Home

Economic Opportunity

Opportunity
June 29, 2007

They call it Pioneer Valley for a reason, 2

So what has all the reform in the City of Springfield led to? Hundreds of jobs in the pipeline and tens of millions of dollars in private investment. You want to see the cold, hard facts on the progress? Good. Click here....
Healthcare, Opportunity
June 29, 2007

They call it Pioneer Valley for a reason, 1

One of the standout winners at the 2007 Better Government Competition was the Municipal Leadership Award given to the City of Springfield (Mayor Charles Ryan) and the Finance Control Board. And, guys, the award was a no-brainer. Springfield went from a deficit...
Opportunity
June 26, 2007

Movement on Pension Fund Consolidation

Pioneer brought up the idea of consolidation underperforming local pension funds in our May 2006 paper, Leaving Money on the Table. We noted that underperformance (relative to the major state fund, PRIM) had left $1.6 billion on the table in the ten...
Opportunity
June 21, 2007

Sure, fight the housing shortage, just not here.

Is what’s good for Springfield also good for Amherst? Friend of Pioneer Peter A. Gagliardi, leader of nonprofit housing developer HAP, Inc., has found that where one stands on affordable housing depends on where one’s property sits. Qualified families in both towns...
Healthcare, Opportunity
June 20, 2007

Tooting My Own Horn - Biotech Edition

Pioneer has had a lot to say about the Governor’s biotech proposal — some positive, some negative — but the exact parameters of the proposal are not yet clear. There’s a lot of discussion around research grants, paying for equipment, and tax...
Opportunity
June 11, 2007

Outside of Boston, there is grumbling

Outside of Boston the Governor’s plans are not playing well. The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune opined yesterday that Governor Patrick’s promises run afoul of fiscal reality. The following are the money quotes (unconnected excerpts): Gov. Deval Patrick has Republicans and members of his own...
Opportunity
June 10, 2007

What a difference a few feet make

As a kid, I lived on the border of Massachusetts and used to jump over the border regularly. Fun for us was rock fights, with one side being Rhode Island and the other the Bay Staters. What a difference a few feet...
Education, Opportunity
June 8, 2007

Whatever you do say nothing

…when you talk about you know what. The above line is from an old Irish song (full lyrics below), mocking some unspeakable truth that can’t be related in polite company. I thought of it today reading about the travails of John Hynes...
Opportunity
June 8, 2007

Biotech vs. Precision Plastics

Good play on the radio and in the print media subsequent to our piece in the Herald giving Pioneer’s take on the billion-dollar biotech bonanza, excerpted below: We all want to attract and grow biotech companies. [But] why not focus on financial services, which employs...
Opportunity
June 7, 2007

How Much Have Business Taxes Increased?

Upon release of the Governor’s budget, the issue of business taxes came to the fore. A coalition of business groups claimed that taxes had increased by $1 billion over the past few years. The administration, a bit snarkily (but with creative use...