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Doing the math on healthcare Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2008-07-22 Category: Better Government Description: ALMOST WITHOUT exception, policy makers find 1+1 = 2 an easier proposition to understand than 2-1 = 1. Just consider the ease with which earmarks are "sold" in the political marketplace and the difficulty of trying to stay focused on providing high-quality core services. [read more...] MBTA fringe benefits still a runaway train Author(s): Charles Chieppo — Press date: 2008-07-15 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: An arbitrator’s decision that will increase health-care co-pays for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority’s largest union and for the first time require future MBTA retirees to pay for a portion of their health insurance is a step in the right direction. But it may be too little too late for an agency whose finances are quickly approaching the end of the line. [read more...] Manual collection takes its toll Author(s): Steve Poftak — Press date: 2008-07-03 Category: Better Government Description: MASSACHUSETTS residents were outraged by last week's arrests of 10 current and former toll takers for allegedly skimming $7,500 from their Massachusetts Turnpike Authority booths. But shouldn't they be more outraged that the archaic practice of manual toll collection continues? This is an inefficient system that benefits almost no one but its own employees and creates unnecessary congestion when a more efficient alternative is available. [read more...] Rebuilding bridges and public trust Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2008-06-11 Category: Better Government Description: GOVERNOR Deval Patrick's proposal to accelerate funding to fix deficient bridges is a creative policy move that promotes public safety and economic growth. It could also repair taxpayers' faith in state government's ability to manage critical transportation infrastructure projects. more stories like this Patrick plans new kind of public school Bill to make Mass. leader in life sciences gets OK Park face-lift is two years past deadline Big Dig's $13.9m ducts go unused Mass. unveils plan to speed repairs for up to 300 bridges [read more...] The Battle to Curb Public Pensions Author(s): Charles Chieppo — Press date: 2008-06-11 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: It’s one step forward, two steps back in the battle to bring pensions and other public-employee retirement benefits under control in Massachusetts. Beginning in January, MBTA retirees under 65 will contribute 15% toward the cost of their health insurance. Most T employees can retire with generous benefits after 23 years. Until now, those benefits included free health care for life. Not a bad deal, especially when you can retire in your 40s. [read more...] The battle to curb public pensions Author(s): Charles Chieppo — Press date: 2008-05-21 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: IT'S ONE STEP forward, two steps back in the battle to bring pensions and other public employee retirement benefits under control in Massachusetts. more stories like thisBeginning in January, MBTA retirees under 65 will contribute 15 percent toward the cost of their health insurance. Most T employees can retire with generous benefits after 23 years. Until now, those benefits included free healthcare for life. Not a bad deal, especially when you can retire in your 40s. [read more...] Middle Cities' need help to boost business climate Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2008-05-13 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: Gov. Deval Patrick recently announced an effort to create "regional growth districts" across Massachusetts, where he will pair streamlined permitting with increased focus from state officials. [read more...] A model in business and education Author(s): Lovett C. Peters — Press date: 2008-05-11 Category: Better Government Description: A RECENT statewide report found that 70 percent of students from 12 Massachusetts urban and vocational high schools required one or more remedial classes once they got to college. The study confirms that helping students in poor and urban schools - schools that have largely missed out on the impressive gains of the last 15 years - should be the Commonwealth's top educational priority. more stories like this It's a long way from Norfolk to Lowell New tools for schools School districts start to face sanctions under landmark law Addressing the education achievement gap with single-sex classes Patrick aide backs teacher pay overhaul [read more...] Catholic school woes not insular Author(s): Michael Petrilli and Liam Day — Press date: 2008-04-28 Category: Education Description: America’s Catholic schools are in crisis. In the last two decades, at least 1,300 of them have closed. Most were located in our cities, where too many children attend low-performing public schools and desperately need better options. As a consequence, 300,000 students have flooded back into public schools at a cost of more than $20 billion to state and local governments. [read more...] The politics of hope, take one Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jim Stergios — Press date: 2008-04-14 Category: Better Government Description: ...Patrick is committed to big government and has proposed billions in new spending, including a billion-dollar giveaway to biotech companies, a new $1.4 billion commuter rail line, numerous multibillion-dollar bond bills, and a proposal to make Massachusetts community colleges tuition-free.... [read more...] Forum: Transportation Reform Author(s): Steve Poftak — Press date: 2008-04-08 Category: Better Government Description: ...The first step toward solving our transportation problems cannot simply be more money, as some have suggested. We have to fix the broken system that got us into this mess in the first place. The proposed transportation reform package is the beginning of that process.... [read more...] There's more to transportation reform than police details Author(s): Steve Poftak — Press date: 2008-04-05 Category: Better Government Description: ...Transportation reform deserves a closer look, because it's vital for the future of Massachusetts. We face a massive bill for deferred maintenance. Pioneer's study "Our Legacy of Neglect" found that the current backlog is over $17 billion and rising daily.... [read more...] Your View: Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance