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Superior Court Judge Invalidates “Equity Theft” Law as Unconstitutional

Decision brings Massachusetts into compliance with 2023 U.S. Supreme Court ruling SPRINGFIELD, MA –A Massachusetts Superior Court has ruled that a state law allowing municipalities (or private actors to whom municipalities sell the right to foreclose) to foreclose on homes due to property tax debt without having to pay the homeowner the difference between the taxes owed and the value of the home is unconstitutional as applied to the facts of the case at hand.   Ashley Mills was on the verge of losing her fully paid for Springfield home worth around $230,000 due to a $22,000 property tax debt.  On Mills behalf, the Pioneer Public Interest Law Center, Greater Boston Legal Services, and the law firms of Morgan Lewis and […]

Tax Man Confounded: Why High Rates Haven’t Yielded Higher Revenue

Joe Selvaggi talks with economic scholar Dr. Brian Domitrovic about the history of federal tax policy and the reasons for why varied marginal rates fail to correlate with either tax revenue or GDP growth.

Massachusetts’ Workforce Growing Older and More Diverse, Remains Highly Educated

State relies on highly skilled immigrants to counteract net domestic outmigration and low birth rate BOSTON – The Massachusetts labor force is growing older, more female and workers are less likely to quit than in most other states, according to “Deep Dive: The Massachusetts Labor Force in 2023,” Pioneer Institute’s annual report on the state labor force. “Last year, the labor participation among women in Massachusetts was nearly five points above the national average,” said Pioneer Executive Director Jim Stergios. “Women’s participation in the labor force was only six points below that of men, the narrowest gap we’ve seen.” The Commonwealth’s women are a driving force behind New England consistently having the second highest participation rate among the Census Bureau’s […]

Johns Hopkins’ Ashley Berner on Educational Pluralism & Democracy

Johns Hopkins’ Institute for Education Policy director, Dr. Ashley Berner discusses educational pluralism’s role in improving K-12 performance, exploring European models and the impact of U.S. school choice programs. Dr. Berner analyzes universal ESAs and vocational-technical schooling, addressing persistent academic struggles and civic knowledge gaps.

Why the secrecy? Pioneer Calls for Open Meetings Dealing with Steward’s Impact on Patient Care.

Recently the Healey administration’s Department of Public health (DPH) announced it was hosting five invitation-only virtual meetings with hospitals, community health centers, and others in communities where Steward hospitals are located. The meetings, as described by letters sent by officials and reported in the Boston Globe, will “focus on meeting the needs of the patients and providers in our communities.” Presumably, the focus will be on continuity of patient care in these communities. None of the five meetings about Steward will be open to the public or the media. Both the Massachusetts Hospital Association and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers appear to be joining DPH in co-sponsoring these virtual community meetings. The Globe reports that the “hosts said […]