Governor Patrick signed a $27.6 billion budget for the upcoming fiscal year, touting it as “balanced, responsible and on time.” Notwithstanding all the cries of pain from the state budgeters, it represents an increase over the 2010 budget, albeit of only 0.2 percent. Most families and most localities would take that deal. The state can’t handle it. The Guv has put off $300 million in debt payments, drained the near bone-dry rainy day fund further and set us up on a cliff now that the federal stimulus dollars are all spent. The mismatch of revenues and spending (often called in deep sonorous tones “The Structural Deficit” by budgetistas) remains. Lots of eyes are focused on implications for legal and illegal […]

In just a few days, we will be celebrating the 234th anniversary of our republic. To mark the occasion, I thought it would be fun to go back to one of the great acceptance speeches of the past 50 years – Ronald Reagan’s speech at the 1980 Republican convention – and pull out eight important themes for 2010. We must have the clarity of vision to see the difference between what is essential and what is merely desirable; and then the courage to bring our Government back under control. It is essential that we maintain both the forward momentum of economic growth and the strength of the safety net between those in our society who need help. We also believe […]

In just a few days, we will be celebrating the 234th anniversary of our republic. To mark the occasion, I thought it would be fun to go back to one of the great acceptance speeches of the past 50 years – Ronald Reagan’s speech at the 1980 Republican convention – and pull out eight important themes for 2010. I often get tired of supposedly theoretical discussions about limited government—that sort of caricature libertarian who wants anarchy. Dudes, not helpful. Freedom is not simply freedom from government, nor is it simply freedom through government. Freedom in the American context is a balance of those two impulses, much like the balance of several institutional powers inside the frame of constitutional government. What […]

The Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) will, this summer, have 99 charter schools serving over 25,000 students in 20 states and the nation’s capital. KIPP has just posted a study conducted by Mathematica (www.kipp.org/mathematica). The results are astounding, as both KIPP co-founder Mike Feinberg noted in a Houston Chronicle article: “This is great news for the people who have already had faith in us,” he said. “For the people who have been on the fence, I hope this makes them true believers.” And Nelson Smith, head of the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, noted, “It helps demolish some of the myths that people hold about KIPP,” Smith said. “Some of the ways people have tried to excuse or explain […]

In just a few days, we will be celebrating the 234th anniversary of our republic. To mark the occasion, I thought it would be fun to go back to one of the great acceptance speeches of the past 50 years – Ronald Reagan’s speech at the 1980 Republican convention – and cull eight important themes for 2010: More than anything else, I want my candidacy to unify our country, to renew the American spirit and sense of purpose. I want to carry our message to every American, regardless of party affiliation, who is a member of this community of shared values. He went on to criticize his opponents for saying that the United States has had its day in the […]

MassDoT Secretary Jeff Mullan used this term yesterday in reference to a move to have more snow plowing done in-house, rather than by private contractors. I’m skeptical to say the least — the Turnpike to MassHighway analogy used in the article (where the Turnpike uses in-house staff while MHD uses a lot of contractors) is a false one — Turnpike is a discrete asset, MHD has lot more miles spread out over the state. And I hope any analysis done is all-in — you’ve got to count the capital cost of any new equipment plus factor in the maintenance of that equipment (or the reduced lifecycle if you don’t do it). Plus the overtime and/or lost productivity (for other tasks) […]

The Globe’s James Carroll regularly writes op-ed columns* that utilize available newspegs to hammer home one of his key themes: the utter rottenness at the core of “America” and its rapidly approaching collapse. A tour through his back catalog yields lots of examples — disparate items like Christmas, soccer, and the Somali pirates all provide important insight into this theme. So, to save the reader of today’s Globe the trouble of plowing through his whole column, just take your newspegs as the oil spill in the Gulf and General Petreus’ collapse during his testimony last week, then add the usual theme: …..The two Washington hearings captured the widespread American mood of exhaustion and dread. The nation has been drastically confronted […]