Posts filed under 'Better Government'
Political pundits have openly voiced their concerns regarding the mounting debt that the United States and many states have endured during the economic downturn. Many are treating Greece as a cautionary tale for the government. While debt and budgets are on the minds of citizens, it is important to inform the public of where we stand as a state.
Over the course of the past 8 fiscal years we have seen dramatic increases in spending coupled with a rise in our state debt. Between the year 2002-2005 state expenditures oscillated between $24-25 billion, while state revenues increased at a rate of about 2.5 percent over that same time period, finishing at $23.986 billion. With the advent of increased Medicaid costs and the Patrick administration, our state has seen much more rapid increases in spending. The FY09 ‘Total expenditures and other financing uses’ was $32.273 billion, which represented an increase of 19 percent since 2006 with revenues keeping relatively even, reaching $31.776 billion in 2009. The gap between revenues and expenditures has continued throughout these past 8 years, which only has added to the soaring debt in Massachusetts.
In 2007 Massachusetts held the highest state per capita debt, at a whopping $10,504; the debt has continued to rise since then. Massachusetts currently holds a debt of over $21 billion, a substantial increase from the $15.796 billion debt that Massachusetts held in 2002. This number does not begin to touch that of California or Greece, but there still should be cause for alarm.
The most concerning aspect of the rising debt is the debate that may ensue over entitlement spending. In Greece there were massive demonstrations over cuts in pensions to state employees. This is a concern that people in Massachusetts do not have to be immediately concerned about. However, this year there is over $15 billion worth of unfunded liability for State Retiree health care; this was a large increase over the $11.3 billion unfunded liability that we had seen in the 2008 fiscal year.
Unfunded liability concerns are not exclusive to Massachusetts. Dr. John Rauh, of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, cautions that by 2025 over half of states’ pension programs will run out of money because they are assuming rates of return on investments that are too high over the long term. Any investor during the past few years knows that in these unsettled economic climate you cannot assume a certain return on your investment. We are playing a dangerous game with state employees’ future.
We are facing very difficult times, and politicians will have to make very difficult and innovative decisions to close these gaps.
June 15th, 2010
The tough financial climate continues to plague cities and towns across the Commonwealth. The city of Lawrence has had its fiscal problems well documented. And its path back to financial solvency will not be a steady march. We all know that.
Mayor William Lantigua has started the process with a controversial announcement that the city will have to dismiss nearly 200 municipal workers. We aren’t close enough to the city to know all the ins and outs of the proposal. But it can only be helpful to highlight some of their job creation/termination decisions so that people can see some of the trends behind the specific proposal.
Cuts to the city’s firefighters and patrol officers by 29 and 31 jobs, respectively, are really tough medicine. The impact on the neighborhoods may be devastating.
Some of the decisions to increase hiring and budgets may also seem quite puzzling.
Leading the list of puzzling decisions was the largesse that the Sewer Administration & Maintenance Division received. They will see their ranks swell from 12 to 22, in stark contrast to the Fire Department whose employment numbers dropped by a third. The Sewer Administration also saw a 90.66% increase in spending. While nearly every other area was forced to make hard decisions about their futures, this division caught a huge windfall, $547,420.11 in new salaries.
Increased spending did not stop at the Sewer Administration. The city of Lawrence created two new positions in the Department of Personnel, the Director of Personnel’s became a full time position, and there is a newly created Benefits Clerk. This department not only escaped cuts, its saw almost a doubling of its budget over the previous year (FY11 is 85.64% over the FY10 budget).
It would be wise for Lawrence visitors and residents to carry quarters with them from now. The city decided to add 3 new full-time meter maids to their ranks at the expense of $147,692.56 or a 347.71% increase over the previous years budget. The city also decided to hire a Temporary Meter Reader to the tune of $34,676.15. Does that suggest that the government is hoping to pay back part of the $34 million loan from Beacon Hill through parking tickets? Was this the right decision even as 60 firefighters and patrol officers lost their jobs?
All decisions in a receivership are difficult, and the need to eliminate over $6 million in salary for its workers will impact the municipal workforce deeply. But these numbers need to be out there so we can give the public a better understanding of what the decisions will mean for Lawrence. Many people will be scratching their heads about the depth of cuts to law enforcement, firefighters and teachers in favor of meter maids.
A complete copy of Lawrence’s FY2011 budget can be found here: http://www.cityoflawrence.com/Pages/LawrenceMA_Finance/FY11%20Budget.pdf
June 8th, 2010
Have you seen the Boston Herald today? Hillary Chabot reports on how Governor Patrick is funding his July meeting of the National Governor’s Association at Fenway.
Corporations with lucrative business before state government are footing large parts of the tab when Gov. Deval Patrick hosts more than 1,000 governors and other politicians at a $2 million July jamboree.
The wining and dining of National Governors Association members by lobbyists, with ballpark goodies at Fenway Park and picnicking at Castle Island, has watchdog groups raising alarms of undue influence. Some of the fun is also on the taxpayer dime.
Transparency anyone?
June 8th, 2010
At Pioneer, we believe that only an informed citizen can hold government accountable. By giving individuals access to information in an innovative and user friendly way, we engage citizens and promote data-driven policies and accountability in government—a government that works for us all.