Author(s): John O'Leary — Press date: 2008-04-01 Category: Better Government Description: ...For two years during the Romney administration, I ran the state's Division of Unemployment Assistance. In 2004, I sent out checks totaling $1.4 billion to folks for not working. I also taxed Massachusetts business to the tune of $1.5 billion to subsidize the program. Government cannot give money to some people unless it takes it away from others. That is a law of economics, not subject to repeal by lawmakers.... [read more...] Unemployment insurance mess a job-killing machine for state Author(s): John O'Leary — Press date: 2008-03-31 Category: Better Government Description: When people fly to Massachusetts from Arizona to collect Massachusetts unemployment insurance, don’t you think it’s a signal that our benefits are too high?...To be fair, some businesses love the UI program — the ones who scam it. You see, employees from about 4 percent of Massachusetts businesses consume about one-third of all UI benefits. Over a three-year period, about 5,500 “frequent flyer” companies collected $1.2 billion more in benefits than they paid in taxes. For them, the UI program means money for nothing.... [read more...] Revoke anti-aid amendments Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2008-03-17 Category: Education Description: "The Irish are perhaps the only people in our history with the distinction of having a political party, the Know-Nothings, formed against them," wrote John F. Kennedy in his 1958 book, A Nation of Immigrants. Today, few people realize the Massachusetts Constitution has two Know-Nothing-style amendments, which still thrust their mid-19th century bigotry into our world. [read more...] Mammoth debt load is putting Bay State in a deep fiscal hole Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2008-03-07 Category: Better Government Description: It’s often said that in a democracy, we get the government we deserve. But when it comes to debt, we don’t deserve the treatment we’re getting from government....Massachusetts and the nation are slipping into recession. Part of that has to do with the cyclical nature of the economy, but it’s exacerbated by the fact that we’re in debt up to our ears.... [read more...] Steep hike in debt cap not the answer Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2008-03-02 Category: Better Government Description: It's often said that in a democracy, we get the government we deserve. But when it comes to debt, we don't deserve the treatment we're getting from government. Massachusetts and the nation are slipping into recession. Part of that has to do with the cyclical nature of the economy, but it's exacerbated by the fact that we're in debt up to our ears.... [read more...] Forum: Billion-dollar life sciences investment may leave Lawrence behind Author(s): John Friar — Press date: 2008-03-02 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: With Massachusetts and the nation facing recession, both the state and federal governments are promoting initiatives to help avoid it. Here in Massachusetts, the Legislature passed Thursday a $1 billion life sciences package originally proposed by Gov. Deval Patrick. Unfortunately, much of the commonwealth, including Lawrence, would be largely immune to any economic growth the bill might generate....My new study, "New Business Creation and the Urban Economy," published by Pioneer Institute, examines the link between business creation and employment growth in 14 cities Pioneer refers to as Middle Cities — those outside the Boston area with populations ranging from 40,000 to 170,000.... [read more...] Lowell must diversify its business portfolio Author(s): John Friar — Press date: 2008-03-02 Category: Better Government Description: ...My new study, New Business Creation and the Urban Economy, published by the Pioneer Institute, examines the link between business creation and employment growth in 14 cities Pioneer refers to as "middle cities" -- those outside the Boston area with populations ranging from 40-170,000. Economic trends in the middle cities differ from those statewide. Business creation in smaller, older cities moves independently from statewide cycles of business expansion and contraction. It may seem like common sense, but legislators and other policy makers must bear in mind that what works for Boston doesn't necessarily work for Lowell.... [read more...] State swamped in debt Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2008-02-27 Category: Better Government Description: It's often said that in a democracy, we get the government we deserve. But when it comes to debt, we don't deserve the treatment we're getting from government....By virtually any measure — such as per-capita debt and debt as a percentage of personal income — the state is deeper in hock than almost any other state. Debt service is one of the largest line items in our annual budget and one of the drivers of a structural deficit that has topped $1 billion in each of the last two years.... [read more...] The great biotech giveaway Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2008-02-27 Category: Better Government Description: THE CONVENTIONAL wisdom is that we are heading into a recession. So on the surface, the deal negotiated by state leaders to secure a $394 million expansion in Lexington of Shire PLC, with 680 new jobs, is good news....The problem is that landing the British drug maker's expansion cost taxpayers $40.5 million in state and $7.5 million in local incentives, or nearly $70,000 per job....The state House of Representatives has revised the life sciences bill, broadening its application to related industries. While marginally better, here are the top 10 reasons why the Great Biotech Giveaway is a bad idea:... [read more...] When unemployed work system . . . Author(s): John O'Leary — Press date: 2008-02-19 Category: Better Government Description: Each year, the Massachusetts Unemployment Insurance system is routinely scammed for hundreds of millions of dollars.By whom? Well, there’s the 47-year-old restaurant owner from Cape Cod who earned $49,000 and then laid herself off and collected $10,621 from UI. She has collected Unemployment Insurance benefits for 22 straight years....John O’Leary is the former director of the Massachusetts Division of Unemployment Assistance and co-author of “Unemployment Insurance in Massachusetts: Burdening Businesses and Hurting Job Creation,” published by Pioneer Institute. [read more...] Massachusetts should preserve independent Board of Education Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2008-01-28 Category: Education Description: The independence of key institutions from political influence has been at the heart of the nation’s most successful education reform program....Gov. Deval L. Patrick’s proposal to overhaul public education governance in Massachusetts would shift power from those institutions to a bureaucracy firmly under his own control.... [read more...] The end of education reform? Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jim Stergios — Press date: 2008-01-24 Category: Education Description: The independence of key institutions from political influence has been at the heart of the nation's most successful education reform program. Gov. Patrick's proposal to overhaul public education governance in Massachusetts would shift power from those institutions to a bureaucracy firmly under his own control.... [read more...] Keep Board of Education independent Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jim Stergios — Press date: 2008-01-24 Category: Education Description: ...Patrick proposes creating a secretary of education who would have broad authority over early childhood, K-12 and public higher education. It is an idea that has been twice created and twice abolished in recent decades due to the conflict and confusion it produced. But the plan is really about taking control of the Board of Education, the nation's oldest independent education board. Since it was established in 1837 with Horace Mann at the helm, it has successfully insulated state education policy from the political process.... [read more...] Easing the burden of unemployment insurance Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2008-01-18 Category: Better Government Description: AFTER NEARLY a year of haggling over the most recent round of proposed business tax changes, a compromise seems to be emerging....One of the main sources of that disadvantage is a business tax that has hardly even been mentioned during the recent debate: unemployment insurance. The unemployment insurance program levies a payroll tax on employers that is used to provide a financial cushion for individuals who unexpectedly lose their jobs.This entirely rational idea has spiraled out of control.... [read more...] Mass. must reach poor children Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-12-20 Category: Education Description: IN RUSSIA there are just over 17 million school-age children. Cribbing from Crash Course, Chris Whittle’s wonderful look into the future of American education, the U.S. is home to 15 million public school students who are below basic literacy levels, which means we have about as many students who don’t possess the skills to function in the workplace as some other large countries have kids.... [read more...] Apply school innovations on a larger scale Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-12-18 Category: Education Description: ...[We] have outperformed every other state in each category of national assessments two years running. We're right to be proud of that, but we should also recognize that it's mainly due to improvements in suburban schools as a result of the 1993 Education Reform Act. Our major urban centers have hardly improved, and the achievement gap has not narrowed since 1998. For urban districts, the dream remains deferred. ....More than other states, we have avoided the pursuit of a single "silver bullet" by embracing a number of innovations that have proven successful.... [read more...] Paying the Bills Author(s): Lovett C. Peters — Press date: 2007-11-24 Category: Better Government Description: LESLIE KIRWAN, secretary for administration and finance, says the Commonwealth faces a budget deficit of at least $1.3 billion next year. That doesn't include a down payment on a number of new programs Governor Deval Patrick has proposed that have one thing in common: They would cost a lot of money....In a September speech before a business group, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi took a different approach. "When people . . . say 'new revenue,' " he declared, "I like to say, 'What about efficiencies and cutting costs?' " What about cutting costs? Here are a few savings ideas that would improve the Commonwealth's fiscal condition.... [read more...] Charter schools closing achievement gap Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2007-10-28 Category: Education Description: Lately, the education news in Massachusetts has been good....But closing the achievement gap has proven to be a far more vexing problem. Two-thirds of Asian and white students scored proficient or advanced on the 10th grade test, but the corresponding numbers were just 32 and 29 percent for African American and Hispanic students, respectively....One tool that has proven effective at combating the achievement gap is charter public schools. [read more...] Oversight overhaul won’t ensure ed reform Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jamie Gass — Press date: 2007-10-26 Category: Education Description: The education community is buzzing in anticipation of Gov. Deval Patrick’s much-discussed proposal to overhaul the commonwealth’s education governance structure. Patrick has often expressed his desire to create a seamless system that governs public education from cradle to career. [read more...] Focused tax credit for school reform Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-10-19 Category: Education Description: MCAS test scores are up again, but progress remains painfully slow when it comes to closing the achievement gap....As Massachusetts languishes in neutral and even seems poised to take several steps backward on education, other cities and states are piloting bold experiments to drive change. One such innovation is offering tax credits to corporations and individuals who donate tuition money for students to attend private schools.... [read more...] Latest test scores display charter-school advantage Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2007-10-14 Category: Education Description: Lately, the education news in Massachusetts has been good. First, MCAS test results showed improvement and then - for the second time in a row - the commonwealth placed first in all four categories of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation's Report Card.... [read more...] Expand charter-school movement in Mass. Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2007-10-08 Category: Education Description: ...But closing the achievement gap has proven to be a far more vexing problem. Two-thirds of Asian and white students scored proficient or advanced on the 10th grade test, but the corresponding numbers were just 32 and 29 percent for African-American and Hispanic students, respectively. One tool that has proven effective at combating the achievement gap is charter public schools.... [read more...] High standards for teachers Author(s): Charles Glenn — Press date: 2007-10-06 Category: Education Description: TEACHER QUALITY has more impact on student performance than any other factor, according to a variety of research, which is why the way we prepare teachers is fundamental to education reform....Charles Glenn is dean ad interim at Boston University School of Education and a member of the Pioneer Institute's Center for School Reform Advisory Board. [read more...] Economy thrives, but schools go begging Author(s): Lovett C. Peters — Press date: 2007-10-05 Category: Education Description: Businesses are flush with profits, public schools strapped for cash. Is that fair? Yes and no. Businesses succeed under a competitive model, wherein consumers choose products and services that best meet their needs. The more successfully businesses meet customers' needs, the more they profit. If not, rivals will force them to improve or capture market share. Education lacks a similar competitive model.... [read more...] Move to appoint a new state commissioner of education Author(s): Jamie Gass and Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2007-09-16 Category: Education Description: Though we're far from perfect, more than a decade of reform has propelled Massachusetts to the front of the line when it comes to national public school performance. But progress has slowed recently, which is why it's critical that a new education commissioner be appointed quickly to take the place of the retiring David Driscoll.... [read more...] Water bans not the best way of dealing with drought Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-09-06 Category: Better Government Description: Yes, August was dry. But even before that warm and cloudless month, our water supply was under stress. Strained public water systems are common in Massachusetts, despite rainfall and groundwater levels that were average for the first half of this year, according to the United States Geological Survey. It appears, then, that no matter how high or low rainfall and groundwater levels are, the potential for drought conditions exist. [read more...] State in dire need of reforms in road, bridge maintenance Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2007-08-31 Category: Better Government Description: The Minneapolis bridge collapse is just the latest evidence that too often it takes a tragedy to get our leaders to do what they should be doing in the first place....A recent Pioneer Institute study found that Massachusetts’ infrastructure assets like roads, bridges, transit and buildings face a deferred maintenance backlog that is at least $17 billion and might be substantially higher. Addressing that backlog will likely require new resources, but we should fundamentally reform the way we finance assets to focus on maintenance before asking citizens to provide those resources.... [read more...] Maintaining infrastructure saves a lot Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2007-08-23 Category: Better Government Description: THE MINNESOTA BRIDGE collapse is just the latest evidence that too often it takes a tragedy to get our leaders to do what they should be doing in the first place. Crass as it may sound, turning the lessons of tragedy into real change requires us to be opportunistic — we must act while public attention is still focused on the issue at hand. A recent Pioneer Institute study found that the Commonwealth’s infrastructure assets, such as roads, bridges, transit and buildings, face a deferred maintenance backlog that is at least $17 billion and might be substantially higher.... [read more...] No more kicking the can down the road Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2007-08-19 Category: Better Government Description: The Minneapolis bridge collapse is just the latest evidence that too often it takes a tragedy to get our leaders to do what they should be doing in the first place. Crass as it may sound, turning the lessons of tragedy into real change requires us to be opportunistic - we must act while public attention is still focused on the issue at hand... [read more...] A Legacy of Neglect Author(s): David Westerling and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2007-07-31 Category: Better Government Description: ONE HUNDRED years ago today, more than 100,000 people attended the grand opening of what is now the Longfellow Bridge, which connects Boston and Cambridge. A century later, there is little to celebrate, as this grand structure has become a symbol of Massachusetts's failure to maintain the $25 billion worth of its infrastructure assets.... [read more...] Longfellow Bridge in Disrepair Author(s): David Westerling and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2007-07-31 Category: Better Government Description: The Longfellow Bridge, connecting Boston and Cambridge, is in bad shape, due not only to its age and the ravages of our weather, but also to a troubling and persistent lack of maintenance.... [read more...] No such thing as free water Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-07-24 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: While the American Southwest is gripped by drought this summer, the United States Geological Survey reports that Massachusetts' rainfall and groundwater levels are average. Yet despite the apparent abundance of water in our region, the water supply for household and business use is strained. Communities across eastern Massachusetts, in particular along the 495 growth corridor, are restricting water use and promoting conservation through a range of policies. Oddly, they often ignore the most effective policy tool for achieving conservation: water pricing.... [read more...] Lesson in Arrogance Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jamie Gass — Press date: 2007-07-10 Category: Education Description: "If there’s one constant in American politics, it’s that landslides are poison to the winner," said presidential historian Lou Cannon. After his huge win in the 1936 presidential election, even the great