Entries by Editorial Staff

2015 Better Government Competition: Reforming the US Criminal Justice System

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Pioneer Institute is pleased to announce that its 2015 Better Government Competition (BGC) will focus on innovative ideas to reform America’s troubled criminal justice system by reexamining policies that have driven mass incarceration at significant human and fiscal costs. Competitive proposals include, but are not limited to, creative ideas for reducing prison populations and recidivism, improving law enforcement strategy and addressing racial disparities in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. The winner will receive a $10,000 prize and four runners-up will each receive a $1,000 prize. At an awards dinner, to be held in June, Pioneer will recognize the winners and celebrate their efforts. Entry deadline: Monday, April 6th. Visit our Better Government Competition website to download this year’s guidelines and enter […]

Why We Need Transparency at the MBTA Retirement Fund Now

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A story in today’s Boston Globe again reminds us of the secretiveness of the MBTA Retirement Fund (MBTARF) and its complicated funding structure – enabling Fund managers to mask very costly decisions. Over the past year, The Boston Globe published a series of articles chronicling a potentially fraudulent $25 million loss at the MBTARF from a hedge fund investment proposed by a former MBTARF executive director. Pioneer Institute has served as an indispensable resource for media, public officials, and taxpayers, providing relevant and timely research on the deteriorating condition of MBTARF‘s finances. Pioneer has released a series of reports on the Fund‘s lack of transparency and mismanagement. In a recent report, Hard Lessons for Institutional Investors from theMBTA Retirement Fund, Pioneer focused on […]

Study: State Must Revise Flawed “Growth Model” & “Proven Provider” Regs

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Charter School Study Calls for Revisions to the State’s Flawed “Growth Model” and “Proven Provider” Regulations Calls for refocusing on model Massachusetts pioneered to support nation’s best charter schools BOSTON – A new study published by Pioneer Institute finds that Massachusetts should revise  flawed “growth model” regulations designed to introduce rate of improvement into the formula used to determine which districts perform in the lowest 10 percent statewide and are therefore eligible for more charter seats. The study also suggests that the commonwealth eliminate the requirement that additional charter schools in the lowest-performing districts be opened only by “proven providers,” operators with a track record of successfully serving student populations similar to those the new schools would serve. Innovation Interrupted: […]

Study: “Fair Market Valuation” of Pension Liabilities Neither “Fair” Nor “Market”

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Study Shows “Fair Market Valuation” of Pension Liabilities Neither “Fair” Nor “Market” Method ignores risk and capital structure, does not provide valid and reliable estimates of retirement-plan liabilities BOSTON – Using government-bond yields as a discount rate to evaluate the liabilities of public retirement systems, often mislabeled “fair market valuation,” contradicts financial-economic principles and ignores risk and capital structure, according to a new white paper published by Pioneer Institute. The Logic of Pension Valuation II: A Response to Andrew Biggs The study, “The Logic of Pension Valuation II: A Response to Andrew Biggs,” debunks assertions by some financial economists who have been critical of new public-pension accounting standards adopted by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The Board rejected opinions […]

Jeb Bush’s Rhetoric and Reality on Common Core

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Pioneer Institute respects Governor Jeb Bush’s education reform accomplishments in Florida and even honored him at a 2010 event.  Unfortunately, at today’s opening of the Foundation for Excellence in Education National Summit on Education Reform, held in Washington, D.C., Governor Bush continues to misrepresent the facts around Common Core national education standards. In his speech today, Governor Bush argued that the Common Core is a high standard and that “the rigor of the Common Core State Standards must be the new minimum in classrooms.”  With the Core aiming to instruct and test Algebra I in grades 9 and 10, and with a substantial reduction in the high-quality literature in the standards, the Core is hardly a set of standards that […]

Research Fellow in U.S. History

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Pioneer Institute is seeking a Research Fellow in U.S. History Duration: Start as soon as possible, end June 2015 Location: 185 Devonshire St, 11th floor, Boston, MA Compensation: Stipend available About Pioneer. Pioneer Institute is an independent, non-partisan, and privately-funded research organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Massachusetts through civic discourse and intellectually rigorous, data-driven public policy solutions based on free market principles, individual liberty and responsibility, and the ideal of effective, limited and accountable government. We are a leading state policy think-tank, a resource for legislators on Beacon Hill and staff in the State’s executive offices, and attract more press than any other research institute in Massachusetts. U.S. History Initiative: Currently, Massachusetts high school students […]

