By John Beccia, candidate for Congress
I’m a dad raising two kids here on the North Shore — and like a lot of parents I know, I’m worried about the future we’re handing them.
Everything costs more. Housing is out of reach. Childcare is crushing. Healthcare is a constant stress. You can do everything right and still feel like you’re falling behind. That’s not how the American Dream is supposed to work.
Washington calls this the “affordability crisis.” For families, it’s more personal than that. It’s wondering if your kids will be able to live anywhere near you when they grow up. It’s watching young people leave Massachusetts because they can’t afford to stay. It’s small businesses closing because they can’t find workers or keep up with rising costs.
We don’t fix that by arguing. We fix it by growing the economy in a way that actually works for regular people.
And that starts with innovation.
I’ve spent my career working where finance, government, and new technology meet. I’ve seen what happens when we get this right: new companies get built, good jobs get created, and whole communities start to thrive again. That’s how people get paychecks that can keep up with the cost of living.
Massachusetts — and especially the North Shore — should be leading that future. We have world-class universities. We have talent. We have entrepreneurs ready to build the next generation of biotech, clean energy, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing. But instead, too many of our young people are packing up and leaving because they don’t see a future here.
That should scare every parent.
More than 80% of businesses in our region are small businesses. They’re struggling with higher healthcare costs, fewer workers, rising rents, and more red tape. When those businesses struggle, families struggle — because those are the jobs that pay the mortgage and keep food on the table.
If Washington really wanted to put America first, they’d be fighting to build more businesses here, not cutting the funding that helps our universities, research centers, and employers grow.
Here’s the truth: when we build new industries, we create opportunity.
When we create opportunity, wages rise. And when wages rise, families can breathe again.
That’s how affordability actually improves.
So what does that look like in practice?
It means making it easier for people to start businesses and bring new companies to Massachusetts — not harder. It means tax credits and startup grants that reward people who are willing to take a risk and create jobs here instead of overseas.
It means training our kids — and adults who want a better shot — for the jobs of the future, through vocational programs, apprenticeships, and real partnerships with growing industries. We should be preparing people for careers that can support a family, not just telling them to figure it out.
And it means smart rules that protect people without killing innovation. We’ve seen what happens when politicians either crush new technology out of fear — or let billionaires run wild for their own profit. Families deserve better than both.
I know some people worry that technology will take jobs away. But what really destroys opportunity is doing nothing while the rest of the world moves forward. If we invest in innovation the right way, we don’t lose jobs — we create better ones.
I’m running for Congress because I don’t want my kids — or yours — to grow up in a country that stopped building.
We can’t cut our way to a better future.
We have to grow it.
If we’re serious about making life more affordable, then we have to be serious about creating the kind of economy where hard work actually pays off again.
That’s the future I’m fighting for — not as a politician, but as a dad who refuses to settle for less.
John Beccia
Lynnfield