Franklin D. Roosevelt disastrously tried to increase the membership of the Supreme Court so he could appoint justices more likely to uphold his New Deal programs. Seventy years later, Gov. Deval Patrick is following a similar strategy by backing a proposal to add four seats to the Massachusetts Board of Education in order to gain quicker control over education policy.... [read more...] Attacks on MCAS, EQA office are threats to education gains Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-07-05 Category: Education Description: Just 15 years ago, Massachusetts public school student performance ranked in the middle of the pack in national comparisons. By 2005, the commonwealth became the first state ever to place first in four categories on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation’s report card. The transformation was triggered by the 1993 Education Reform Act, which put in place tough standards and accountability in return for a large infusion of state money. Despite our success, standards and accountability are now under attack in Massachusetts.... [read more...] Patrick's plan is "stunning in its fiscal irresponsibility" Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2007-06-29 Category: Education Description: There is an undeniable utopian appeal to the idea of two years of free community college for all Massachusetts residents. But like most utopian dreams, it unravels when confronted with hard realities. Gov. Patrick’s proposal flies in the face of human nature, it’s a ticking fiscal time bomb and it fails to address underlying problems that plague our community colleges.... [read more...] An avoidable teachers strike Author(s): Jim Stergios and Alison Ledger Fraser — Press date: 2007-06-26 Category: Education Description: THE SETTLEMENT OF the recent Quincy teachers strike has everyone involved breathing a sigh of relief. But once the relief subsides, we should turn our attention to just how easily avoidable the episode was....But if Quincy and other Massachusetts municipalities purchased health insurance through the Commonwealth's Group Insurance Commission, they would save hundreds of millions of dollars that could be redirected into classrooms and other local services, and employees would get better coverage.... [read more...] Bay State school reform at risk Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-06-20 Category: Education Description: ...The transformation was triggered by the state’s 1993 Education Reform Act, which put in place tough standards and accountability in return for a large infusion of taxpayer money. Despite our success, standards and accountability are now under attack in Massachusetts. In February, Governor Patrick’s budget proposal called for eliminating the Office of Educational Quality Assurance (EQA), the centerpiece of an accountability system that is a national model. [read more...] If unions ask, they will receive Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2007-06-19 Category: Better Government Description: ...While running for governor, Patrick told supporters there would be times they would be mad at him. But one group to whom Patrick's allegiance has been unwavering has been the unions that so generously bankrolled his campaign.... [read more...] State retreating from its education success Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-06-17 Category: Education Description: Just 15 years ago, Massachusetts public school student performance ranked in the middle of the pack in national comparisons. By 2005, the commonwealth became the first state ever to place first in four categories on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the nation's report card. The transformation was triggered by the 1993 Education Reform Act, which put in place tough standards and accountability in return for a large infusion of state money. Despite our success, standards and accountability are now under attack in Massachusetts.... [read more...] teacher licensing rules just got more complex Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2007-06-11 Category: Education Description: Research consistently shows that teacher quality has more impact on student performance than any other variable. That's why the process by which we license teachers is important. The state Department of Education claims two laudable principles guided a recent proposal to revise its teacher licensing regulations...Unfortunately, these principles aren't reflected in the proposed new regulations. Instead of a simplified procedure, the proposal looks as if the education department developed it in consultation with Rube Goldberg.... [read more...] City officials silent on looming health care liability Author(s): Alice White — Press date: 2007-06-10 Category: Better Government Description: ...Buried in the fine print of the budget, the governor's commitment to fully fund retiree health benefits demonstrates real fiscal responsibility. In New Bedford, the picture is less encouraging.... [read more...] Let's not bet state tax dollars on biotech Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-06-04 Category: Better Government Description: ...There are some very good things in the governor’s proposal - most notably funding to promote basic research. Basic research attracts the brains that make Massachusetts a leader in biotech, medical devices and related industries, and companies don’t often focus on it, preferring product application-related research. Other elements of the package - establishing a stem cell bank, investments in lab equipment and tax breaks for the biotech industry - are not a wise use of public dollars.... [read more...] To spur economic expansion, fix unemployment insurance Author(s): Charles Chieppo — Press date: 2007-05-25 Category: Better Government Description: Regardless of whether you agree with Gov. Patrick’s proposal to spend $1 billion over the next decade to support the Massachusetts biotechnology industry, it is clear that there are more basic — and far less sexy — concerns that must be addressed if we are to improve the commonwealth’s business climate....In the case of unemployment insurance, we tax jobs. Benefits are paid for by a tax on businesses. [read more...] In free market, focus on scalpers misguided Author(s): Lovett C. Peters — Press date: 2007-05-25 Category: Better Government Description: The Red Sox home opener last month was a great success for the team and its fans. It was not so successful for ticket resellers, more commonly known as "scalpers."