Study: Vocational-Technical Schools & Businesses Strengthening Mass.’s Economy

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Vocational-Technical Schools and Businesses Strengthening the State’s Economy Pioneer Institute paper reports on growing partnerships to meet the skills shortage BOSTON – Massachusetts manufacturers and small businesses are offsetting an acute skilled labor shortage through collaborations with the state’s vocational-technical high schools, investing in their programs to produce trained graduates while the students benefit from increased employment opportunities, according to a new report published by Pioneer Institute. Filling the Skills Gap: Massachusetts Vocational-Technical Schools and Business Partnerships “To help prepare students for jobs after graduation, local business people are offering their talents as advisory board members,” said Jim Stergios, Executive Director of Pioneer Institute. “They’re donating equipment to schools and providing funds for startups.” The 20-page report, Filling the Skills Gap: Massachusetts Vocational-Technical Schools […]

Study: Public Pension Liabilities Are Undervalued by Tens of Billions of Dollars

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Historical Market Performance of Asset Classes Held by Retirement Funds Indicates Public Pension Liabilities Are Undervalued by Tens of Billions of Dollars Assets in pension funds’ portfolios have historical market returns of 6-7 percent annually rather than 7-8 percent typically assumed; state pensions in Massachusetts about as funded as in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Connecticut’s actual funding levels close to Illinois’s BOSTON – Most public pension funds assume rates of return inconsistent with their portfolio allocations and many invest heavily in low-yield assets such as fixed income and real estate, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute. Market Rates of Return for Effective Financial Management MRR Calculator Utility The report, entitled “Market Rates of Return for Effective Financial […]

Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Ed reform truly is matter of civil rights

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By Sephira Shuttlesworth (This op-ed originally appeared in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette on Nov. 7, 2014) To many, it’s become a cliché to describe education reform as the civil rights issue of our time. But for some of us it’s deeply personal. My late husband, the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth, saw educational opportunity for all as the fulfillment of the civil rights dream to which he dedicated his life. As a founding member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and a Birmingham, Alabama pastor, he led marches against segregated lunch counters and helped organize perilous Freedom Rides through the South. Later he persuaded Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the SCLC to join the campaign to desegregate Birmingham, then, […]

Possible Civil and Criminal Offenses During ACA Implementation?

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The transition to a new healthcare exchange in Massachusetts has gone poorly. In a forthcoming report, Pioneer Institute will examine what exactly went wrong during implementation, with the help of two whistle-blowers and internal audits on the project.   Yet during the research for that project, Pioneer uncovered multiple incidents of state officials misleading and possibly lying to federal officials in order to keep federal funds.   Given the appearance of both civil and criminal offenses, Pioneer Institute viewed it as necessary to send a letter to the director of the FBI, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, the HHS Inspector General, and the managing director for information technology at GAO detailing two of these incidents. […]

Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidates on K-12 Education Policy

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K-12 education policy too often is the province of powerful special interests. It is important for candidates for public office to speak directly to citizens and parents about what they will do for the next generation of schoolchildren if elected. That’s why we invited all five Massachusetts gubernatorial candidates to respond to a questionnaire on K-12 education policy. Our purpose is to share their views on eight big education issues relevant to what children learn in the classroom, career and college preparation, and equitable choices for all families. All of the gubernatorial candidates responded to our questionnaire, with the exception of Martha Coakley. As soon as we receive her responses, we will share them with you as well. A few […]

State Internal Docs Contradict Gov. Patrick: Show $1B Price Tag for ACA Transition

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Governor Patrick has now called our Health Connector cost estimate report “politically motivated,” “spurious” and “inaccurate.” He’s gone back and accused Pioneer of “making stuff up out of thin air.” He can employ whatever words he likes, but he cannot deny the cruel mathematics of public finance. The Governor needs to ask his staff for more information, as their documents in federal filings show stunning and accumulating costs of the state’s effort to develop a Health Connector 2.0. On Saturday, the Boston Herald reported (“Internal documents suggest $1B Obamacare cost“) that confidential “internal working papers” confirmed by state officials project that putting hundreds of thousands of applicants on temporary Medicaid plans will cost $560.2 million in FY15. These plans were made available to […]

