Op-Ed by Mary Connaughton & Josh Archambault Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Think because you live in Massachusetts you’re protected from the Obamacare insurance premium spikes that you have seen in the national news? Think again, especially if you work at a small company. Ineffective cash-flow management is the No. 1 cause of business failure and layoffs. Regrettably, Massachusetts government leaders are making it even harder for companies to forecast cash flow because of the commonwealth’s opaque[...]

By Nina Rees and Gerard Robinson As former federal and state government education officials, we continue to be impressed by the performance of Massachusetts charter public schools. But we can’t help but wonder how a state that has opened some of the country’s highest-performing charters has failed to lift the cap on the number of urban schools that can open. Taking this simple step would create extraordinary new opportunities for families to benefit from the charter school experience. A new Stan[...]

Legislature must open up on spending  Monday, April 1, 2013 By: Mary Z. Connaughton, Adam Campbell Why would the Legislature spend $525 on a tailor, $1,050 on limousine service and $59,000 at WGBH last year? And the numbers get even bigger. How about over $1 million on consulting services, with close to half of that going to five different law firms in 2012? What cases are the attorneys working on? Questions abound when it comes to the Legislature’s spending. Thanks to Massachusetts’ Public Reco[...]

STUDY: TIE NEW FUNDING TO PERFORMANCE, IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSPORTATION REFORM Phasing in additional money based on MassDOT performance will improve service Massachusetts’ aging transportation infrastructure needs about $2.6 billion in new investment over six years that would come in stages based on the Massachusetts Department of Transportation’s (MassDOT’s) performance on a series of publicly accessible metrics and implementation of reforms included in a 2009 state transportation law and earli[...]

Gregory Sullivan Joins Pioneer Institute as Research Director Influential think tank welcomes former Massachusetts Inspector General BOSTON, MA – Pioneer Institute announced today that Gregory W. Sullivan will become the organization’s new Research Director. Sullivan begins his position on April 2nd. “We are pleased to have Greg Sullivan join the Pioneer team,” said Stephen D. Fantone, the Institute’s Chairman and CEO of Optikos Corporation. “His experience and integrity further build Pion[...]

Put retiree health care to bid AS I SEE IT http://www.telegram.com/article/20130226/ NEWS/102269882/1020/opinion By Josh Archambault and Casey Miles (published on Feb 26, 2013) Critics suggest changing insurers can be problematic, but at least two Massachusetts cities already competitively bid their health care insurance. The evidence shows that they have been able to decrease costs and improve the quality of benefits. Gov. Deval Patrick’s recently proposed $35 billion state budget includes $2 b[...]

Governors need to require greater flexibility in order to tailor reforms to their state. As the key months for implementing the Affordable Care Act begin, 30 governors are resisting key provisions of the law. But these leaders don’t need to act just as a phalanx of opposition; if they work with President Obama and Obama works with them, they can change the law’s future for the better. COLUMN: Affordable Care Act will work if we embrace it (http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/0[...]

Chieppo and Gass: More charter schools to close the education gap By Charlie Chieppo and Jamie Gass/Guest columnists GateHouse News Service Posted Feb 10, 2013 @ 12:23 AM http://www.wickedlocal.com/millis/news/opinions/x1522319352/Chieppo-and-Gass-More-charter-schools-to-close-the-education-gap?zc_p=1#axzz2KcHjqCyz It’s easy to become desensitized to the plight of students in our lowest-performing school districts. We routinely read about the latest efforts to turn around a failing school or, as[...]

Watch Pioneer's Administration and Finance Director, Mary Z. Connaughton, on Fox 25 with Maria Stephanos. "Expert Discusses Surprising New EBT Numbers."[...]

We need new revenue to maintain Massachusetts’ crumbling transportation system. But Gov. Deval Patrick’s new blueprint gives the same old interest groups the tools to repeat the mistakes that got us into this mess in the first place.[...]