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Massachusetts may be known for extensive public spending, but that did not prevent it from getting a “C” on the 2025 Infrastructure Report Card published by the American Society of Civil Engineers. Infrastructure problems have plagued Massachusetts since well before the pandemic, and the past several years have made maintaining and improving the systems much more difficult for many metropolitan centers in the US. Pioneer Institute’s DataLabs platform yields some insight into persistent infrastructure quality concerns with Massachusetts’ transportation network. For context, Massachusetts ranked 38th nationally, with only 74.3% of its roads in acceptable condition, compared to the national average of 81.2%. Massachusetts also ranks 4th highest in the share of bridges in poor condition. These rankings reflect longstanding infrastructure issues that have become increasingly expensive to address post-pandemic.

Entrepreneur Alex Carter invested about a quarter-million dollars to build an innovative cost-sharing service for auto repairs. Unfortunately, state regulators in Utah shut it down, not because it caused any harm, but because it resembled insurance closely enough that regulators deemed it illegal. Unable to afford lawyers to fight the ruling, Carter was ultimately forced to close his company. His experience is not uncommon. Regulations written decades ago can hamper business creation in a way lawmakers never anticipated. When a business model does not fit nicely into a regulator-recognized category, it is often treated as a violation rather than an innovation. The cost falls on businesses that quietly fail to launch. A growing number of states are now testing a policy to address this issue – regulatory sandboxes.

Today’s ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is a serious disappointment for Commonwealth families struggling under one of the highest tax and cost burdens in the nation. The Court’s decision rests on a drafting error in the Attorney General’s summary of...

Today's ruling is a serious disappointment for Massachusetts families struggling under one of the highest tax and cost burdens in the nation. The Court's decision rests on a drafting error in the Attorney General's summary of the petition—a matter entirely outside the control of voters and petition signers. As a result, the people of Massachusetts will be denied the opportunity to decide whether the Commonwealth should reduce the income tax rate from 5 percent to 4 percent.

Boston – A new Pioneer Institute report finds that a mismatch between who lives in Massachusetts and the housing being built is squeezing two generations at once: young families who cannot get into a house, and seniors who cannot downsize. Local land use rules often make it difficult to build small, reasonably priced, and low-maintenance homes, despite a growing need for them as the population ages and average household sizes continue to shrink.

Since 2005, Massachusetts has achieved the top ranking in the biannual National Assessment of Educational Progress’s (NAEP) fourth-grade reading assessment. However, the Commonwealth’s lower quality Common Core-based English Language Arts (ELA) standards and lack of quality of reading pedagogy and curriculum at the local level are coming back to haunt it.

Currently, Tufts University’s American AI Jobs Risk Index projects that 9.3 million U.S. jobs are at risk of displacement in the next two-to-five years, with an associated $757 billion in household income at risk. The study focuses particularly, on “Wired Belt” metros, tech-heavy, knowledge-industry hubs such as Silicon Valley, Washington D.C., New York, and university towns like Durham-Chapel Hill and Boulder, which the researchers identify as most vulnerable to AI-driven job loss. With new technology comes new behaviors in the employment market, and employers are readjusting to this innovation.

As Massachusetts lawmakers consider proposals that would make it more difficult for citizens to place questions before voters, Pioneer Institute is urging caution. Pioneer Institute believes that policy change should occur primarily through the legislative process. However, the initiative petition process remains an important safety valve when citizens believe elected officials are not addressing their concerns.

This edition of The House Call explores new Census Bureau data showing how building permit activity declined in Massachusetts between 2024 and 2025. It also highlights a court case in Somerville over whether, in at least some contexts, prevailing wage standards should apply to off-site modular construction.

As invisible as it is devastating, internet crime cost Americans almost $21 billion last year. Massachusetts, once a moderately targeted state, is now among the six most targeted in the country. Phishing and spoofing work to trick people through fake media—from texts to emails—to get sensitive information, gain access to a user’s device, or install harmful software. This is one of the most prevalent cybercrimes, especially because it requires no technical breach, only deception.