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American Citizenship
March 28, 2013

What would you do with a half-billion dollars?

The next time you’re watching those dollars ring up at the pump, think about this: for every gallon you pump, the federal government gets 18.4 cents and the state government gets 21 cents for gasoline taxes. Did you know you’re also taxed...
American Citizenship, Opportunity, Transportation
March 27, 2013

Driving Reform: New Study on Real Solutions to Our Transportation Challenges

STUDY: TIE NEW FUNDING TO PERFORMANCE, IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSPORTATION REFORM Phasing in additional money based on MassDOT performance will improve service Massachusetts’ aging transportation infrastructure needs about $2.6 billion in new investment over six years that would come in stages based on...
March 27, 2013

Gregory Sullivan Joins Pioneer Institute as Research Director

Gregory Sullivan Joins Pioneer Institute as Research Director Influential think tank welcomes former Massachusetts Inspector General BOSTON, MA – Pioneer Institute announced today that Gregory W. Sullivan will become the organization’s new Research Director. Sullivan begins his position on April 2nd. “We...
Healthcare
March 22, 2013

As Federal Health Law Turns Three, We Should Leverage The Power of Federalism

As the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, aka ObamaCare) turns three this week, states and employers are feeling the weight and complexity of the early stages of implementation. Pioneer reflects on how the nation can best move forward. 5 recommendations...
American Citizenship, Opportunity, Transportation
March 12, 2013

The Pioneer Plan for Massachusetts' Transportation Needs

Expect more on the Pioneer Plan for Transportation in the coming days. Already in January, we issued a detailed Public Statement on the governor’s transportation plan. Expect in the next week or two a full report. In the interim, here is a...
Education
March 10, 2013

Wall Street Journal: New Front in Charter Schools

New Front in Charter Schools In Massachusetts, a Pair of Democrats Push to Lift Restrictions in Some Districts U.S. NEWS March 10, 2013, 7:40 p.m. ET Article http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323293704578334142723722634.html?mod=googlenews_wsj By JENNIFER LEVITZ BOSTON—Massachusetts lawmakers are considering eliminating a cap on the number of charter...
March 6, 2013

Boston Globe's Flip-Flop on ACA's 'Counterproductive' Regulations

In a surprising editorial yesterday, the Boston Globe has flipped on its full support for the ACA in Massachusetts. Without realizing it, they have also made a strong argument for not supporting the law’s one-sized-fits all blunt approach to reform in other states as well. In a letter to...
Education
March 4, 2013

Local committee ends Massachusetts' first virtual school

The Boston Globe and the Boston Herald are reporting that last week the Greenfield School Committee voted to shutter the state’s first and only public virtual school. Here’s the Globe piece by Evan Allen: The academy opened in 2010 and serves about...
Opportunity
February 26, 2013

Hope the governor had a nice vacation

The governor’s Colombia trip is over and here is what your money paid for. The Memorandum of Understanding between the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and Colombia comes with a translation into Spanish. That’s the good news. The rest of the story kind of...
Education
February 25, 2013

An easy vote for the Board of Education

Tomorrow’s Board of Education meeting expects a crowd. Applicants for five new charter schools and 11 expansions will be on hand, as will detractors. There will be those on hand who pursued and opposed new charters that were denied the commissioner’s recommendation...