THE PIONEER BLOG

Jim Stergios

A run through the budget jungle

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There were some protesters outside the press conference where Baker discussed his FY2016 budget proposal this afternoon.  But the fact is there is not much to protest here. This budget is characterized by lots of programs level funded.  I understand that some advocates want much more funding for their specific program of interest, but the pain, to the extent that there is any, is spread across all areas of government.  And it is worth remembering that the budget is increasing by $1.1 billion dollars, or 3 percent, to $38 billion total. Notwithstanding that growth in the budget, the administration still needs some big moves to make revenues match up with spending.  Going into the budgeting process, the estimated shortfall in revenues […]

Editorial Staff

The Civil Rights Issue of Our Era

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Black History Month may have come and gone but Pioneer believes we must fight year round to ensure that all children have access to a high-quality education without regard to zip code or race. Massachusetts has in the past and must continue to lead the way in this fight. As numerous political leaders across the spectrum have come to understand, education is the Civil Rights issue of our era. It is important to keep pushing for improvements in the school “system” in Boston (where the school district is hiring a new superintendent) and all across the state. But Pioneer is not pinning its hopes for our younger generations on the arrival of another “Superman” or silver bullet solutions. We believe that […]

MuckRock

Help Us Sift through the MBTA’s Contract with Keolis

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Last March, French transportation company Keolis won a $2.6 billion contract to run the MBTA’s commuter rail. A little under a year late, and what was shaping up to be a promising relationship has quickly gone sour, with the MBTA levying six-figure fines for poor service and worse conditions as early as November – months before the nightmare of Massachusetts’ record snowfall that would cripple the service, leaving commuters stranded and fuming. What happened? That’s what we want you to help us find out. Shortly after the deal was finalized, Pioneer worked with MuckRock to get a copy of the contract between the MBTA and Keolis. Since the snow – and the scrutiny – hit, we’ve been reading over to […]

Editorial Staff

Pioneer in the News (February 2015): Fixing the MBTA

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Boston Business Journal op-ed: ViewPoint: What will save the T? A state-appointed financial control board would be a start BNN News: What it will take to get the MBTA on Track CBS Boston: Free Commuter Rail Rides Frustrate Monthly Pass Holders Boston Herald: Carr: Break out the shovels for this load NECN: Fixing rhe MBTA Boston Herald: Editorial: Rx for the MBTA The Patriot Ledger: OUR OPINION: State must consider receivership of MBTA Boston Herald: Editorial: Starting from scratch The Boston Globe: The T’s long, winding, infuriating road to failure The Worcester Telegram & Gazette: Runaway Trains WGBH “Greater Boston”:  Growing Calls For MBTA System Changes Fox 25: “What’s behind the MBTA mess?” WCVB: Explaining the T’s Problems Howie Carr Show:  Clip of interview with Greg Sullivan Boston […]

Scott Haller

MBTA Commuter Rail Only System in Country in Decline Over the Last Decade

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Earlier this month, Pioneer Institute reported on the MBTA commuter rail’s problem with timeliness. After further research, however, it is clear that this finding barely taps the surface of the long-brewing problems that the unpopular agency now faces. Thousands rely on the MBTA every day, and yet commuters continue to face commutes characterized by long, uninformed waits and frigid temperatures. The natural question is, what went wrong? Statistics from the National Transit Database (NTD) show that the MBTA is the sixth largest commuter rail system in the country in terms of annual ridership, serving just over 35 million passengers in 2013. Unfortunately, ridership has been declining since its peak of 40 million passenger trips in 2003, bucking the national trend […]

Greg Sullivan

Why wasn’t the T funding snow storm preparation?

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Canceled commuter trains are becoming the norm leading to continued paralysis of our city.  It is truly a hard thing to imagine—people standing on platforms for hours, often without information.  And this in sometimes frigid temperatures. How did we get here? Between 2003 and 2013, the MBTA was the only one of 18 commuter rail transit systems in the U.S. to suffer a net decline in annual passenger trips, a drop of 5,341,272 trips per year, representing a 13% loss in annual ridership, according to data reviewed by Pioneer Institute from the National Transit Database.  The following graph compares the MBTA commuter rail loss of annual passenger trips to the commuter rail transit systems with the biggest gains in trips […]

Jim Stergios

Working from facts on the crisis at the MBTA

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With all eyes on the MBTA, it is probably to be expected that dueling visions would emerge on a Thursday afternoon, just after the noon hour, as to what ails the T and how to fix the Authority.  That came in the form of a Public Statement from Pioneer and a report from the group Transportation for Massachusetts (MASSPIRG, Conservation Law Foundation). I had a chance to speak with Kirstie Pecci of MASSPIRG on WGBH’s Greater Boston  about the challenges faced by the T.  Good conversation, but a few clarifications would be helpful. The T is important to the Greater Boston area, but really services as an essential cog in the role of the Hub across Massachusetts and the region.  […]

Mary Connaughton

How is Keolis Fined for Late Commuter Rail Trains?

