MORE ARTICLES
Mapping Mass Migration: New Census Data Shows Continued Out-Migration from Massachusetts to Competitor StatesDecember 19, 2024 - 8:52 am
UK’s John Suchet, OBE, on Tchaikovsky, The Nutcracker, & BalletsDecember 18, 2024 - 9:40 am
Tim’s Take: An Education Reform Stalwart Takes a Curious Look at Homeschoolers With ESAsDecember 12, 2024 - 1:10 pm
U-OK’s Dan Hamlin on Emerging School Models & Learning LossDecember 11, 2024 - 10:20 am
What To Do About 340BDecember 11, 2024 - 9:47 am
Pioneer Institute Offers Blueprint for Federal Administrative ReformDecember 10, 2024 - 9:06 am
The House Call – Mayor Wu Wants to Overhaul Boston’s Arcane Development Approvals Process? Here Are Three Reform OptionsDecember 9, 2024 - 11:05 am
Pioneer Institute Releases Examination of Metropolitan Housing Markets; Obtains Insights Into Improving Affordability December 5, 2024 - 9:03 am
NYT #1 Bestseller Dava Sobel on Marie Curie & Women in ScienceDecember 4, 2024 - 10:58 am
The Roger Perry Internship ProgramDecember 3, 2024 - 2:00 pm
The Emerging Anti-Necktie Consensus
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byThe necktie debate has roiled through our office several times. The following was brought to our attention by the Liam Day Joint Harvard-Oxford-Middlebury Institute for the Elimination of Class Distinctions: The National Health Service of Britain has called for the elimination of neckties for health workers, based on sanitary reasons, claiming that: Ties are rarely laundered but worn daily. They perform no beneficial function in patient care and have been shown to be colonised by pathogens.
A LOT of GBH tote bags
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Economic Opportunity, Housing, News /byI like “Sesame Street,” as I don’t think pre-school children should be exposed to the latest in advertiser-driven brain-stem stimulation. I also enjoy “Greater Boston.” That said, I do object to the Olympian enshrinement of Ken Burns, Buster Bunny, and Emily Rooney in WGBH’s new technicolor monstrosity of a road hazard. How can a place that really, really needs $20 gifts from Inspector Lynley-loving librarians toss so much coin around? Is anyone else nervous about Boston’s annexation by Nonprofitstan? Private citizens and businesses default and run, bridges rot and slot machines jingle as colleges and “non-commercial” media outlets splurge on name-brand architects. [Black Kettle Alert: Yes, Pioneer is a nonprofit too. If anyone would like to engage Renzo Piano or […]
Great Pension Resource
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government /byWe did a paper last year detailing the cost of pension gaming to the Commonwealth. The Herald has just put up a database of all the pension recipients and their yearly payouts. Many old friends show up….
A Big Wet Kiss for Racinos
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, Economic Opportunity, News /byThe Globe’s Stan Grossfeld plants exactly that in today’s Globe with a puff piece on Pennsylvania’s experience with racinos. Unsurprisingly, a declining industry that receives a massive subsidy experiences a bit of resurgence, but the unasked question is why should we be subsidizing horse owners above any number of other worthy recipients. Also conveniently absent is any reference to the massive profits that the former track owners made when they sold their facilities after purchasing below-market fixed price licenses. One of the details in the Patrick Administration’s casino plan that we were glad to see is the presence of a competitive bid process (as opposed to granting fixed-price licenses to racetracks, which was floated last year). Check out our op-ed […]
Darwin Award Candidate
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byYesterday’s Globe reports on charges filed against a Vermont man, who may need to ponder the consistency of his actions: “A Vermont man charged with helping convicted tax evaders Ed and Elaine Brown evade authorities left a trail of evidence showing his allegiance, authorities said yesterday. Robert Wolffe showed his devotion to the Browns and his wish for an armed showdown with authorities via blogs and e-mail, even e-mailing a manual on how to kill government officials to his wife at work, an employee in the Vermont division of the Federal Highway Administration, a prosecutor alleged.” [Emphasis added]