THE PIONEER BLOG

Liam Day

Rationing Health Care

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Observers both here and across the country are trying to extrapolate lessons from our health care reform ahead of whatever legislation finally emerges from Congress. Some look at Massachusetts as a model, others as a bogeyman. If so, the lesson being offered is unfortunately a stark one, and possibly unconstitutional. Opponents of the various Democratic health care plans currently winding their way through Congress argue that a government takeover of health care will lead to rationing, that as more and more people receive subsidized health insurance, utilization will increase, costs will spiral and, ultimately, government will be forced to ration care to contain them. They may be right. For that is exactly what the Massachusetts legislature just did. The State […]

Steve Poftak

In Praise of Alicia Munnell

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This post is week late, but I think it’s still worth getting on the record. At last Monday’s Pension Reform Commission meeting, Alicia Munnell staged a robust defense of the Commission’s original intention to be cost-neutral. While a number of the committee members demurred, giving the now shop-worn ‘maybe we need to invest in the system’ defense, she was insistent. I’ve shared this story with a number of folks. And, to a person, they are dumbfounded. “Cost-neutral?! I thought there would be savings” is a typical response. But trust me, if you were in that room, you would understand that Professor Munnell is saving this Commission from themselves. A handful of other observations: 1) Wow, PERAC Executive Director Joe Connarton […]

Steve Poftak

Lotteries, Lotteries Everywhere

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Today’s Globe letters to the editor section contains a number of responses to David Segal’s op-ed on charter schools — where he states that the growth of charters (and their entrance lotteries specifically) was creating a divide between those students with active, engaged parents and those without. He calls for an opt-out (versus opt-in) lottery for each charter school. I’m a bit curious why the op-ed (as printed in the Boston, emphasis on Boston, Globe) doesn’t engage the fact that the basis for school assignment across the entire Boston Public School system is…….a lottery. (my previous thoughts on that system are here)

Steve Poftak

Grace Shepard is on the clock

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The MBTA board is meeting at 1 PM today to ponder General Manager Dan Grabauskas’ future. Right now, 4 of the 7 board members (not including Sec’y Aloisi) have come out in support of the GM, including Grace Shepard, a recent Patrick appointee. However, this morning’s Globe reports that Sec’y Aloisi has “targeted a specific board member, a Grabauskas supporter, as a potentially changeable vote“. Who do you think that might be? I’ll be interested to see who flips on the GM, given the strongly worded letter that was sent in support of Grabauskas just one week ago.

Steve Poftak

Another Pension Commission Report

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The Special Commission on Pension Reform met again on Monday. I was struck by the Commission’s eagerness to raise the COLA base and their reluctance to seriously consider much meaningful cost-savings. The approach they are taking is like going to McDonalds and ordering five Big Macs but making a special point to get a Diet Coke. The changes that are being considered will result in savings for new employees only (to be realized in 20+ years) but enhanced benefits will apply to current employees and retirees (adding costs now). I’m not opposed to an increase in the COLA base in principle but I think we need to have a sustainable means for funding in place, or we just exacerbate the […]

Liam Day

Why does this always seem like Boston's default attitude?

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Today’s Globe has an article on a little-known provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, otherwise known as the federal stimulus bill. The provision allows cities and towns to shift ownership of certain subsidized housing units to the federal government, as long as the units are in good condition. Doing so would obviously help in the short run to take the strain off of state and municipal budgets and in the long run help funnel more capital investment to the upkeep of the units themselves, something, at least according to the state’s Department of Housing and Community Development, the feds have a greater fiscal capacity to achieve. Now, I don’t know whether this is a good or bad idea. […]

Jim Stergios

Random thoughts on Globe poll

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I have admittedly only skimmed the 51 pages of questions and results in the poll performed for the Globe by Andrew Smith of the Survey Center at the University of New Hampshire. (See a graphic representation here of the Globe’s takeaways.) Note to Matt Viser and Frank Phillips: It is always good to give folks a clear sense of whether these were likely voters, random calls, etc. Page 19 of the summary document is full of interesting tidbits on policy issues of highest concern. Here are some I found interesting: – Taxes: (1) Taxes mattered most to $30-60,000 earners. (2) Curiously, taxes did not matter to African-Americans (could be an anomaly reflecting the number interviewed or maybe not). (3) Taxes […]

