THE PIONEER BLOG

Steve Poftak

Whining About Legislative Process

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Yesterday’s Globe highlighted a troubling aspect of the state Legislature’s current process: cramming really detailed pieces of legislation into a few short days. What does this do? It concentrates power in the hands of lobbyists (who provide drafts of amendments) and staffers (who create the actual product). It drains power from elected representatives, who have no hope of actually reading, analyzing and pondering the consequences of all the paper that flies through the chamber. And it also cuts the press and the public out of the process almost altogether. The Globe piece examined an amendment offered by Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz that severely limited the number of districts where the charter cap might be raised. From my read of the amendments, […]

Steve Poftak

Awkward Juxtaposition Department — Probation

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Today’s Globe detailed a new Boston Foundation report that shows state spending on the probation department rising at a rate of 163 percent over the last ten years, far outstripping almost every other part of state government. So, where’s the money going? Well, it appears that at least $2 million of it just walked out the door with one of their accounting clerks.

Steve Poftak

Going Off the Rails On the Khazei Train

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(sorry about the title, could not resist). In the last two weeks, two separate polls have come out (Globe and Rasmussen), both showing Martha Coakley with a significant lead. (Sidebar: The careful reader will note how much time is spent in the Globe poll determining that the respondent is a registered Democrat, unlike its previous effort in the Mayor’s race). The interesting part, at least for this observer, will be to see how Alan Khazei fares. In an abbreviated election cycle and starting with almost zero name recognition, he’s either running last or tied for third depending on which poll you believe. He’s managed to spin his amazing rolodex (note to self: make more billionaire friends) into fairly shocking endorsements […]

Jim Stergios

Too high a price to pay?

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The Chicago Tribune editorial page ran an incredible piece just before Thanksgiving. I will give much of it to you below, but you have to promise to watch the video I am linking to. We watched an interesting YouTube video the other day. It was brought to our attention by state Sen. James Meeks, the Chicago Democrat who is also pastor of Salem Baptist Church on the South Side. We think our readers should check out the video. It’ll open your eyes. Meeks, who chairs the Illinois Senate Education Committee, has been in a war with the Chicago Teachers Union since he had some tough things to say about public education in a Tribune essay and in a speech at […]

Amy Lischko

Be Careful What You Ask For

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When I read the informative report released by DHCFP and reported on in the Boston Globe today, I was struck by how well this insurance seems to meet the needs of most students.  Less than 1% of students reach the caps that are imposed by the plans.  That seems like a small number to me.  And, the Safety Net Pool will wrap around these plans if the services that exceed that amount are sought in a hospital or community health center.  So, what’s real beef here?  I think some legislators cannot stand that insurance companies are a business and like any other for-profit business need to make a profit.  Is the solution to require every student have coverage equivalent to […]

Jim Stergios

An enlightening comparison on Afghanistan policy

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Nope, this is not directly related to Pioneer’s mission to promote great policies and big reforms in Massachusetts. But no matter what you think of the decision to send more troops to Afghanistan, it is worth highlighting two of the President’s speeches on the matter — one on March 27, 2009, when he announced “A New Strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan” and the speech this past Tuesday when, well, he announced a new strategy for Afghanistan and Pakistan. The March 27th speech can be seen here and the December 1 speech can be seen here. Hint: He is very consistent. The only difference between the respective new strategies was the addition of troops with an 18-month window for withdrawal.

Jim Stergios

MA and federal health care reforms

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Pioneer has never taken a “position” on the MA Health Care Reform Act of 2006. We’ve held events (1, 2, and others) discussing the merits and weaknesses, and we’ve published a paper on how we should monitor its implementation and make corrections. We are worried about cost implications, crowd-out of the private market and other stuff, but we like state experimentation and we think it should be gauged largely by the empirical question: Has it worked? Our Senior Fellow on Health Care Amy Lischko will help us answer those questions. Those who use it as a justification for federal efforts to recast our health care options, however, are just plain uninformed. The fact is we are only getting to know […]

Jim Stergios

Don't cut the safety net to shreds

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The State House News Service (subscription required) reports that The state will lay off more than 300 mental health workers over the next several days, with about 300 more opting to accept voluntary retirements and layoffs as the Department of Mental Health moves forward with its closing of Westborough State Hospital. The fact is the Governor has been cutting deeply into the safety for a long time, and at a rate that is alarming. See my blog on the Governor’s job cuts, which are 75% from safety net programs. In comparison, and I know this is counter-intuitive to some, Governor Romney’s cuts to safety net program jobs in 2005 and 2006 amounted to only 25% of the overall cuts to […]

Jim Stergios

Intro to KIPP video

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Check out this video introduction to Knowledge Is Power Program schools. It’s a very good reason to support legislation that goes beyond the current proposal by the governor — to support unfettered charters in urban districts where failure is the rule. Without a charter cap lift in MA, it is unlikely KIPP, which has one school in Lynn, will deepen its presence in the state.

