Oped: Better Government

Op-Ed by Mary Connaughton & Josh Archambault Wednesday, May 15, 2013 Think because you live in Massachusetts you’re protected from the Obamacare insurance premium spikes that you have seen in the national news? Think again, especially if you work at a small company....

Legislature must open up on spending  Monday, April 1, 2013 By: Mary Z. Connaughton, Adam Campbell Why would the Legislature spend $525 on a tailor, $1,050 on limousine service and $59,000 at WGBH last year? And the numbers get even bigger. How about...

Watch Pioneer's Administration and Finance Director, Mary Z. Connaughton, on Fox 25 with Maria Stephanos. "Expert Discusses Surprising New EBT Numbers."

We need new revenue to maintain Massachusetts’ crumbling transportation system. But Gov. Deval Patrick’s new blueprint gives the same old interest groups the tools to repeat the mistakes that got us into this mess in the first place.

With its high cost and perverse incentives, Massachusetts’ unemployment insurance system is a job-killing machine. The reforms proposed by Governor Patrick are important steps in the right direction, but far more must be done to tame this beast.

http://www.salon.com/2011/12/31/beware_of_mitt_say_bay_state_conservatives/singleton/ Mitt Romney’s Iowa surge coincides with a new Iowa TV spot in which he touts himself as a genuinely conservative businessman who will shrink and streamline the federal government. But some Massachusetts tax watchdogs and small government advocates who remember Romney’s...

http://www.wickedlocal.com/westwood/features/x1157706591/Westwood-residents-get-around-2K-if-House-GOP-OKs-payroll-tax-cut?zc_p=2#axzz2OHGE6ymJ Bay State workers have reaped thousands of dollars in savings from a one-year  cut to a federal payroll tax whose expiration looms Dec. 31. Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress have agreed broadly on  extending the temporary cut to the Social...

http://www.wickedlocal.com/medfield/news/x1157706593/Medfield-residents-get-around-2K-if-House-GOP-OKs-payroll-tax-cut?zc_p=2#axzz2OHGE6ymJ Medfield residents have reaped thousands of dollars in savings from a  one-year cut to a federal payroll tax whose expiration looms Dec. 31. Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress have agreed broadly on  extending the temporary cut to the Social Security...

Public retirement funds’ managers should embrace new reforms designed to minimize risk during this period of continued market volatility.

If Massachusetts is serious about transparency, state leaders should provide one-stop campaign contribution shopping.