An Open Letter to Governor Deval Patrick about Healthcare Cost Overruns

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This letter was sent via email to the Patrick Administration earlier today.  October 9, 2014 Governor Deval Patrick Massachusetts State House Office of the Governor Room 105 Boston, MA 02133 Dear Governor Patrick: On Monday the State House News Service reported your statements that the additional cost to fix the state’s healthcare exchange website will not surpass $26 million and that the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in Massachusetts, along with the enrollment of more than 400,000 people, is within budget. Official representations from your administration directly contradict these assertions.  In an Official Statement dated July 31, 2013, your administration disclosed the existence of projected cost overruns: The fiscal 2014 budget assumes base caseload growth of 2.8% over fiscal […]

A Challenge to Economic Freedom: Declining Labor Participation

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Even with lower unemployment rates in Massachusetts and the U.S., the real-world economy continues to feel awfully sluggish — and for good reason. The fact is that the unemployment rate doesn’t tell the whole story. Strictly defined as the percentage of the population who are out of work and actively seeking employment, this metric provides a very narrow lens through which to evaluate labor market performance. A look at labor participation rates — the labor force as a percentage of the civilian non-institutional population — helps paint a more accurate picture. As the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last Friday, the civilian labor force participation rate dropped to an historic low of 62.7 percent in September — a grim reminder […]

The Ugly Truth About State Healthcare Costs

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Last week, Pioneer Institute released a report showing that the cost of transitioning to an Affordable Care Act-compliant health insurance exchange is likely to top $1 billion over two years. The figure includes $540 million in 2014 for a new transitional Medicaid program that was created when the state exchange failed last year. Read our report: [wpdm_package id=425] In response, Governor Patrick issued a sharply worded statement that received widespread media coverage, dismissing our report by saying, “The truth is that Massachusetts is still successfully expanding health care and doing so within budget.” But the facts tell a different story. According to a Boston Business Journal (BBJ) report by Craig Douglas, far from being “within budget,” MassHealth is anticipating a $500 million […]

Public Statement on the New MBTA Union Contract

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PIONEER INSTITUTE PUBLIC STATEMENT ON THE NEW MBTA UNION CONTRACT Yesterday, the MassDOT board approved a new labor agreement with the Boston Carmen’s Union that sidesteps real reform at the MBTA Retirement Fund. The fund is in dire condition, with a $700 million unfunded liability that jeopardizes both retiree benefits and the MBTA’s finances. The pact promises to close certain loopholes that have allowed MBTA employees to bank back pay to spike their pensions. This is a long-overdue and welcome reform, but one that barely scrapes the surface of the many fundamental problems the retirement fund faces. It is also the only significant gain for taxpayers from the deal. ?he fund promises to share information about retiree allowances with the […]

Study: $1B Price Tag for ACA Health Exchange & New Medicaid Program in Mass.

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Study: $1 Billion Price Tag for ACA Health Exchange & New Medicaid Program in Massachusetts Over half due to two-year cost of switch to new ACA website at the Connector BOSTON – The cost of transitioning to an Affordable Care Act compliant health insurance exchange is likely to top $1 billion over two years, far more than it would have cost had Massachusetts simply used the federal government’s healthcare.gov exchange, according to a new Policy Brief published by Pioneer Institute. The Undisclosed Cost of Developing an Affordable Care Act State Exchange in Massachusetts The two-year cost of getting the new exchange up and running will be more than $600 million, more than the commonwealth spent on economic development, environment and recreation, libraries, and […]

Celebrating Great Ideas: The Better Government Competition Awards Dinner

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Pioneer Institute Hosts 23rd Annual Better Government Competition Boston Mayor Martin Walsh Delivered Keynote at Awards Ceremony  Pioneer Institute recognized the winner and runners-up of its annual Better Government Competition at an awards dinner on Thursday, featuring a Keynote Address by Martin J. Walsh, Mayor of Boston.   In his Keynote Address, Mayor Walsh described his comprehensive agenda for the City, emphasizing his civic engagement initiatives. His remarks were followed by a Q&A session. Watch the Mayor’s speech: [youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soN-B_kHK7o&index=2&list=UUxPr4y_MBrcdji_ockXjuPA[/youtube] “Compass® CoPilot,” a proposal to integrate data collection and reporting at state and county human services agencies, is the winning entry in the 23rd annual Better Government Competition. This year’s contest sought ideas that leverage technology to improve the public sector. The winning […]

