MBTA retirement fund is headed for a financial reckoning

The new MBTA Retirement Fund Actuarial Valuation Report shows the fund is only about 51 percent funded. In 2006, it was 94 percent funded. A “death spiral” generally accelerates when retirement system funding dips below 50 percent.

Installing bike and bus lanes requires public debate

The problem isn’t with the concept of bike lanes but, rather, the lack of public conversation or transparency. Municipal governments are changing the infrastructure and character of entire neighborhoods and small commercial centers with little input from those most affected.

Removal of Mass. and Cass encampment long overdue

Michelle Wu’s plan to clear tents from the Mass. and Cass homeless camping site by January 12 is long overdue. If only it had been done earlier, the move could have averted a humanitarian crisis.

A truly progressive student loan policy

/
This op-ed originally appeared in the Boston Globe. It was written…

A Rare Victory for Transparency. Massachusetts Could Use Many More.

/
Massachusetts is in the midst of wrongdoing on an unprecedented scale. Thousands of convictions had to be vacated because of the corruption of state drug laboratory chemists. Thousands more convictions were vacated because of the combined misconduct of the chemists and prosecutors. And still more will be vacated because of the Commonwealth’s repeated and deliberate failures to investigate the extent to which its evidence was compromised.

American Rescue Plan Gives States Money, Ties Their Hands

/
For state governments, the good news is that the American Rescue Plan recently signed by President Biden will inject $350 billion into their budgets. The bad news is that it places unwise and possibly unconstitutional limitations on how states can use the money.

Contracting with private providers could avert MBTA cuts

/
In response to a collapse in MBTA service in the winter of 2015, the newly formed Fiscal and Management Control Board (FMCB) set the authority on a course of bold reforms. The COVID-19 pandemic is once again presenting new and significant challenges to T leadership that require a rethinking of how service is delivered to stave off painful service cuts.

During construction, the Allston Mass. Pike project must address commuters’ needs

/
As part of the state’s $1 billion reconfiguration of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Allston, Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack recently announced that a narrow strip of land known as “the throat,” will be considered for an at-grade option in addition to a proposal to rebuild the highway viaduct by Boston University.

Executive branch overreach, blanket orders having harmful effects

/
At the outset of the pandemic, limited knowledge and the need to mitigate risk understandably led to political overreach. At this point in the disaster response, though, we are far better at distinguishing fact from fiction and policies that have worked from those that have not.

Sensible police reform includes changing ‘qualified immunity’ laws

/
Even in a time of painful divisions in our country, there is little doubt among people of good faith that what Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers did to George Floyd was criminal. If they are indeed convicted of a felony, how is it that the former officers could very well be immune from civil liability?

In The Era Of COVID-19, Mass. Needs To Get Long-Term Care Right

/
This op-ed originally appeared in WGBH News. In much of the…

Congress should fix aid, provide block grants

/
This op-ed by Greg Sullivan and Charlie Chieppo appeared in the…

Employers should offer commuter benefits to employees

/
There is no single solution to solve our traffic congestion crisis, but offering employees commuter benefits programs, which bring economic and environmental benefits, among others, can help.

Dynamic pricing for the Expressway

/
By Jim Stergios & Conrad Crawford Published in The Boston…

An easy transportation fix? Commuter benefits

/
This op-ed appeared in The Boston Business Journal on October…

The Mass. Pike is in for some massive disruption. Are we ready?

/
The Boston Globe By Mary Connaughton and Jim Aloisi May…

Mass Pike rebuild shouldn’t impact Worcester commuters, but it will

/
This op-ed originally appeared in The Worcester Telegram &…

Op-ed: T must seize money-saving moment

/
Here’s another one for that bulging “It could only happen…

Op-ed: T privatization survives key union challenge

/
THE MBTA’S BUDGET SHORTFALL, once pegged at $335 million for…

Op-ed: Shame on the Senate for undoing Pacheco Law exemption

/
By Jim Stergios   JUNE 02, 2017 The MBTA has hundreds of…

Op-ed: Neglect creates pension tsunami

/
A version of this op-ed appeared in The Berkshire Eagle, The…

Op-ed: UMass leaders fail Boston campus

/
By Greg Sullivan Friday, April 14, 2017 The University of…

Op-ed: Justification For 40% Legislative Leadership Raises Is Political Voodoo

/
When doing the people's will is secondary to legislators'…

Op-ed: Time for UMass system to implement needed fiscal reforms

/
As University of Massachusetts President Marty Meehan considers…

OpEd: Shine a light upon MBTA pension fund

/
By Mary Z. Connaughton and Charles Chieppo Guest Columnists Originally…

Column: For the T, riders should come first

/
Excerpt from Jim Stergios' column in The Boston Globe.  REVIEWS…

Op-Ed: Making ‘The Ride’ more cost-effective could help MBTA’s finances

/
Unseasonably warm November days have given way to increasing…

Guest Opinion: Reinstate the SNAP work requirement

/
Massachusetts, once a national leader in welfare reform, needs…

The Boston Globe: Create work with on-the-job training

/
The value of work cannot be overstated. If you love what you’re…