At a town hall forum in Medford Tuesday, Rep. Seth Moulton, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, took questions about his plans to tackle affordability, healthcare and issues like regulating artifical intelligence at the state and federal level.
Moulton, 47, engaged with a full house of about 40 people. He described his plans to invest in infrastructure, education and lower costs of living throughout the state by potentially proposing a tax on the wealthy.
In an interview after the town hall he said “there are a lot of wealthy people who are willing to pay more taxes, but they want to know where their money is going.” Moulton said his proposal would begin with taxing those with more than $100 million in assets.
“If we have to expand it [the tax], we will, but this is not going after the middle class,” he said. “It’s protecting the middle class and It’s investing in the middle class. It’s ensuring that we can restore the American dream,” Moulton said. He pointed to Elon Musk several times as an example of an individual who would be affected by the implementation of a wealth tax.
Last month at the Mass. Democratic party nominating convention, Markey won 73 percent of delegate votes, earning him the party’s endorsement. Despite this setback, Moulton remains confident that his town hall style of campaigning will prove successful come September. “You’ve got to show up,” he said. “That’s why this is my 49th town hall across the Commonwealth.”
Additionally, Moulton emphasized that keeping jobs and industry in the state was one of his priorities, especially in Cambridge’s biotechnology hub. To him, this can be done by prioritizing affordability. “When one out of three people in Massachusetts is thinking about leaving, ’cause it’s unaffordable to live here, that’s just a problem,” he said. “A lot of the reasons they’re leaving are because we’re not doing enough to support innovation.”
In the public forum, Moulton also praised the city of Cambridge in its efforts to create more affordable housing, commending the city for the number of affordable housing permits it has created. If elected, Moulton said he plans to create “a federal government allocation on affordable housing.”
At the end of the conversation an audience member raised concern about comments Moulton has previously made on the involvement of transgender children in sports while simultaneously signing bills in favor of things like gender-affirming care. Moulton responded that his approach to the issue, and others similar, is focused on facilitating difficult conversations, including within his own party.
“Democrats are so scared of this subject that we’re not crafting our own legislation,” Moulton explained. “Just wrapping ourselves in the flag, or saying that we stand with them, doesn’t really mean much when they’re under such attack … we need to foster that conversation, not leave it to the Republicans, or we’re failing to protect the very people we promise to stand up for.”
Supporters for Markey have praised his progressive policy support, such as advocacy for the Green New Deal, but concerns have been raised about his age — he turns 80 next month.
Moulton and Markey are scheduled to debate on July 8. The Massachusetts primary election will take place on Sept. 1.
Brianna Earle is reporting this summer for Cambridge Day as part of a partnership with the Brandeis University journalism program.
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