Steve Poftak

The Challenge of Regionalization

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This space is a big fan of regionalization (see here and here), but we acknowledge the challenges involved. A recent report by the state on the potential of a Hamilton-Wenham tie-up highlights many of them. First, an incentive program put in place to encourage regionalization would, curiously, penalize the communities for an actual merger. By going from the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District (which exists currently) to a single, consolidated town, they will lose $500k+ in transportation reimbursements. This reduces the overall merger savings from $1.3m (against a budget of $42.9m) to $750k. Second, the devil really is in the details of tax rate harmonization. Hamilton has a higher mil rate than Wenham, so a tax rate in between the two […]

Jim Stergios

Subway incentives to promote seat belt compliance

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Joe Giglio and Charlie Chieppo had a nice piece, High-tech Highway Funding, in the Globe today on the need for broader and more strategic use of technology to improve transportation service and create an effective revenue stream for transportation needs. Some people – not naming names – some people love this idea but worry that technology can be, well, misused, let’s put it that way, to, uhm, well, also reduce the ability to violate speed limits. Not that they are right. Again, I am not naming names, nope. A similar issue arises with today’s announcement by state and local public safety officials and advocates about an impending seat belt law “enforcement blitz,” as the Statehouse News Service put it, which […]

Liam Day

Teachers Unions Do Not Equal Teachers

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In the wake of yesterday’s State House hearing on his proposal to create in-district charter schools in Boston, the Globe has an article exploring Mayor Menino’s motivation for changing his stance on charters, which he has historically (and quite vocally) opposed. I will leave aside for now my thoughts on the Mayor’s proposal, and simply point out in the article what I thought was a curious paragraph, one that highlights a problem that too often plagues public discussions of education reform: The party’s shift has elicited feelings of betrayal among teachers, who feel that too much blame is placed on them and that political leaders are failing to take responsibility for not providing funding and other resources teachers say are […]

Steve Poftak

Even More Zoo Thoughts

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(Disclaimer: I am in the tank for the Franklin Park Zoo. I’m a member, I go there often, I know Executive Director John Linehan (not well)) With that out of the way, I wanted to add a few items to the discussion: 1) Clause M of the Section 5 of Chapter 92b of the MA General Laws — I’m curious why this hasn’t come up sooner — it prevents the Zoo from charging admission to students on school trips. I understand the impulse but it seems unfair to expect the zoo to stand on its own (kind of) without letting them charge an important group of customers. 2) The Two-Headed Monster — The political dynamic created by the two locations […]

Jim Stergios

Duncan Rex, Daniels Rex

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Great news out of Indiana. We have in the past few weeks seen movement in Chicago, Tennessee, and Rhode Island to remove caps on charter schools or to implement new charter school laws. Duncan Rex is pushing the clock forward quickly, leveraging new Race to the Top funds to gain reforms at a pace that was until now impossible. From the July 1 Indiana News comes great tidings on Indiana’s progress. Because of wise fiscal stewardship by Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana is one of a handful of states with a surplus in this fiscal crisis. And unlike Alaska, Indiana does not have oil and other resources to sustain a glide path on revenues. He is managing his way through it. […]

Jim Stergios

Minneapolis 180, Boston 0

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This just in from our friends at the Institute for Justice: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has come down with a decision that protects a freer market for tax medallions in Minneapolis. The Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter intervened in the case on the side of the city of Minneapolis to defend its free-market reforms that removed a cap on the number of taxis allowed to operate within city limits. The reforms, finalized on March 30, 2007, will open the market to entrepreneurs who are fit, willing and able to serve the public, increase the number of cabs by 180 in the coming years, and eliminate completely the cap on the number of cabs in Minneapolis by 2011. In […]

Jim Stergios

Welcome to Massachusetts, Secretary Duncan!

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U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan is in town this Thursday for an event at the Museum of Science and what is likely to be an announcement from Governor Patrick that he is seeking to lift the cap on charter schools in Massachusetts in order to access the Race to the Top funding. Still lack of clarity on the proposal, but it seems to be looking like no quotas on specific populations and a proposed increase in the net district spending on charters from 9% to 14%. Given the reputation Massachusetts has gained over the past few years (en bref, they’re not welcoming to new charters!), this is not enough. To get KIPP and other national, proven players to declare Massachusetts […]

Liam Day

Thank You, Finally, Adrian Walker

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It’s about time. I’ve been watching the Zoo New England drama unfold in the Globe and the Herald since the incendiary headlines in Saturday’s papers and been wondering how long it would take for someone to call the Zoo’s bluff. Now, I like the Zoo, have been there twice in the past 13 months, but I believe there are three things to keep in mind as you watch this political stand-off: 1) Apparently the Zoo’s not so poor it can’t afford it’s own PR firm. 2) The Zoo still hasn’t disclosed what the location fee was it received from the studio filming the new Kevin James movie there (Read down a few paragraphs here.) and 3) A significant number of […]