Archive for July, 2007
A hearty welcome to the New England Public Policy Center at the Boston Fed. They’ve just released a memo detailing some of the high costs facing Massachusetts’ business (PDF, or link).
Their findings include:
- Massachusetts does not have right-to-work laws, which “[m]ost research has found…. [to] have a positive impact on employment and business formation”
- Based on Economy.com’s Cost of Business Index, “[a]ll New England states are ranked as having high business costs, with Massachusetts being particularly expensive.”
- Using a Forbes’ Regulatory Environment Index, “most New England states have relatively burdensome regulatory climates, although Massachusetts (29) and Vermont (35) are ranked toward the middle.”
Pioneer is pleased to have the New England Public Policy Center on board our continuing efforts to highlight the issue of business costs in Massachusetts. We held an event in October to mark the release of our paper on the issue — Measuring Up: The Cost of Doing Business in Massachusetts — which highlighted the challenges facing businesses in our state.
Thanks again to the NEPPC for their work on the issue.
July 25th, 2007
While the Commonwealth is blessed with an abundance of lakes, rivers, streams, and wetlands such as bogs and marshes, our residents use enough water to strain the water supply just about every summer. The United States Geological Survey reports that Massachusetts’ rainfall and groundwater levels are average this year. Still, communities across eastern Massachusetts, in particular along the 495 growth corridor, are adopting a range of policies to manage water demand and promote conservation. Oddly, they often ignore the most cost-effective policy tool for achieving conservation: water pricing.
Last week Pioneer released a report by Professor Sheila Olmstead of Yale University and Professor Robert Stavins of Harvard University that sites fifty years of studies demonstrating that water demand is responsive to price changes. In fact, the studies show that residents respond to price increases for water just as much as they do to price increases for electricity and gasoline.
Where water savings have been estimated from non-price approaches, they are usually smaller than expected. Customers may take longer showers with low-flow showerheads, flush twice with low-flow toilets, and water lawns longer under day-of-the-week restrictions.
Utilities implementing price increases to reduce demand will increase total revenues. On the other hand, regulatory approaches most often increase utilities’ costs (due to implementation, monitoring, and enforcement of the programs) while decreasing total revenues, as water use is reduced. Given that water treatment plants built in the 1970s are coming to the end of their useful life, the question of how we pay for the next generation of treatment plants is not trivial.
Pioneer will be making presentations on the findings at venues across the state. If you are interested in more information, contact Amy Dain, Project Manager, at 617-467-4452.
July 25th, 2007
…and the Longfellow Bridge isn’t looking too good, either.
This week, both the Globe and the Governor (see below) have confirmed what everyone else who drives, rides, walks or breathes already knew: the state of the state is shaky. And leaky. And rusty, potholed and occasionally scary.
From the State House News:
Responding to a question about the Boston Globe’s front page story on the 56-year-old tunnel’s lack of waterproofing when it was first built, Patrick said, “It’s another example of the persistent neglect of our transportation infrastructure that goes back many decades.” …Patrick said the problem points out the importance of paying attention to the upkeep of the state’s roads and bridges “an ongoing basis and not just on an emergency basis.”
We couldn’t agree more. Look for our new White Paper, “Our Legacy of Neglect: The Longfellow Bridge and the Cost of Deferred Maintenance,” to be released next Tuesday. July 31 marks the Bridge’s 100th birthday; the paper explains how to keep all of our built infrastructure out of the ER.
July 25th, 2007
Hurrah, the State Police have finally stopped giving driving tests to 16 year olds in Massachusetts!!!
A full 15 years after the merger of the Registry Police with the State Police, the Commonwealth has finally figured out (as part of collective bargaining, of course) that we probably don’t need trained, armed (and highly compensated) officers giving these exams.
July 23rd, 2007
The final 2008 state budget came out of committee and was signed by Governor Patrick a little over a week ago. Below is our partial response, composed by another of the extraordinary Pioneer interns, Lincoln Rathnam. (Again, though I would like to take credit, I can’t.):
“The Massachusetts state budget for 2008 is praiseworthy in several respects but also gives us cause for serious concern. In May Pioneer called on the legislature to reject the governor’s proposed addition of $500 million in taxes and fees and to work towards a solution to the state’s public employee pension and retiree health care liabilities. The new budget begins to fund those liabilities. Citizens of Massachusetts can also be thankful that the legislature rejected the new fees and taxes proposed by Governor Patrick.
Not all of the budget is as commendable as the components discussed above. Pioneer has advocated rolling the various higher education line items in the state’s budget into a single line item. Doing so would diminish the risk of wasteful patronage spending. For the same reason Pioneer has argued that the line items for trial courts should be consolidated. The legislature failed to consolidate either the higher education line items or the trial court line items. The new budget also includes a transfer of $240,000,000 to the general fund from the stabilization fund. Pioneer believes that the state should not depend on the stabilization fund, which is finite and intended for emergency use, as a substitute for fiscal restraint. The legislature’s rejection of Governor Patrick’s attempt to move 150 transportation employees off of the capital budget is also regrettable. The governor had proposed that twelve government owned skating rinks should be leased out. The house, contrary to the recommendations of Pioneer, rejected this proposal.