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Your toes are numb, the faces around you sullen and the service alert on your phone says the next train will arrive at a different time than the LED screen overhead.  The train you planned on taking to work broke down and was cancelled.  You’d warm up at the local diner if you knew the next train was delayed by 67 minutes like the LED screen said, but is missing it worth the gamble? Traveling by commuter rail defies predictability these days.   Thankfully, the MBTA toughened the penalty clause enforcement with its contract with Keolis, the new commuter rail operator.  Heavy fines for poor performance have already made headlines.  The fear of further penalties should incentivize better performance. But will […]

Scott Haller

MBTA Commuter Rail: New Boss, Same Problems

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We all know that the MBTA’s commuter rail trains can be late, but how late are they? Pioneer Institute looked into how the MBTA’s performance stacks up against other major commuter rail systems in the country, and the results are not pretty. Of the ten largest commuter rail systems in the country by ridership the MBTA consistently performs the worst. A train is considered on-time if it arrives within five minutes of its scheduled arrival time. The reliability of a commuter system’s timeliness is critical to public confidence, making on-time performance the most important measure of operational success. As the sixth biggest commuter rail system the MBTA serves approximately 130,000 people daily and millions per year, and yet it is […]

Editorial Staff

How an Obscure Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Ruling Crippled Public Records Law

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Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb? What color was Napoleon’s white horse? What constitutes a public record under Massachusetts public records law? On the surface, all of these seem like straightforward questions with equally straightforward answers. However, anyone whose been on the receiving end of those first two gotchas – Grant and his daughters, grey – know that what sounds straightforward can be anything but. Let’s take a closer look at the third question. Now, on the straightforward surface level, public records should constitute any records created by a Massachusetts public official while performing their public duties, right? Well, according to Massachusetts Supreme Court, wrong. It depends a great deal which public official you’re asking, and whether or not they’re in […]

Jim Stergios

What’s driving the state’s budget gap?

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With 2015 revenues off by a sliver ($18 million), the state is facing a $750 million hole in the budget.  My friend at the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, Noah Berger, notes that tax cuts in the 1990s led to decreased state revenues on the order of $3 billion. I find his view unconvincing for a number of reasons, including the fact that those tax cuts were part of changing the brand and the reality of living and doing business in Massachusetts.  Notwithstanding my own view that taxes (and the regulatory costs of doing business) are too high in the state, it is really hard today to assail the state with the worn slur of Taxachusetts.  The change in brand and […]

Jim Stergios

A tax on accumulated wealth?

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Pioneers tend to be people who read words carefully.  When the president speaks, we listen.  And in the State of the Union, there was one sentence that stuck out.  He said, “ Let’s close loopholes that lead to inequality by allowing the top one percent to avoid paying taxes on their accumulated wealth.” Does anyone have a clear sense what this means?  Clearly, what the president has in mind is not a change in taxes on earnings.  Is the implication that he is looking at end-of-life taxes?   That wouldn’t be likely given the political downsides during an upcoming election cycle.  Is it a new tax?  The president’s is one of those odd locutions that didn’t just land there by accident. […]

Sandra Stotsky

Is it Time to Rethink State Boards of Education?

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Some political officials (Governor Sandoval of Nevada) and self-described policy wonks (Fordham Institute staff) are calling into question the usefulness of locally elected local school boards.  Governor Sandoval suggested replacing them with governor-appointed boards, while Fordham has argued for years against locally elected school boards and for regional authorities, possibly appointed by governors and/or legislatures. Trust us, they say, we’re from Washington and know how to make your teachers accountable.  Trust us, they say at the state level, we know how you should teach. That’s not how Massachusetts’ educational reform was ever envisioned – and the commonwealth’s reforms are well known as being the most successful educational reforms over the past half century. Trust us, they say, we’re from Washington […]

MuckRock

Our Transparency Resolutions for 2015

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A new year lies ahead, and with it comes new opportunities to right past wrongs. For transparency advocates in Massachusetts, those opportunities couldn’t come soon enough. After years of truly abysmal public records policy, 2015 is shaping up to be a valuable opportunity to not only get Massachusetts up to the national standard, but to set an example in open government that other states will follow. Here’s what we’re hoping to see in 2015: Create a State CBO We want to reaffirm our proposal to advance true legislative transparency through the statutory creation of a State Congressional Budget Office.  The Commonwealth should establish an independent office to conduct a cost-benefit analysis for bills that would either raise revenue or involve the […]

Sandra Stotsky

Don’t Waste the Crisis over Common Core

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The entire Common Core project is rapidly going south, and within two years may be no more than a dim memory of a nightmare in the minds of a growing army of angry parents and teachers from coast to coast. Before this dystopian scheme for upgrading the academic status of low-income children emerges in a more deadly form in a newly re-authorized Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), we could try to salvage one of the reasonable arguments for a “common core.” We could benefit from some research-based and internationally benchmarked common standards in elementary school reading, writing, and arithmetic across states.  But not up to grade 12. As educators in other countries and most parents everywhere know, many young […]