... [read more...] Lawrence is behind in accounting for cost of retiree benefits Author(s): Alice White — Press date: 2007-05-23 Category: Better Government Description: ...Buried in the fine print of the budget, the governor's commitment to fully fund retiree health benefits demonstrates real fiscal responsibility. Not so in the City of Lawrence. The city government is just in the early stages of forming a committee to begin the hard work of calculating its own liability for retiree health benefits - an amount that is expected to be huge.... [read more...] Reform unemployment benefits Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo — Press date: 2007-05-15 Category: Better Government Description: Regardless of whether you agree with Gov. Patrick's proposal to spend $1 billion over the next decade to support the Massachusetts biotechnology industry, it is clear that there are more basic -- and far less sexy -- concerns that must be addressed if we are to improve the commonwealth's business climate. Massachusetts is a very expensive place in which to do business, and unemployment insurance is one of the main culprits. The commonwealth offers the nation's richest unemployment insurance benefits, allows recipients to collect longer than in any other state and requires workers to be employed for a shorter time in order to qualify for benefits.... [read more...] Education needs jump-start Author(s): Lovett C. Peters — Press date: 2007-04-21 Category: Education Description: Each year, foundations give millions of dollars to support education in Massachusetts. Their generosity is indispensable, but harnessing market forces could further leverage its impact.... [read more...] School choice that works for Boston's parents Author(s): Steve Poftak — Press date: 2007-04-19 Category: Education Description: Fingers crossed, waiting for the envelope to arrive, an educational future in limbo. College acceptance day? No, it’s the Boston Public School assignment process for kindergarten....For those parents with time, initiative, and luck, the process can provide access to educational opportunity and some excellent schools. But for the rest of us, it represents a barrier we muddle through – or eventually abandon, by removing our children from the system altogether.... [read more...] A road to ruin for Massachusetts transit Author(s): Charles Chieppo — Press date: 2007-04-19 Category: Better Government Description: LATE LAST month, the Transportation Finance Commission, a group created to assess Massachusetts' longterm transportation needs and make recommendations about how to finance them, announced that the Commonwealth's roads, bridges, and the MBTA face a $15 billion to $19 billion funding shortfall over the next 20 years. Worse yet, the jaw-dropping number s assume not a single new road or transit line will be built during that time beyond what is already in service or under construction.... [read more...] New York is leading the way on education reform Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-04-17 Category: Education Description: Together, the mayor and new governor have called for more than doubling the statewide cap on charter schools. They have proposed giving principals broader discretion over what happens in schools, including which teachers to retain and what strategies to use....Unfortunately, none of this is happening in Boston or Massachusetts. Instead, it describes reforms taking place in New York under Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and city School Chancellor Joel Klein. [read more...] Don't let our schools become the next Big Dig Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2007-04-12 Category: Education Description: Deval L. Patrick declared last summer, in an article in the Boston Globe, that we must "confront the ‘Big Dig culture' on Beacon Hill." He described this culture as one of "neglect and inaction, where politics is more important than governing." The portrayal by Candidate Patrick of the Big Dig mentality was right on the money, and our new governor's first budget confronts this culture in some encouraging ways. [read more...] The power of rigorous teacher tests Author(s): Sandra Stotsky — Press date: 2007-04-12 Category: Education Description: Most elementary teachers seem to require intensive, expensive, and continuous professional development in mathematics. Even if current federal and state initiatives to train experienced teachers are successful, their costs are staggering. Other countries sensibly focus on ''frontloading'' (imparting subject-matter knowledge to teachers before they are licensed and enter the classroom) rather than ''backloading'' (trying to patch teachers' knowledge after they've started their career). It's reasonable to think that our elementary teachers' understanding of mathematics might be increased more effectively and efficiently via regular or specially designed mathematics courses they take before, rather than after, they begin teaching. [read more...] Don't let our schools become the next Big Dig boondoggle Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2007-04-12 Category: Education Description: Deval L. Patrick declared last summer, in an article in the Boston Globe, that we must “confront the ‘Big Dig culture’ on Beacon Hill.” He described this culture as one of “neglect and inaction, where politics is more important than governing.” The portrayal by Candidate Patrick of the Big Dig mentality was right on the money, and our new governor’s first budget confronts this culture in some encouraging ways....Unfortunately, Mr. Patrick also lets the “Big Dig culture” gain a new foothold: our schools. [read more...] School dropout data should bring changes Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-04-08 Category: Education Description: The recent release of school dropout data by the Department of Education should serve as a call for sweeping change in our urban school districts. DOE reported that at least 40 percent of black and Hispanic students in Massachusetts currently either drop out or fail to meet graduation requirements.... [read more...] In Barnstable, wall between schools and town crumbles Author(s): Julia Steiny — Press date: 2007-04-01 Category: Education Description: This is the third of three stories about how the pressures of Proposition 2 1⁄2 combined with creative management to improve schools in Barnstable, Mass. In last week’s episode of the Barnstable, Mass., saga, the fight within the school community was