Jim Stergios

Anyone besides Baker running for MA Governor?

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Crossposting an interesting blog from EaBo Clipper at RedMassGroup: Here is your fourth installment of the Massachusetts Constitutional Office Money watch. There are 48 more to go. Wow can Charlie Baker turn on the money spigot when he needs to. Gubernatorial Race – Charlie Baker (R): $297,499 in nine deposits. That makes his monthly take in November over $400k for the third consecutive month. – Timothy Cahill (U): $0.00 in no deposits – Christy Mihos (R): $25,130 in four deposits including $10,000 from Christy himself. – Deval Patrick (D): $25,760 in 12 deposits Some big “ifs”, but if Christy keeps raising at $25K a month, it is going to be a short primary. If Treasurer Cahill raises no money or […]

Steve Poftak

Brookline — Busy Thanksgiving Season

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Brookline has had a busy week. First, the town and its unions agreed to adopt the state’s Group Insurance Commission as their insurer for municipal employees — which should be a big source of savings. The longstanding position of the Town Administrator has been no movement from the current premium cost-sharing arrangement of 75% (i.e. the town pays 75% of the premium and the employee pays 25%) but, at the end, the town will end up paying 83% after three years. I don’t have access to either side’s numbers but it appears to be a win-win all around. Next, they’ve decided to take matters into their own hands and try to utilize stimulus funding to improve service on Bus Route […]

Steve Poftak

Design it first and then cost it out

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Or maybe the title should be “borne back ceaselessly into the past”. News reaches us that the Boston Convention Center Authority is looking to double its size, but ” they don’t know how much the project would cost or how it would be paid for” (from SHNS, sub req.) I’m going to go out on a limb and say that now is not a great time to be seeking additional funding, particularly with the inference of higher taxes. The planning approach reminds me of the Governor’s quote about his Readiness Project/education reform package: “We’re building a house,” he said. “You design it first and then cost it out.” The task of figuring out the details will reportedly fall to a […]

Jim Stergios

Flier and Saturday's Senate debate

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As noted here last week, the Wall Street Journal opinion piece by Harvard Medical School dean Jeffrey S. Flier was going to be important. Set aside for a moment the procedural vote on Saturday by the US Senate and consider the multiple references to Flier’s piece last week. Sure, the politics of a president’s approval rating going south of 50% matters, but having the dean of HMS pull the federal reform effort limb from limb did not help. Flier gave the federal reform effort merits a “failing grade.” Reasons? The bills being considered included “no provisions to substantively control the growth of costs or raise the quality of care.” He went so far as to say the effort did not […]

Amy Lischko

Overseas Surgery

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So, I’ve heard about the increase in Americans seeking expensive surgery abroad but today’s Wall Street Journal coverage of Dr. Shetty’s 1000-bed cardiac hospital in Bangalore, India was absolutely fascinating reading: (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125875892887958111.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories) Cardiac survey averages $2000 at Dr. Shetty’s hospital compared to between  $20,000 -$100,000 here in the US.  And it’s not just that India is a less expensive place to run a hospital.  It’s because Dr. Shetty has such high volume that he is able to achieve economies of scale unheard of in the United States.  He’s also able to drive hard bargains with manufacturers of cardiac supplies and equipment and his staff are incredibly productive.  What’s the quality like you ask?  Well, it has been well established that […]

Steve Poftak

Thoughts on the Route 28X Failure

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UPDATE BELOW What’s Route 28X? It was MassDOT’s attempt to turn the sloooow Route 28 bus route up Blue Hill Avenue into a Bus Rapid Transit Route. Sadly, it died due to neighborhood opposition — it appears 3 things felled it: 1) Lack of Neighborhood Input on Process – This was probably unavoidable as the state had to move quickly to apply for the federal funds and tried to backfill with ‘civic engagement’ but to no avail. 2) Resistance to Tearing Up the Median Strip on Blue Hill Avenue — To create a dedicated (as in faster than sitting in traffic) bus lane, it would be built on the median strip on at least a portion of Blue Hill Avenue. […]