THE PIONEER BLOG

Sarah Delano

State, Regional, and National Employment Trends Point to an Aging Workforce: Part One

/in /by Sarah Delano

This blog explores the factors which have contributed to observed trends of increased employment among the 65 and older demographic in Massachusetts, New England, and the United States at large, as it pertains to the aging of the workforce.

Peter Mentekidis

The MassLottery: A Bay Stater’s Favorite Pastime

/in , , , /by Peter Mentekidis

The Massachusetts lottery made $5.9 billion in 2021, making it the fourth-highest source of revenue for the state. This confirms a long-standing trend: that Massachusettans love to play the lottery.

Sarah Delano

Massachusetts is Losing Taxpayers to More Tax-Friendly States

/in /by Sarah Delano

This post explores the difference among tax policies in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Florida in order to explain the increasing amount of Massachusetts residents who are migrating from the state. Tax-friendly policies are very alluring to Massachusetts residents, seeing as the state is actually increasing the personal income tax rate rather than try to lower taxes, as both New Hampshire and Florida have done.

Teddy Wynn

Healthcare: Suffolk County’s Biggest Driver for Labor and Employment

/in , , /by Teddy Wynn

Suffolk County employment and labor trends have seen steady growth over the past 15 years. The rise of establishments and employment in the health care sector has directly contributed to these trends. Suffolk County has now surpassed Worcester and Essex counties in labor force and employment numbers.

Peter Mentekidis

The Confounding Massachusetts Estate Tax

/in , , /by Peter Mentekidis

The estate tax has become an increasingly significant source of revenue for the Bay State in recent years. Why is this: and is it a good thing?

Joshua Archambault

Massachusetts’ Misguided Middle-Class Health Insurance Subsidy Expansion

/in , , , , , /by Joshua Archambault

A proposal on Beacon Hill to expand insurance subsidies up to 500 percent of the federal poverty level, could push the small business insurance market into a death spiral, without reducing the number of uninsured and hurting those with preexisting conditions.

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Aidan Enright

A Model for Occupational Licensing Reform in the Bay State

/in , /by Aidan Enright

Licensing for many professions squeezes the supply of services, artificially inflating prices and creating wage premiums. One study from the Institute for Justice put the wage premium relative to an environment without any occupational licensing at a whopping 22 percent in Massachusetts.

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Aidan Enright

A History of Rent Control Policy in Massachusetts

/in , /by Aidan Enright

While many may only remember the 1994 referendum and the laws that gave rise to it, rent control policies – and opposition to them – stretch back more than a century in Massachusetts. The laws themselves varied widely from era to era, but the reasons for them – housing shortages and a lack of affordability – have been consistent. State and local lawmakers have each seen rent control as a way for the government to mandate affordability in the housing market. Yet, as tempting as price controls have been, every policy of its kind has eventually gone out of favor. Often the result of those policies’ negative externalities, like housing disrepair; reductions in supply; gentrification; and the misallocation of rental […]

Aidan Enright

Corporate Ownership: A Threat to Housing Affordability?

/in , /by Aidan Enright

An increase in corporate ownership of housing has some experts worried about potential consequences of such a shift. One study found a link between LLC ownership and housing stock that is in disrepair, with more rapid deterioration than would be expected if ownership had not changed.

Mary Connaughton

Sunshine Week 2023: Shining Light on the Workings of Government

/in , , , /by Mary Connaughton

Pioneer Institute is proud to join with the media and others—including The Boston Herald, The Boston Globe, CommonWealth Magazine, Common Cause, and the ACLU—in marking Sunshine Week, March 12-18.

Aidan Enright

The Debate Over Rent Control Re-Emerges Amid Housing Crisis

/0 Comments/in , /by Aidan Enright

There is a housing crisis in the Bay State, a fact unlikely to surprise many of the state’s residents. Massachusetts consistently ranks as one of the most expensive places to live in the entire country, right up there with infamously unaffordable places such as New York and California. The state ranks poorly on several measures of comparative costs, including utilities, groceries, transportation, and healthcare. But the cost that takes up the highest percentage of residents’ income is housing. Rents and the cost of the average home have skyrocketed in the wake of the pandemic, hardly cooling as mortgage rates have risen. According to Census Bureau survey data, the median rent paid by Massachusetts renters in 2020 was $1336, nearly $500 […]

Editorial Staff

Happy Holidays

/in , /by Editorial Staff

During this festive season, we want to wish you and your loved ones a joyous holiday and happy New Year.

Editorial Staff

MBTA Safety Overhaul: Retooling Teams For Trustworthy Transit

/0 Comments/in , , , /by Editorial Staff

This week on Hubwonk, host Joe Selvaggi talks with transit advocate and expert Chris Dempsey about ways in which structural change in the MBTA’s safety oversight can be reformed to improve performance, engender greater trust amongst the region’s riders, and reduce transportation congestion in our growing economy.

Aidan Enright

Where Are All the Workers?

/0 Comments/in /by Aidan Enright

Labor shortages are front and center once again this holiday season as Bay Staters make their way to retail stores for gift shopping. Help wanted signs line store windows, the occasional store is closed during hours when it would otherwise be open, and lines and waits seem longer as shorthanded staff try to accommodate the number of shoppers. This has become a common story since the onset of the pandemic and it persists even now, long after virtually all COVID restrictions have ended. According to the most recent data from the Federal Reserve, over 10.3 million jobs remain unfilled in the U.S. That’s down from the record high of 11.9 million in March of this year but five times what […]

William Smith

Is CHIA’s Drug Cost Data Reliable?

/in , , , /by William Smith

Earlier this year, the Center for Health Information and Analysis (CHIA) released its Annual Report on the Performance of the Massachusetts Health Care System for 2020.  The Massachusetts Legislature relies on CHIA data when considering bills to regulate drug costs and prices. The advocacy group Health Care for All reported that CHIA data showed prescription drug spending grew by 7.7 percent in 2020, more than twice the benchmark – but the most reliable data on prescription drugs indicates that spending in 2020 was essentially flat.