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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
How Much Have Business Taxes Increased?
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, Economic Opportunity, News /byUpon release of the Governor’s budget, the issue of business taxes came to the fore. A coalition of business groups claimed that taxes had increased by $1 billion over the past few years. The administration, a bit snarkily (but with creative use of technology), replied that these claims were outrageous. A tip of the pen to Blue Mass Group as the source for these documents. (Curious why a release attributed to the Governor’s Office only shows up on that site? I am too.) However, we’ve got a new, unimpeachable source of data to referee these claims — the Commonwealth’s Official Statement. (Another tip of the pen– to A Healthy Blog for figuring out how to post this publicly). It details […]
Tooting My Own Horn
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, News, Related Education Blogs /byRipped from today’s headlines: “I think there’s certainly a tremendous amount of vision in the education plan, but I approach the financing side of it with a great deal of trepidation,” said Steve Poftak, research director for the Pioneer Institute, a conservative think tank. “I think it’s going to be tremendously difficult to come up with the funds for each one of these initiatives.”
Too Much Innovation from the Public Sector?
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byHave you seen the logo for the 2012 Olympics in London? It appears they dropped the original submission. Also, the rollout presentation is triggering seizures. The organizers of the event have, rather bravely but perversely, opened up their website for individuals to design their own logos. Many of which are substantially better than the one that was chosen. The BBC also has been soliciting its patrons for new designs. The third one in the gallery is my favorite. Oh, and did we mention that the organizing committee paid 400,000 pounds for a consulting group to develop the chosen design?
The Dog That Never Barked
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byWith apologies to Sherlock Holmes, today’s Steve Bailey column on the potential expansion of the Boston Common Parking Garage contains a reference to “a recent study by a state commission that concluded Boston could continue to support two convention centers”. The study (and the reference) are interesting for a couple of reasons. This study was produced with state funds, yet its never been released in its entirety to the public. The commission that produced it never voted on its contents, nor is there any record of them meeting in the year before it was released. And only one commission member appeared at the press conference releasing the document. We have requested (again) a copy of the report in its entirety […]
You are Fired!!??
/1 Comment/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government /bySubmerged three paragraphs down in the Globe’s “New England in Brief” section is this little nugget: Two top state officials — Registrar of Motor Vehicles Anne L. Collins and MassHighway Commissioner Luisa Paiewonsky…are back on the job, after being fired Thursday…Top sources in the Patrick administration said the mistake was the result of a mix-up in communication with the governor’s office; they said that the administration is considering whether Collins and Paiewonsky will remain in place.