the budget.

Unlike the federal government, Massachusetts cannot simply run a deficit when revenues fall. The state constitution and state law require a balanced budget each year. That single fact shapes almost every major policy decision Beacon Hill makes. During recessions, the federal government can borrow to stabilize the economy. States largely cannot. That is one reason rainy day funds exist in the first place: they help smooth out revenue swings when recessions hit and budgets would otherwise be cut.

That doesn’t mean states are powerless. It means they must work within the system that actually exists and representatives must find out how they can contribute.

What can we do

When I decided to run for state representative, I tried to build my platform around issues where the Legislature can genuinely make progress.

Housing policy: The state has enormous authority over zoning, financing, permitting, and housing production.

Child care: Massachusetts can dramatically expand access, improve provider reimbursement, and invest in the workforce.

Transportation: Beacon Hill determines MBTA funding, state transportation priorities, and municipal road aid.

Whether it’s infrastructure, economic development, education funding, or energy policy, these are all areas where state legislators have meaningful tools to improve people’s lives.

That’s why I’ve focused my campaign there.

Not because those issues are politically convenient, but because they are actually the job.

I think one of the most important qualities in any representative is understanding the office they’re seeking.

It’s easy to ride national political trends. It’s easy to promise solutions that are legally impossible or financially unrealistic. It’s easy to campaign as though you’re running for Congress or mayor instead of the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

The harder task and the more honest one is to understand where state government has real leverage, acknowledge where it doesn’t, and then devote your energy to using those powers well.

Our state government matters enormously. Massachusetts has a $63 billion dollar budget, oversees major transportation systems, shapes education policy, regulates housing, invests in infrastructure, and influences the affordability of everyday life for millions of residents.

Those responsibilities are significant enough on their own and if governed well, to make a big difference for the people who live here.