THE PIONEER BLOG

Editorial Staff

As States Compete for Talent and Families, Massachusetts Experienced a Six-Fold Increase in Lost Wealth Compared to a Decade Earlier

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With competition for businesses and talent heating up across the country, in 2020 Massachusetts shed taxpayers and wealth at a clip six times faster than even just a decade ago. Between 2010 to 2020, Massachusetts’ net loss of adjusted gross Income (AGI) to other states due to migration grew from $422 million to $2.6 billion, according to recently released IRS data now available on Pioneer Institute’s Massachusetts IRS Data Discovery website. Over 71 percent of the loss was to Florida and New Hampshire, both no income tax states.

Editorial Staff

David Ferreira & Chris Sinacola on MA’s Nation-Leading Voc-Tech Schools

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This week on “The Learning Curve,” co-hosts Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Chris Sinacola and David Ferreira, co-editors of Pioneer’s new book, Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts’s National Model Vocational-Technical Schools. They share information from their new book on the story of the Bay State’s nation-leading voc-tech schools, and how accountability tools from the state’s 1993 education reform law propelled their success.

Mitch Bove

Property Crime Rates and Motor Vehicle Theft in Eastern Massachusetts Cities

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An article published in May by WBUR shined a light on the recent rise in catalytic converter theft (a part of the exhaust system in cars and trucks) across Massachusetts. This raises the question of whether property crime, and more specifically motor vehicle theft, is increasing in Massachusetts especially in Boston, Lowell, and Worcester, the three largest cities in the eastern half of the commonwealth. Contrary to what the catalytic converter thieves may have you believe, overall property crime in these three Massachusetts cities has dropped dramatically since 2010. According to Pioneer Institute’s MassAnalysis website, Boston, the commonwealth’s largest city, had 3,203 property crimes per 100,000 of the population in 2010. In 2020, the most recent year available on the […]

Gauri Binoy

Caution towards CMS Data Sources for Healthcare Legislation

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Policymakers rely on accurate and timely data when implementing legislation or regulation to address biopharmaceutical spending in the U.S. Based on this research, policymakers may want to utilize other sources in addition to NHE data provided by CMS when making policy recommendations. 

This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
Joseph Staruski

Healthcare Employs More on Cape Cod Than Any Other Sector

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Despite being a major tourist destination, the largest employment sector on Cape Cod is not related to tourism: it is healthcare!

Joseph Staruski

With Declining Enrollment, Public Colleges in Massachusetts Cut Back Adjunct Faculty Positions

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The number of adjunct faculty positions is declining at public colleges and universities in Massachusetts.

Editorial Staff

WV State Sen. Patricia Puertas Rucker on Universal School Choice

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This week on “The Learning Curve,” co-hosts Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Senator Patricia Puertas Rucker, a West Virginia state Senator and Chair of the Education Committee. Thanks to her leadership, West Virginia now has the widest, most universal education savings account program in America.

Joseph Staruski

Massachusetts Tax Revenues Surpass Pre-Pandemic Levels

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Pandemic recovery and then some! Massachusetts revenues are higher than anyone was expecting, but where is all the money coming from? And what does this mean for the Massachusetts economy?

Editorial Staff

Accelerating Learning at KIPP

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KIPP Academy Charter School is working hard to ensure that all students have access to high-quality instruction, especially as children everywhere struggle with post-COVID learning recovery. In this video, KIPP Academy Executive Director Nikki Barnes and KIPP Academy Lynn Middle School Principal Jimmy Seter allowed us into their in-depth discussion of the principles, objectives and strategies they use to foster an environment of encouragement, informed guidance, learning growth, and equity. 

Editorial Staff

UVA Law Prof. G. Edward White on Law, Race, & the U.S. Supreme Court in American History

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This week on “The Learning Curve,” as the nation prepares for the likely confirmation of its first Black female U.S. Supreme Court justice, Cara Candal and Gerard Robinson talk with Dr. G. Edward White, David and Mary Harrison Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law, and author of the three-volume book, Law in American History.

Editorial Staff

Exploiting Charity Drugs: Hospital Program Earns Billions But Forgets Mission

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Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Dr. Bill Smith about his recently released paper entitled, “340B Drug Discounts, An Increasingly Dysfunctional Federal Program,” which analyzes the evolution of a well-intentioned program to offer discounted drugs to the uninsured from a benefit that had helped charitable hospitals to one that has exploded to generate billions in profits while serving fewer uninsured.

Mary Connaughton

Sunshine Week 2022 – Government Transparency Has a Great New Ally

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While government transparency is a year-round pursuit, Sunshine Week marks a unique opportunity to reflect on our past work and plan for our future work to weave this most necessary fabric of a free and healthy democracy.

Editorial Staff

ESPN Senior Writer Howard Bryant on Race in Boston & American Sports

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This week on “The Learning Curve,” co-host Gerard Robinson and guest co-host Kerry McDonald talk with Howard Bryant, a senior writer for ESPN and the author of nine books, including Full Dissidence: Notes From an Uneven Playing Field and The Heritage: Black Athletes, A Divided America, and the Politics of Patriotism.

Editorial Staff

Transit Innovation Explored: A Bus As Fast As A Train?

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Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi talks with transportation expert Ian Ollis about the findings of his new research paper, “Bus Rapid Transit: Costs and Benefits of a Transit Alternative,” which examines the benefits of building Bus Rapid Transit to serve communities looking for faster transit alternatives to a car.

Editorial Staff

Fair Share Flimflam: Misleading Ballot Summary Could Distort Voter Choice

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Joe Selvaggi talks with Attorney Kevin Martin, appellate litigator at Goodwin Proctor, about the complaint filed with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court regarding the summary language on the 2022 “Fair Share Tax” ballot initiative. Kevin explains how the language misleads the public about the impact of their vote on revenue, spending, and our state’s constitution.