THE PIONEER BLOG

Amy Lischko

Unintended Consequences?

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The Wall Street Journal reports today that the recently passed health care bill will soon negatively hit brokers’ bottom lines.   This is due to regulation of insurers’ medical loss ratio  (the amount of the health care premium dollar that goes to paying claims).   I don’t personally like the MLR requirements in the bill as I think they can be easily gamed and they don’t really get at the heart of growing health care costs.   That being said, if this requirement encourages insurers to pay brokers a fixed dollar amount (as opposed to a % on the premium) then it’s one of the unintended consequences I’m happy about.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some brokers who are doing really good […]

Jim Stergios

Advice to BU grads as they go into the world

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It’s commencement time in Boston, which means a stream of events with caps bobbing and gowns and parents waving. Yesterday was a beautiful day for the Boston University commencement with Attorney General Eric Holder. After the center-ring event, a number of schools have their own convocation events. Here are remarks I made at the convocation for the University Professors Program at Boston University. UNI is a really unique place to get a degree, something like the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago in its interdisciplinary approach and unabashed elitism in restrictions on access. (God knows why they let me in.) A few segments worth highlighting: I wish you lots of success, wealth and well-being. Often these occasions […]

Jim Stergios

When will we go cashless on the Turnpike?

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From Bob Poole is an update on all the toll roads migrating to cashless payments: The conversion of toll roads to all-electronic/no-cash tolling seems to be accelerating. I’m drawing on several recent articles from Tollroadsnews.com for this update. Already operating on a cashless basis are the E-470 in Denver and the West Park in Houston (which has been cashless from its opening day). The next big system to go completely cashless will be the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) in Dallas. It’s already converted two of its five toll facilities—the George Bush Turnpike and the Sam Rayburn Tollway. Its busiest toll road, the Dallas North Toll Road, will be converted during the fourth quarter this year, while its two smallest […]

Jim Stergios

Innovation Smithovation

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We often hear about how charter schools are so innovative. And now we increasingly hear, especially with this week’s release of a Boston Foundation report touting the number of additional hours charter school teachers put into their work, that time in school is what matters. I agree that charter teachers work their butts off, and we all should be incredibly thankful for their commitment to breaking the determinist logic so many had for so long that “those kids can’t do it.” More time does matter. And innovation does matter. But time on task only matters if what is going during the additional time brings real benefits. And I am more and more convinced that the quality of charter school teaching […]

Steve Poftak

Running the Numbers – Elevator-Style

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Here at the posh Pioneer HQ, we are well-aware of the vagaries of our elevators — outages, structural issues, and expired certificates of inspection. The State Auditor took a look at the state agency responsible for inspecting elevators, the Department of Public Safety, and found that 30% of the elevators in the state have expired inspections. The Auditor’s report notes that this represents a large amount of foregone revenue — $2.2 million for the current year’s overdue inspections and over $6 million for the elevators that have gone uninspected for multiple years. The Auditor’s report suggests that hiring 13 more inspectors would cure the backlog. Using the back of the envelope, the average inspector gets $62k in salary (thanks, www.massopenbooks.org), […]

Steve Poftak

The Return of the Nanny State

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Or maybe its no sign-maker left behind. The latest ‘nanny-state’ move by state government comes in the form of new, graphic public service advertisements that stores selling cigarettes will apparently be forced to display. State government can apparently enact this purely through administrative means, all that is needed is a DPH proposal plus approval by the “Public Health Council”. Look, I get that smoking is a bad thing and I think we tax it, label it, and counterpromote about it a great deal. This is a good thing, but some people can’t stop themselves. To get real personal about this, some of us live in places where the convenience stores sell cigarettes (and even lottery tickets, gasp) as a matter […]

Jim Stergios

Crying won't help you

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Crying won’t help you, praying won’t do you no good When the levee breaks, mama, you got to go That’s how I feel about the piece Amy Lischko and I had in the Globe today on the health care reform of 2006 and how it’s failed to do much of anything to respond to small business needs. Key paras: First, the Connector focused all its energy on providing nearly free products to the indigent. In contrast, the Connector’s board seemed almost uninterested in market-rate products for small business employees… The Connector took three years to make information about provider networks and participating primary care providers for small businesses available on its website. It took over two years to launch a […]