Common Core Math Will Reduce Enrollment in High-Level High School Courses

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Common Core Math Will Reduce Enrollment in High-Level High School Courses September 8, 2014 by Editorial Staff

Study Finds Common Core Math Standards Will Reduce Enrollment in High-Level High School Math Courses, Dumb Down College STEM Curriculum Lower standards, alignment of SAT to Common Core likely to hurt low-income students the most BOSTON – Common Core math standards (CCMS) end after just a partial Algebra II course.  This weak Algebra II course will result in fewer high school students able to study higher-level […]

Study: Common Core ELA Standards Will Further Harm U.S. History Instruction

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Study Says Common Core ELA Standards Will Further Harm U.S. History Instruction States and schools should offer separate standards and classes for English and U.S. History rather than follow Common Core approach of merging academic disciplines BOSTON – By trying to include U.S. History in English language arts (ELA) standards, Common Core will further damage history instruction, according to a new study authored by a preeminent Founding-era historian, a content expert, and a high school history teacher with standards-writing experience. Imperiling the Republic: The Fate of U.S. History Instruction under Common Core “Imperiling the Republic: The Fate of U.S. History Instruction under Common Core,” published by Pioneer Institute, analyzes literacy standards for U.S. History that are included as part of […]

Gov. Jindal’s Common Core Lawsuit Draws on Pioneer’s Research

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BOSTON – The legal complaint issued by Governor Jindal’s office clearly builds off Pioneer Institute’s white paper “The Road to a National Curriculum,” co-authored by former U.S. Department of Education General Counsel Kent Talbert, Deputy General Counsel Robert Eitel, as well as Bill Evers of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. The publication was a joint release with the Federalist Society, the American Principles Project, and the Pacific Research Institute. In that paper, Talbert, Eitel, and Evers focus not on the broad issue of whether federal involvement in education is a constitutional question, although that is a matter in which all U.S. citizens and lawmakers should be interested.  Rather, they ask whether the Common Core and national testing consortia are legal […]

Reflecting on Massachusetts’ Fiscal State Under the Patrick Administration

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Report Finds Massachusetts Economy Resilient, But Strategic Risks Exacerbated by Unwise Fiscal Policy State budget continues to shortchange retiree obligations and proven education programs, MBTA and its retirement fund remain sore points BOSTON – The Massachusetts economy has endured the financial crisis better than the rest of the country, but the state government has stepped back from critical reforms in education, public transit and retiree benefits, according to Pioneer Institute’s analysis of the commonwealth’s fiscal 2015 budget. The report finds state spending has largely remained in line with the tax base in the 21st century, but there is a growing misalignment between strategic priorities and the distribution of funding. “After approving a multibillion-dollar infrastructure spending spree and neglecting to address looming […]

District and Charter Early Childhood Education Lessons from D.C.: Roundtable Discussion

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This event, held on July 31, 2014 in Boston, featured a panel discussion with Jeanne Allen, president emeritus of the Center for Education Reform; Cynthia Brown, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress; Leo Casey, executive director of the Albert Shanker Institute; and John McKoy, Fight For Children’s director of programmatic initiatives. The discussion was moderated by former Florida and Virginia education official Gerard Robinson.

Study: States Should Replicate AppleTree Institute’s High-Quality Charter Early Ed Program

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Report to be discussed in forum on district and charter early education featuring D.C. Deputy Mayor for Education Abigail Smith BOSTON – States should replicate high-quality early education charter schools in which student outcomes are clearly delineated and transparent, and the schools should be held accountable based on whether they achieve those outcomes, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute. Seeds of Achievement: Appletree’s Early Childhood D.C. Charter Schools In “Seeds of Achievement: AppleTree’s Early Childhood D.C. Charter Schools,” author Cara Stillings Candal argues that states should establish charter schools focused on providing low- and middle-income three- and four-year-olds with high-quality early childhood education. “AppleTree’s charter work is significant,” Candal says, “because it reflects a focus on academic […]

