The bottom line: High costs pose a much bigger threat to Massachusetts now than they did before COVID-19 changed the way companies and their employees think about remote work. The Taxpayers Foundation report cites particular concerns with an outmigration of talent that is already underway, an exodus that the report links to the high cost of housing and other living expenses. The report seeks to puncture what it calls “a belief in Massachusetts exceptionalism,” that this state will always be home to the best and brightest.

People and companies have far more flexibility with where they can be located, the report argues, and Massachusetts policymakers need to confront this new reality.