This year, we are releasing “Apps for Transparency”, a 2-part competition that brings citizens together to suggest ways to use data to increase transparency and accountability in government
During the first phase of the competition- the Ultimate Citizen Award- citizens who live or work in 14 Massachusetts cities collect ideas from their families, friends, and neighbors on how transparency and accountability issues in government could be solved through technology. The individual/team that captures the deepest and broadest insights possible will receive a $1,000 “Ultimate Citizen” award and public recognition.
Citizens submit their findings from May 15th to June 15th, 2010.
Click here to sign up!
The second phase — the “App-Palooza” — will take place during the summer of 2010, so stay tuned!
May 26th, 2010
Tomorrow, the 2 candidates vying to claim Sen. Scott Brown’s former State Senate seat will face off in a special election. Republican Richard Ross, current State Representative, and Democrat Peter Smulowitz, an Emergency Physician, hope to become the next State Senator from the Norfolk, Bristol and Middlesex District. Who will you vote for?
In an ongoing effort to help inform the voting public and to ensure that every candidate, no matter what his or her party affiliation, is held to the same standard, Pioneer has teamed up with Tom Finneran and Todd Feinburg to ask candidates the same 7 questions.
Check out what each candidate had to say… in his own words.
Tune in to WRKO’s Tom & Todd show every Monday morning at 7:30 to hear more from candidates running for office in November. (And don’t forget to listen to what Tom has to say about Pioneer at the end of the first clip!)
May 10th, 2010
Keep looking up folks. The sky is still blue this morning. And keep looking up if for no other reason than that looking down is getting pretty scary.
Cue the Greek national anthem. Hope you like it, because you’ll have to get used to it.
May 4th, 2010
Thankfully, the water ban has been officially lifted for eastern Massachusetts.
Now that this ‘disaster’ is behind us, I am left with two thoughts: 1) Wow, I use a lot of water every day! 2) Why is the state wasting so much money on bottled water when the government has so many safety measures and checks in place to keep us safe?
Actually seeing the amount of water it takes to clean vegetables, or wash your hands, or brush your teeth is amazing. Even the most water conscious of us uses more gallons of water a day than we realize. (The USGS estimates 80-100 gallons a day) Check out the US Geological Survey to see how much water you use a day. I will definitely start doing more to conserve my water use from this exercise. Hopefully, many of our state agencies will do the same.
On April 2nd, Garrett Quinn reported for Pioneer Institute Investigates that
‘In 2009 the Commonwealth spent nearly $930,000 on bottled water services across government agencies and departments ’
(this story was then updated and reprinted in the Boston Globe yesterday)
This number is astronomical. Over the past few days we have seen the MWRA find the problem, institute a safe backup plan, fix the problem, and properly check the water. As a community we are expected to trust that the MWRA would not allow us to use the water if it were not safe. This begs the question, If tap water is safe for the residents of Massachusetts, why are state agencies spending $930,000 on bottled water?’
May 4th, 2010
Health Care is definitely the hot topic around the nation this week. With the federal legislation being signed into law, it is more important than ever to take a closer look at Massachusetts Health Care Reform. This month’s Interim Report Card focuses on Administrative Efficiency.
The report finds that premium rates for individuals were reduced dramatically post-reform through the market merger, but there is only weak evidence that the reform has increased competition in the Massachusetts. In addition, it has added administrative costs overall, and policymakers elsewhere should consider whether the infrastructure costs of a Connector-like structure outweigh the benefits.
For the full report, click here.
To see Part 1 of our series, Increasing Access, click here.
Click here to see Part 2, Equitable and Sustainable Financing.
March 24th, 2010
David Halbfinger of the New York Times reports that Governor Christie is proposing “deep cuts” in state spending, which will amount to something like 5 percent of the state budget.
Interestingly, Christie is taking a page out of Massachusetts’ lore and seeking to replicate Prop 2 1/2:
Mr. Christie’s idea for a 2.5 percent cap on increases in property taxes, modeled on Proposition 2 ½ in Massachusetts, would allow no exceptions except by local referendum and would apply to towns, school boards and counties. He also is calling for new handcuffs on towns and school districts as they bargain with unions, to prohibit towns from awarding contracts with pay increases, including benefits, of more than 2.5 percent.
March 22nd, 2010
Some sad news from Lawrence: Wilfredo Laboy, the school superintendent has been fired and may face more serious charges for stealing public money —he is the 3rd Lawrence superintendent being sacked from the job for mismanagement in 13 years.
The verdict? Laboy didn’t like transparency or accountability and he clearly lacked professional ethics. A deadly combination if you ask me.
What is surprising is that the State hasn’t put in place some serious management controls in Lawrence while knowing that communities across the state are paying 69% of the costs of Lawrence’s city government and 98% of its education costs.
But instead of going on and on about how wrong Laboy was, how we should have seen this coming, how frustrated we are all with corruption in Lawrence, I would like to raise a question: what is the actual impact on school children and their performance?
I am surprised I haven’t read much about that. If someone, be Laboy or the other two superintendents that preceded him, is mismanaging school funds for years, how does that impact the kids? Does this undermine their chances of success? Does this mean they get to grow believing that no one will truly ever care about their future?
Right now, people in Lawrence can either look at Laboy with disdain, whisper among themselves that it is for the better that he is gone and move on with their day. Or they can start demanding that whomever replaces is a competent and honest individual that will run the department with the children’s interest as a top priority.
Too naive? Add to that some transparency, accountability and management controls. A recipe for success, if you ask me.
March 15th, 2010
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