Amy Lischko

MA vs. US: Round 2: Employer Penalties

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Sorry, It’s been awhile. Although the MA reform was considered bi-partisan.  There were a few elements that Governor Romney vetoed when the bill was signed.  The employer “fee” was one important one.   Employer requirements or fees don’t make sense for a number of reasons.   There is an on-going myth that the employer’s money and the employee’s money are two separate things.  And, by requiring an employer to offer insurance or pay a fee will result in added benefits to the employee.  In reality, there’s really no evidence that this occurs.  Instead, employers respond by reducing their full-time workforce, or increasing the price of their goods (if that’s possible) both having a potentially negative impact on the economy. How do MA […]

Jim Stergios

Big kudos and 2 questions about the Aquapocalypse

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Fred Laskey and his immediate staff did an incredible job in addressing the water main break in Weston. Full stop. Hosannahs all around. Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, my questions: (1) Why did so many towns with deep budget woes feel that they had to give out water? (2) Is boiling water really so hard? (My kids enjoyed it…) (3) Was the water we had available for a few days really so undrinkable? Was it considered drinkable in the 1990s? Have regulations changed and therefore perceptions about safety? Or was the water even by 1990s standards undrinkable? (4) And will Fred’s freshly minted halo get him over the hump with my friends in the watershed associations […]

Jim Stergios

Congratulations to Paul Toner

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The Cambridge Day News reported over the weekend that Paul Toner was elected new president of the Massachusetts Teachers Association, taking over for Anne Wass. In a statement, Toner pledged that “MTA will lead the fight for positive change in order to improve our schools and support our students. “Where there are issues to be addressed, such as significant achievement gaps between our student populations, we will not shy away from these challenges,” he continued. “Teachers and their unions are not the problem; we have the solutions.” We hope to work with Paul and the MTA.

Jim Stergios

Addressing Staff Complaints

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Stefan (to his Hungarian friends István) Poftak has not said a word. No, not a word. But, alas, I know those furtive side glances and the all-too-confident smirk all too well. He has nailed down three consecutive blog entries and is feeling quite good about himself. But I have been working, comrade, I have been working! Read here.

Steve Poftak

Mr. Speaker, Why Stop With The CJAM?

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UPDATE: Eagle-eyed reader notes that the amendment was filed by Representative (and State Senate candidate) Mike Rush. This morning’s Globe reports on an effort by Speaker DeLeo to move the Chief Justice for Administration and Management from their rented office space to free space in the City Square Courthouse. DeLeo spokesman Seth Gitell cites multi-million dollar cost savings for the move. But the more cynical among us note the LEG’s seemingly eternal desire to micromanage the courts and trample the notion of separation of powers. So, if you aren’t just picking on the CJAM, you’ve got another potential $185 million in savings to work on. This spreadsheet has all the 2009 disbursements for rent payments by state agencies, captured from […]

Steve Poftak

Why Did the Old Woman Swallow the Fly?

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So, in order to make the convention center (which taxpayers subsidized to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars) a real success, we need to subsidize a massive expansion of the facility plus some portion of an estimated $700m hotel? Then we’ll be done? Promise?

Steve Poftak

Questioning the AGs Means, Not Motive

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This morning’s Globe has a story on the Attorney General’s office handing out a grant to provide summer jobs in Boston. Now, that’s a fine thing to support in principle but why is the AG’s office in the business of grant-making to worthy causes? My read of the office’s enabling act — Chap. 12 of the MGLs — provides little insight. It turns out that the AG has been giving out grants to a variety of groups under the rubric of “Project Yes” which is spending out funds from a settlement with pharmaceutical companies on projects that “promote health”. Again, each of these group appears worthy of support. But why is the AG’s office making grants in the name of […]

Jim Stergios

It's a beautiful day out

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Keep looking up folks. The sky is still blue this morning. And keep looking up if for no other reason than that looking down is getting pretty scary. Cue the Greek national anthem. Hope you like it, because you’ll have to get used to it.