MBTAAnalysis: A look inside the MBTA

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The MBTA shuttles over a million passengers a day around Greater…

The Clock is Ticking…….

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The clock is ticking towards December 30, 2017.  As part of…

Column: The last of ‘The Last of the Mohicans’

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Public school children are unlikely to read "The Last of the Mohicans," a masterpiece of American literature, thanks to Common Core's emphasis on "informational texts."

The Real Source of UMass R&D Spending

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UMass issued a report and a press release Tuesday citing a record…

Time to End Mass. Legislature’s Self-Exemption from Open Meeting Law

PRESS RELEASE: Pioneer Contends the Legislature’s Self-Exemption…

The Reckless Cost of MBTA Financial Derivatives

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This study reveals that the MBTA built up a large exposure to financial derivatives and had to pay an estimated $236 million in interest on synthetic swaps for fiscal years 2001 to 2015.

What the Brian Joyce Saga Says about Government Transparency in Massachusetts

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One state senator’s dirty laundry may be catching up with him.…

How Responsive Are Massachusetts State Agencies?

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According to Massachusetts public records law, an agency has…

New Study Reveals MBTA’s Reckless Financial Derivatives

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Read coverage in The Bond Buyer: "MBTA Lost $236M in 15 Years…

MBTA commuter rail should release on-time data from every station every day

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As Pioneer has pointed out numerous times in the past, the MBTA…

Healthcare Prices for Common Procedures Are Hard for Consumers to Obtain Survey finds hospitals not prepared to give price information to consumers

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This policy brief is the third in a series of reports on healthcare price transparency prepared by Pioneer Institute. Researchers surveyed six major metropolitan areas and spoke with 54 acute care hospitals across those regions: Des Moines, IA, Raleigh-Durham, NC, Orlando, FL, Dallas-Ft. Worth, TX, New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA asking for the price of an MRI of the left knee without contrast. In addition, they explored the existence of federal and state laws that might apply in the states where the hospitals surveyed are located. They also examined the websites of the 54 hospitals for price information. The results of this survey are described in this policy brief.

Fordham’s PARCC v. MCAS Report Falls Short

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Guest post by Richard P. Phelps The Fordham Institute has long…

MBTA Management Discussions: Where Did They Go?

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The government works for the people. As with any employee, the…

Presidents Day: The Innovative JQA

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Guest Post by Jordan Harris Although several Presidents have…

Thoughts on Transparency: Full Disclosure of Gasoline Taxes

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One of Pioneer Institute’s ongoing goals is to promote government…

Study: Continuing Decline Over Last Decade In Massachusetts’ “Middle Cities”

Read news coverage of this report in The Springfield Republican, The…

Out-of-Control Administrative Staffing Budget Increases at the MBTA

With talk of fare hikes and ongoing performance problems, Pioneer…

MBTA Performance Transparency: A Whole New Meaning to Deferred Maintenance

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Governments need to adapt to the evolving needs of constituents,…

Column: For the T, riders should come first

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Excerpt from Jim Stergios' column in The Boston Globe.  REVIEWS…

Comparing Retirement Benefits for MBTA and other State Employees

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Pioneer’s latest report, A $49 Million Sweetheart Deal: How…

Data Reveals Out of Control Administrative Staffing Budget Increases at MBTA

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Data released by the National Transit Database (NTD) reveals startling increases in MBTA expenditures on administrative personnel over the past several years, generating even more doubt surrounding the commitment of the Authority to cost-containment. 

Ten Years Later: Trends in Urban Redevelopment

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This report updates a 2006 study of 14 Massachusetts cities with populations of more than 40,000 and average per-capita annual incomes of below $25,000 (Pittsfield is the one city in the study in which per-capita income is greater than $25,000). It provides a report card on how these Middle Cities are faring a decade after our last analysis, in terms of economic development, financial administration, education, and public safety. The aim is to inform the current policy discourse on redevelopment strategies in these important cities to identify municipalities and policy approaches that may serve as models for all Middle Cities.

Fordham Institute’s Pretend Research

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The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has released a report, Evaluating the Content and Quality of Next Generation Assessments, ostensibly an evaluative comparison of four testing programs, the Common Core-derived SBAC and PARCC, ACT’s Aspire, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ MCAS.  The latest Fordham Institute Common Core apologia is not so much research as a caricature of it.