Study: MBTA Retirement Fund Failings a Cautionary Tale

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Study Finds Poor Governance Structure, Lack of Accountability and Transparency at Heart of MBTA Retirement Fund Failings MBTARF dramatically underperforms state retirement fund, is plagued by cronyism and endemic conflicts of interest A poor governance structure that gives control over hundreds of millions of dollars to a board of directors and senior managers who aren’t required to have investment experience, the absence of independent oversight and the apparent lack of a coherent investment strategy make the MBTA Retirement Fund (MBTARF) a cautionary tale for other pension funds and institutional investors, according to a new study published by Pioneer Institute. Hard Lessons for Institutional Investors from the MBTA Retirement Fund With three MBTA appointees, two union designees and one member elected […]

State Scholarship Tax Credit Program Would Help Low-Income Students

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Study Finds State Scholarship Tax Credit Program Would Provide Opportunity to Tens of Thousands of Low-Income Students Program would either save money or be revenue neutral BOSTON – A Scholarship Tax Credit (STC) program tailored to Massachusetts’ needs could expand educational opportunity for thousands of students from low-income families and either be revenue neutral or save the commonwealth money, according to a new study jointly published by Pioneer Institute and Cato Institute.  The authors found, importantly, that the program would likely not run afoul of so-called anti-aid amendments to the state Constitution. Giving Kids Credit: Using Scholarship Tax Credits to Increase Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts In “Giving Kids Credit:  Using Scholarship Tax Credits to Increase Educational Opportunity in Massachusetts,” authors […]

Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Easy, wrong, vote on charters

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By Charles Chieppo and Jamie Gass This article originally appeared in The Worcester Telegram & Gazette on July 21, 2014 After losing the 1958 governor’s race, George Wallace, then considered a moderate on segregation by mid-20th century Alabama standards, said he would never get “out-segged” again. Four years later, after his election by the state’s virtually all white voters, it was easy for him to declare in his inaugural address, “I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say, segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” Five months later, it was easy for him to “stand in the schoolhouse door” and attempt to block two qualified African-American students from enrolling at […]

Boston Herald: Schoolhouse doors blocked

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By Jim Stergios Originally published in The Boston Herald on July 18, 2014 The Massachusetts Senate prides itself on being the more progressive of our two legislative branches. By voting not to increase access to high-quality schools in Boston and other Massachusetts cities, they have shown themselves to be anything but. The defeated Senate bill, sponsored by Education Committee Chairwoman Sonia Chang-Diaz, was nothing to brag about from the start. Its eye-dropper approach would have increased the number of charter seats in low-performing urban districts a miserly maximum of 1 percent per year. Moreover, Chang-Diaz loaded her bill with enough poison pills to constitute malpractice on these innovative schools and the families of 15,000 schoolchildren on Boston charter schools’ waiting […]

Pioneer Institute Statement on Senate Charter School Cap Lift Vote

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The Senate Turns Back the Clock Today, the Massachusetts State Senate voted against S2262, a bill to lift the cap on charter school enrollment in the state’s lowest-performing public school districts. The Senate bill would have tied charter school expansion to full funding of reimbursement to sending districts. Under the bill, charter schools would have been responsible for 50 percent of extended day and extended year transportation costs. The Senate also filed dozens of amendments to the bill, which, with few exceptions, would have imposed unrealistic, harmful, and petty regulations on charter schools. The Senate gets a low grade for the quality of the debate and a failing grade for the misrepresentations made about charter schools. Senator Barry Finegold said […]

Study: 5% Increase in Spending Could End Urban Charter School Waitlists in Failing Districts

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Study: Urban Charter School Waitlists Could Be Nearly Eliminated Through 5 Percent Increase in Spending in Low-Performing Districts State reimbursements would cover 28 percent of the spending increase over a decade; change would allow over 10,000 students to leave low-performing schools for high-performing charters BOSTON – The long-term financial investment needed to raise the charter school cap and allow over 10,000 waitlisted students to attend charter schools in the 17 lowest-performing urban school districts is equal to only about an additional 5 percent of spending in those districts, and the new spending would be phased-in gradually, according to a new report published by Pioneer Institute. Meeting the Commonwealth’s Demand: Lifting the Cap on Charter Public Schools in Massachusetts When a […]