Massachusetts’ taxpayers should also continue to monitor the status of the Office of Educational Quality and Accountability as well as its possible successor organization. The budget allocates money for “completing ongoing audits and those scheduled with school districts as of May 1, 2007,” but after those audits are completed the EQA will no longer exist. The funds allocated to the EQA in the budget will then “be made available to any successor entity.” State legislators and the governor should work to ensure that the successor organization will have the degree of independence necessary to effectively hold school districts accountable for their performance.”
July 23rd, 2007
One of the highlights of last month’s Better Government Competition was Governor Patrick’s well-received keynote address. We’re pleased that the speech will be broadcast on C-SPAN Radio, XM Satellite Channel 132, at 10 am on Sunday, July 22.
If you can’t bear to wait that long, the audio is here, and also enjoy YouTube clips one, two and three.
July 18th, 2007
The Boston Business Journal today reports that the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority is issuing an RFP to expand the Bonston Convention & Exhibition Center.
The request for proposals is for the development of a master plan for the BCEC that will provide an envelope for future expansion of the facility.
Gloria Larson calls the BCEC “as successful as we hoped.” Golly, Gloria, one might call that a pretty big plea from low expectations. She notes, in fact, that
The building has exceeded our expectations, and it is the right time to explore what we should do with the undeveloped portion of the property. A master plan is the best way to start the dialogue.
In a previous post, I noted that while Gloria is perfectly giddy about the Convention Center Authority’s 2006 Annual Report celebrating reaching 202,000 room nights at the BCEC, the facts are:
- The BCEC is currently attracting just over 1/4 of the 794,000 room nights originally promised as part of the project;
- less than 1/2 of the between 612,000 and 697,000 hotel room nights called for in a later, “reasonable,” revised Price Waterhouse Coopers report.
Oh, and then there’s the fact that even the cumulative total of room nights at both the BCEC and the Hynes is just over 500,000. Hmm, 800,000 room nights promised and 202,000 delivered. That is “exceeded our expectations”?
I hope that Gloria’s not counting the number of new students at Bentley with the same new math.
July 17th, 2007
To those of you in the blogosphere who miss the witty and sometimes irreverent posts of our research director, Steve Poftak: Steve has been blog-silent for good reason. He and his wife are celebrating the birth of their second child, Vivian Lorelie Poftak. All of us at Pioneer wish Steve and his family the best, even as we miss his wit and banter around the office.
July 12th, 2007
Though I have been unable to leave the BGC behind (it really was that good an event), I cannot take credit for the following post. It comes from one of our summer interns, Katharine Sheehan, a senior year BC:
“The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA), runner-up at the BGC, has transformed its operations in just a matter of years and cut operating costs while increasing usership and revenues. As a result, the NVRPA is now a self-sufficient agency, producing enough revenue that it no longer relies on state and local funding. The key to its success is simple: the NVRPA reinvented itself by implementing a market-focused strategy.
Here in Massachusetts, the DCR, which oversees the state park system, has a backlog of repairs that is estimated at $1.2 billion. To resolve this, it seems its best bet would be to follow the NVRPA’s lead. The DCR should invest in a marketing strategy to encourage park visitation. With visitation comes potential revenues and the DCR is in dire need of revenue to get itself out of its financial bind.
In May, former Westfield Mayor Richard Sullivan was named DCR commisioner. He has been described as “a good financial manager”. Hopefully, Mr. Sullivan and his financial management skills can reinvent the DCR and eliminate the backlog of needed repairs. If he can, it seems likely he could implement a system much like that of the NVRPA, which would allow the DCR to operate on its own profits, rather than relying on state or federal aid. Because, currently, the DCR receives its money from outside sources, it must forfeit any revenue it collects. If the DCR were instead able to reinvest that money (much like the NVRPA does), the DCR might just be able to achieve self-sufficiency. At the very least, we would see a significantly smaller backlog of needed repairs.”
July 11th, 2007
Now that it’s all said and done, we at Pioneer have a moment to reflect on the BGC. Though admittedly biased, we do believe it was a great success: 280 contest entries, 360 awards dinner guests, and 2 very fine speeches, delivered by Springfield (MA) Mayor Charlie Ryan and Governor Deval Patrick. (As an aside, our condolences to Springfield on losing out to Springfield, Vermont in the contest to host the world premiere of the upcoming Simpson’s movie. A red carpet in Vermont? Who would’ve thunk it?)
Looking to the future, we have already started kicking around the office names of people we would like to invite to be next year’s guest speaker. As some people expressed, shall we say, pleasant or, alternatively, dismayed surprise at our choice of speaker this year, we thought we would solicit the blogosphere for suggestions for next year’s speaker. To that end, let us know whom we should invite to be the 2008 BGC awards dinner featured speaker. Leave us a comment here on the blog or call us directly at the office, (617) 723-2277. Any and all suggestions are welcome.
July 10th, 2007
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