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Governor Deval Patrick’s Missing Chapter on Transparency

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Governor Deval Patrick’s new autobiography, “A Reason to Believe: Lessons from an Improbable Life”, is an inspiring story, detailing his rise from Chicago impoverishment to his current job as governor of the Commonwealth. While frank about his personal heroes and inspirations, the book skims over his political battles and the decisions he faced in his first term. Even health care reform, of which Massachusetts has in many ways been an early adopter and champion, received negligible mention. Unfortunately, while his personal story is remarkable, his policies haven’t been a very open book. On vital issues of both local and national importance, I’ve seen pushback, opacity and silence. Starting in January of this year, working with the Pioneer Institute, I’ve filed […]

Gov Patrick Confused on Economics on “Daily Show”

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Governor Patrick was on Comedy Central’s “Daily Show” Tuesday night to promote his new memoir.  But the joke may be on us, if his flawed understanding of healthcare economics on the show translate into policy. The Daily Show – Deval Patrick Tags: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook Stewart began an exchange on the Massachusetts reform by pushing back on the notion that markets can work in health insurance (with the clear implication that health insurers are currently operating in a free market system). Governor Patrick responded that double digit [health insurance] premium increases are the result of markets “without parameters.” Hmmm.  Would benefit mandates, guarantee issue policies, thousands of pages of state regulation […]

Siblings and the Boston School Lottery

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If you’ve got young kids in the city, the Boston Public Schools lottery is on your mind.  Boston Magazine’s Amy Traverso detailed multiple strategies for dealing with it in last month’s issue.  And the Boston Globe has given the process the full ‘package’ treatment in print and on the web. This year’s first round of assignments went out two weeks ago and participants have been mulling their options ever since. It’s a damnably complex process (how many other lotteries have extensive econometric literature on them?) as is the range of outcomes – a dizzying mix of  acceptance at desired schools, acceptance at marginally acceptable schools, outright rejection, and varying levels of waitlist purgatory. For some, it’s the final straw before […]

Enter Pioneer’s “MuniShare” Municipal Report Contest

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As part of Pioneer Institute’s annual Better Government Competition, Pioneer is offering two $3,000 awards for the best municipal reports.

Fix Social Security? Just do what FDR did

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It is time for baby boomers (like me) to stop whining about reform of Social Security. If FDR was still around, they might be facing a bigger whack than what is being proposed. And it is good that there is at least a discussion going on about it in Congress. According to the Boston Globe, U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, Wisconsin Republican, chairman of the House Budget Committee and author of a plan to cut trillions in future federal spending, is optimistic about entitlement cuts beyond Medicare and Medicaid. “Social Security reform, hopefully, is an area where we might have a shot at a bipartisan agreement this summer,” he said. We should all hope so. Getting the grandfather of entitlement programs […]