Blog: Better Government

In 2023, the United States Patent Office issued 159,880 patents for American inventors, according to US DataLabs. That number was roughly half of all U.S. patents granted. One sixth of the patents granted were filed by Japanese inventors; Chinese and Korean inventors...

Once seen as a city upon a hill, Massachusetts, the first state with a public viewing gallery for its Legislature faces persistent concerns about lack of government transparency. Data on Statements of Financial Interest (SFIs) from US DataLabs highlights those concerns and emphasizes the need for accountability. 

At first glance, Massachusetts appears to be a national model for criminal justice reform, boasting both the nation’s lowest incarceration rate and a low crime rate. However, a deeper look at the numbers in US DataLabs reveals a surprising paradox: Massachusetts also has one of the highest rates of life sentences in the country—and leads the nation in the percentage of life sentences without parole. 

A system that offers voters limited electoral choice has the potential to undermine democracy. When candidates don’t face primary opponents or general election challengers, it is harder to hold them accountable to the will of voters. The lack of political competition can have broader implications: when compromise becomes scarce, governance suffers.

As Steven Wilson argues in his new book, The Lost Decade: Returning to the Fight for Better Schools in America, “central to a liberal education is the pursuit of truth, however elusive.” Indeed, the quest for truth, and knowledge of it, is enshrined in the slogans of most universities, including my own—the University of Chicago—as a reminder of our purpose. It seems absurd to suggest otherwise, to propose educating students in anything but rationality, logic, and ultimately, truth; but absurdity has taken hold in education.

What is the relationship between public transportation usage and CO2 emissions in Massachusetts? To investigate this question, this blog uses a peer group of the only nine states with over 100 million total public transport trips in 2023, which are referred to as ‘high transport states’ throughout the blog.  

National SAT scores have dropped to their lowest levels in years, and Massachusetts has also faced a moderate decline in scores. With fewer students in Massachusetts opting to take standardized tests, data from US Data Labs illustrates a complicated picture of academic performance and recovery in the state. 

While Massachusetts may be known for having the worst drivers in the country, this judgment might unfairly punish drivers for a factor beyond their control—the quality of the roads and bridges they drive on. According to US Data Labs, Massachusetts has fallen behind the national average in both road and bridge quality over the past 15-25 years.

As Pioneer Institute observes Sunshine Week,?we are disappointed by the legislature’s attempts to deny what the vast majority of voters want: an audit of the legislature by our State Auditor. Trying to avoid an audit further exacerbates the loss of public trust. After all, what are we left to think? Do they have something to hide? That is not the government our founders intended; nor is it what 72 percent of Massachusetts voters wanted. This year, during Sunshine Week, we are entirely focused on the top three actions to bring sunlight to the state legislature. They are: 

In the last decade, Massachusetts has accrued billions of dollars in debt. However, despite a large amount of debt, both overall and per capita, the state's debt as a percentage of GDP is normal amongst its neighbors.