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FY2026 Consensus Revenue Hearing – Forecasting of Revenues is Tricky BusinessNovember 25, 2024 - 8:00 am
CUNY’s Carl Rollyson on William Faulkner & Southern LiteratureNovember 20, 2024 - 10:36 am
Pioneer Institute Study Finds Massachusetts Saw Four-Fold Loss of Income to Net OutmigrationNovember 19, 2024 - 11:25 am
Massachusetts Job Market Bears WatchingNovember 18, 2024 - 2:10 pm
NH Gov. Chris Sununu on School ChoiceNovember 13, 2024 - 2:02 pm
Five Reasons Why Project Labor Agreements Are Bad Public PolicyNovember 12, 2024 - 9:27 am
Statement of Pioneer Institute on MCAS Ballot Failure and State of Education in MassachusettsNovember 6, 2024 - 2:01 pm
Dr. Helen Baxendale on Great Hearts Classical Liberal Arts Charter SchoolsNovember 6, 2024 - 12:08 pm
Jeffrey Meyers on Edgar Allan Poe, Gothic Horror, & HalloweenOctober 30, 2024 - 11:44 am
Mountain State Modifications: Tiffany Uses ESA Flexibility to Pivot Quickly For Her Son’s EducationOctober 24, 2024 - 12:11 pm
Property Tax Reassessment: Beleaguered Buildings Bear Burden of Boston’s Burgeoning Budget
/in Featured, News, Podcast Hubwonk /by Editorial StaffJoe Selvaggi talks with Marty Walz, the interim president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, about more viable, long-term alternatives to Mayor Wu’s property tax classification proposal.
Increasing Number of Retirees Driving Pension Expenditures
/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, Blog: Pensions, Blog: Transparency /by Raif BoitPension expenditures in the two largest public pension systems are on the rise in Massachusetts, so it’s important to understand the factors behind the growth in annual payouts, including an increasing average pension and an increasing number of retirees.
Where Does Massachusetts’ Pension Money Go?
/in Blog: Pensions, Blog: Transparency /by Matt MulveyBillions of dollars went to retirees in 2023 from the state’s two largest pension funds. Not unexpectedly, the data show that the amount of money given to a specific retiree may depend on many factors outside of where the retiree used to work.
Pioneer Institute Statement on the Project Labor Agreement Provision in the Massachusetts Economic Development Bill
/in Economic Opportunity, Economic Opportunity, Featured, Massachusetts Economy, News /by Editorial StaffGovernor Healey should veto a provision in the recently passed economic development bill that would ease restrictions on public entities seeking to use project labor agreements on public works or building projects. PLAs require that all trade labor on a project come from unions, essentially locking out the nearly 82 percent of Massachusetts construction workers who choose not to affiliate with a union. Such a provision reduces competition and, in turn, raises costs. A 2021 RAND report on the effects of PLAs on affordable housing production in Los Angeles found a 14.5 percent increase in construction costs for projects subject to PLAs. RAND also found that without PLAs approximately 800 additional units of housing (an increase of 11 percent) could […]
Massachusetts Affordability and Competitiveness Ranking is in Freefall
/in Blog: Economy, Economic Opportunity, Economic Opportunity, Featured, News /by Eileen McAnnenyEach year, CNBC ranks the 50 states on 10 broad categories of competitiveness using 128 metrics. The categories are weighted based on how frequently states use them as a selling point in economic development and marketing materials. In other words, states are judged on the attributes they use to sell themselves. For example, Massachusetts most likely touts its talented workforce, public education system and quality of life as key attributes. 2024 Category Ranking Weight MA 2024 Ranking 2023 Category Ranking Weight MA 2023 Ranking Drop in Places 1 Infrastructure 17% 44 Workforce 16% 34 31 2 Workforce 15% 38 Infrastructure 15.60% 13 4 3 Economy 14% 40 Economy 14.40% 26 14 4 Quality of Life 13% 9 Life, Health, Inclusion […]