finally resolved. Those who wanted site-based control of the schools prevailed, and immediately tapped Tom McDonald to be superintendent. McDonald and his new administrative team wrote a memorandum of understanding that effectively "chartered" all the schools that were not yet state- chartered. And boom, just like that, all Barnstable schools could hire their own staff, manage their budgets and decide for themselves how they’ll help their kids meet academic targets... [read more...] Tax hike stunts business growth Author(s): Charles Chieppo and Steve Poftak — Press date: 2007-03-30 Category: Better Government Description: In defending his proposed business tax hikes, Gov. Patrick argues that businesses generally don’t base location or expansion decisions on the tax code. He’s right. That’s why his proposed “loophole closings” need to be viewed in the context of the Commonwealth’s overall business costs.... [read more...] Barnstable embraces bright side of the charter school model Author(s): Julia Steiny — Press date: 2007-03-25 Category: Education Description: Barnstable-This is the second of three stories about how the pressures of Proposition 21⁄2 combined with creative management to improve schools in Barnstable, Mass. [read more...] Patrick's tax plan would hurt business climate Author(s): Charles Chieppo — Press date: 2007-03-21 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: Gov. Deval Patrick often speaks about making decisions that are in the commonwealth's long- term interests, most recently in his televised budget address. To his credit, parts of the governor's budget proposal follow through on that promise, but others would only make it harder to balance the books in future years.... [read more...] Time and administrative guts get school system working Author(s): Julia Steiny — Press date: 2007-03-18 Category: Education Description: This is the first of series of three stories about how the pressures of Proposition 21⁄2 combined with creative management to improve schools in Barnstable, Mass. [read more...] Patrick faces highway-finance crisis Author(s): Charles Chieppo — Press date: 2007-02-26 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: MASSACHUSETTS GOV. Deval Patrick faces a transportation challenge potentially bigger than the $15 billion Big Dig. Addressing it will require him to confront some of his most powerful backers. The Transportation Finance Commission (TFC), which was created to propose a comprehensive long-term plan for financing transportation projects, has identified a 20-year roadway-funding shortfall of about $9 billion, and the transit finance picture looks no better.... [read more...] Jamie Gass: Bay State still lags on school reform Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2007-02-20 Category: Education Description: BOSTON--"THE EDUCATION REFORM Act can be reduced, in essence, to two propositions. We will make a massive infusion of state dollars into our public schools, and in return we will demand high standards ... and accountability from all." So said former Senate President Thomas Birmingham, one of the architects of the landmark Massachusetts legislation. [read more...] Districts must live up to ed-reform bargain Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2007-02-08 Category: Education Description: "The Education Reform Act can be reduced, in essence, to two propositions. We will make a massive infusion of state dollars into our public schools, and in return we will demand high standards... and accountability from all." So said former Senate President Thomas Birmingham, one of the architects of the landmark Massachusetts legislation. [read more...] Don't pull the plug on education reform Author(s): Charles D. Chieppo and Jim Stergios — Press date: 2007-01-27 Category: Education Description: ...Ominously, Patrick also used the announcement of his plan to launch a preemptive strike against charter schools and MCAS. "Grow up," he said. "We've been at this a decade-and-a-half. We have to examine whether we are doing as well as we can."... [read more...] Remember the urban children Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2006-12-26 Category: Education Description: AMID A DAUNTING list of challenges you face on the heels of your historic election, I hope, Governor-elect Patrick, you will focus on an issue with which you are intimately familiar: giving urban kids access to educational opportunity. [read more...] A post-Payzant strategy for schools Author(s): Jim Stergios & Samuel R. Tyler — Press date: 2006-09-19 Category: Education Description: WITH THE retirement of superintendent Tom Payzant, it is critical that Boston public schools build on the momentum generated during Payzant's tenure and accelerate the pace of reforms that will improve student performance. Among the factors that will determine whether Boston students can continue their upward trajectory are contract negotiations underway with the Boston Teachers Union and the Boston Association of School Administrators and Supervisors. [read more...] Moving forward with Turnaround Schools Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2006-05-12 Category: Education Description: Massachusetts is 13 years and $40 billion into its landmark education reform effort. The focus of this work was to improve the academic results of students in the poorest and lowest-performing school districts. After a whole K-12 cycle, underperformance is still rampant and the rate of improvement is unacceptably slow. [read more...] State education reform is moving forward with ‘turnaround’ schools Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2006-05-08 Category: Education Description: Massachusetts is 13 years and $40 billion into its landmark education reform effort. The focus of this work was to improve the academic results of students in the poorest and lowest-performing school districts. After a whole K-12 cycle, underperformance is still rampant in urban districts and the rate of improvement is unacceptably slow. [read more...] The Know-Nothing's ongoing constitutional prejudice Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2006-03-16 Category: Education Description: "The Irish are perhaps the only people in our history with the distinction of having a political party, the Know-Nothings, formed against them," wrote John F. Kennedy in his 1958 book, "A Nation of Immigrants." Today, few people realize that the Massachusetts Constitution has two Know-Nothingstyle amendments, which still thrust their