One of the most puzzling phenomena in recent years is the unquestioned acceptance by seemingly rational people of the many claims made by the proponents of Common Core’s standards. The claims have been made repeatedly despite the fact that they have been shown to be either lies or simply utopian hopes. So, what are the lies or the utopian hopes? And why do others repeat these lies or pie-in-the-sky claims about what these standards will achieve? First, we are regularly told that Common Core’s st[...]

A handful of owners of small companies in the Commonwealth have recently shared with me their deep sense of uncertainty and apprehension about what the ACA will mean for their health insurance premiums. They finally realized that local politicians were not telling the whole story when delivering speeches highlighting some of the similarities between RomneyCare and ObamaCare. In fact, implementation by federal HHS has only served to confuse them further and repeatedly moved the goal posts. The la[...]

In today’s Globe, Ed Glaeser, an economist by trade and a member of the Gates Foundation advisory board for domestic programs, shares his thoughts on education standards – a topic on which we generally refer to experts. Think national education experts like Sandra Stotsky, James Milgram, Ze’ev Wurman, Mark Bauerlein, and folks who have worked in states and studied this topic closely. Ed attributes opposition to Common Core to fear (the title of the piece is “Fear of Common Core”). It’s the old w[...]

In 1992, Pioneer published a book that had the kind of squishy title and wishy-washy message you have all come to expect from Pioneer Institute: “Reinventing the Schools: A Radical Plan for Boston.” Its core message was nested in the dozens of pages of the state’s landmark 1993 Education Reform Act, along with high-quality standards and accountability through teacher and student testing. Thus began the charter experiment in Massachusetts. How would it turn out? Public charter schools here as els[...]

Putting aside a lengthy discussion about the merits of and cost saving of EMRs for a minute, comes this gem from the land of not so well thought out policy making… In 2010, the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law requiring that, as a condition of licensure starting in 2015, Massachusetts physicians must demonstrate proficiency in the use of electronic health records, computerized order entry, e-prescribing, and other forms of health information technology. Last year [ in chapter 224], t[...]

As the fight over the national Common Core academic standards continues to heat up in the states, it’s worth taking another look at the Obama Administration’s claim that they are absolutely, positively not using federal power to coerce states into adopting the Common Core. For those who haven’t been following the ins and outs of this particular federal soap opera, states are now in the position of pleading with federal officials for waivers from unworkable provisions in federal law. In 2002, Con[...]

For many, Memorial Day is regarded as the official kick-off of summer – in Massachusetts, the start of the season of backyard barbecues, beaches, and boating. But in communities all across America – small towns and large – we’ll also see lively parades with marching bands, and breathtaking images of veterans’ memorials and cemeteries adorned with rows of Star-Spangled Banners. In the 150 years since the Civil War, Americans have shown remarkable dedication to the annual ritual of honoring the on[...]

The following is a statement from Pioneer Institute executive director Jim Stergios: “Massachusetts business owners need to be able to plan, and that means they need to have some idea about the future cost of their healthcare premiums. The fact is, state officials have information about the potential economic impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and they have thus far refused to disclose what they know to the public. “While ACA will have the effect of reducing insurance premiums [...]

When is a tax not a tax? When no one pays it. That’s basically the case with Massachusetts’ voluntary 5.85 percent income tax rate. In 2011, the latest year for which information is available from the Department of Revenue (DOR), a tiny fraction of the 3.5 million tax filers opted to pay the increased rate, generating under $200,000 in additional tax revenue – less than chicken feed compared to a $32.5 billion budget. The number of truly liberal among us who shade the oval to pay an extra 0.6 pe[...]

These are strange days in healthcare. Even the Boston Globe is starting to push back on and question the one-size fits all approach of the ACA. See the editorial from Sunday’s paper below. First it was the problem of Massachusetts being forced to switch our rating factors to new federal rules. (Read here for more background.) This led to the recent decision by federal HHS to unilaterally grant the state a phase-in for these new rating factor rules. Of course, this doesn’t fix the problem, it jus[...]