mid-19th century bigotry into our world. [read more...] Massachusetts' great gambling giveaway Author(s): Steve Poftak — Press date: 2006-03-16 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: IF THE MASSACHUSETTS Legislature wrote a billion-dollar check to the casino industry, people would be outraged. But the gambling bill, awaiting action in the House after receiving Senate approval, threatens to give away more than $1 billion in value by charging an inordinately low fee for the four proposed licenses. [read more...] Rounding out our future workforce Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2006-01-24 Category: Education Description: IT MAY BE a modern heresy to take issue with Thomas Friedman's best-selling book on globalization, ''The World Is Flat," but Columbus's voyages washed away forever any notions of a level earth. These days, when we consider the competitiveness of US public schools and international trade concerns, we see again that the contour of our world is still very much round. [read more...] The stranglehold on housing Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2006-01-06 Category: Economic Opportunity Description: PEOPLE HAVE long suspected that local regulations are a major cause of the crisis in Massachusetts' housing affordability. In a paper recently issued by Pioneer Institute and the Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, Harvard University economist Edward L. Glaeser demonstrates that the decline in supply is steeper and more crippling than anyone had imagined. He conclusively demonstrates how the decline in supply due to regulation is driving up housing prices across the region. [read more...] Schools can learn from Edmonton's teamwork Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2005-12-23 Category: Education Description: Most of us in Massachusetts identify the city of Edmonton, Alberta, with hockey star Wayne Gretzky. His individual successes were impressive, as was the spirit of teamwork that garnered five Stanley Cup championships for his team, the Edmonton Oilers. Equally remarkable is the teamwork and accomplishment in Edmonton's 203 public schools, which enroll 80,000 students (20,000 more than Boston). Unlike the Bay State's union-dominated landscape, in Edmonton the collaborative efforts of former Superintendent Angus McBeath and the local teachers union have resulted in an educational revolution. [read more...] School Choice With Consequences Author(s): Steve Poftak — Press date: 2005-12-20 Category: Better Government Description: FEW NOTICED WHEN the Boston School Committee recently closed Grover Cleveland Middle School. No parents attended a meeting called by the school to discuss the issue, and no one stood up to defend the school at the school committee's closure hearing. [read more...] Gambling Help for Stumbling Ponies? Author(s): Lovett C. Peters — Press date: 2005-10-29 Category: Better Government Description: THE OWNERS of racetracks have a failing business. They report losing money and want the Legislature to enhance their profits by authorizing slot machines. Proponents argue that slots are a win-win for Massachusetts, because they will increase state revenues and boost our already thriving tourism industry. The evidence tells quite a different story. [read more...] A big chill on school accountability Author(s): Jamie Gass — Press date: 2005-10-14 Category: Education Description: Autumn means back-to-school time in the Bay State -- except, perhaps, for the charter school students at Frederick Douglass, Lynn Community, Renaissance Middle, and Roxbury Charter High Public School. In recent years, these charter schools' struggle to stay open wasn't due to the fall cold, but rather, their low performance and the state's selective application of school accountability. [read more...] Heading off convention center debacle Author(s): Stephen Adams — Press date: 2005-06-05 Category: Better Government Description: Why are so many Massachusetts residents despondent over the reelection of President Bush? I think it goes deeper than the specifics of policy differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates. President Bush’s inaugural address may help explain a lot of the angst that lingers here long after the election. [read more...] Government’s eminent domain powers must be limited Author(s): Stephen Adams — Press date: 2005-03-20 Category: Better Government Description: Just when I thought I was finished writing about the new Boston convention center, city or state officials offer a new reason to pick on the project. In light of recent public statements by Boston public officials, it turns out that the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) is a great argument for limiting the government's power of eminent domain. That is the authority to take private property against the will of the owner. [read more...] Why Massachusetts has the blues Author(s): Stephen Adams — Press date: 2005-01-24 Category: Better Government Description: Why are so many Massachusetts residents despondent over the reelection of President Bush? I think it goes deeper than the specifics of policy differences between the Republican and Democratic candidates. President Bush’s inaugural address may help explain a lot of the angst that lingers here long after the election. [read more...] Why not weigh private options for new BCEC? Author(s): Stephen Adams — Press date: 2004-04-30 Category: Better Government Description: The numbers are in on the convention center, and they're not pretty. I am not referring to the treasurer's recent assessment of the Hynes, appraised at a modest $35 million. I am talking about the new Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, the South Boston behemoth preparing to open in June. [read more...] Build homes, not a convention center Author(s): Jim Stergios — Press date: 2001-06-18 Category: Better Government Description: In a recent report commissioned by Cardinal Bernard Law, Northeastern’s Barry Bluestone and Charlie Euchner of Harvard depicted the bleak housing situation in Greater Boston....Meanwhile, over 60 acres of developable land in the Seaport District may be sacrificed for a proposed convention center that industry trends suggest would be virtually empty....By zoning the convention site to allow the same concentration of residential units as the adjacent land, Boston and the Commonwealth could create 7,600 housing units... [read more...] Forum |
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