MORE ARTICLES
U-Pitt.’s Marcus Rediker on Amistad Slave Rebellion & Black History MonthFebruary 5, 2025 - 11:02 am
All of the Above: Nick’s Year of Homeschool, Virtual High, Online College, and KaiPod MicroschoolJanuary 31, 2025 - 11:15 am
Notre Dame Law Assoc. Dean Nicole Stelle Garnett on Catholic Schools & School ChoiceJanuary 29, 2025 - 11:45 am
Pioneer Institute Study Compares MA Workforce Development System to Those in Peer StatesJanuary 29, 2025 - 11:32 am
Alexandra Popoff on Vasily Grossman & Holocaust RemembranceJanuary 27, 2025 - 9:32 am
Navigating Personalized Learning: Meghan’s Role as a Guide at KaiPod MicroschoolJanuary 23, 2025 - 11:54 am
Pioneer Institute Study Calls for Reforms to Ensure that Pharmacy Benefit Manager Practices Benefit Patients, Healthcare PayersJanuary 23, 2025 - 9:22 am
Mapping Mass Migration: New England State and County Population Change, 2020 to 2023January 21, 2025 - 1:48 pm
Stanford’s Lerone Martin on the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. & the Civil Rights MovementJanuary 17, 2025 - 11:13 am
Microschool First Impressions: Curious Mike & Spencer Blasdale Visit KaiPodJanuary 16, 2025 - 12:00 pm
Unemployment Insurance — Why You Should Care
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, Economic Opportunity, News /byThe irascible Jon Keller gets it exactly right in a recent post on his blog — unemployment insurance reform is “crucial part of restoring job growth” in the state. In our recent study on the cost of doing business in Massachusetts, we found that Massachusetts’ UI costs were significantly higher than many of our competitor states — New Hampshire is 72% lower, New York (!!) is 49% lower, North Carolina is 27% lower, and Texas is 59% lower. Yesterday’s hearing (sub. reg.) at the State House appeared to have focussed on efforts to make unemployment benefits marginally more difficult to access. Pioneer will have a policy brief later this month, analyzing the issue. We’ll examine the issue of benefits eligibility, […]
Spend first, ask questions later…it worked for the Big Dig, right?
/0 Comments/in Blog, Related Education Blogs /byToday’s Globe offers another salvo in an ongoing barrage of education news from the Administration. The story uses a thousand words to describe how the Governor “appears to be laying the groundwork” to reduce the local property tax burden. Don’t get bogged down; the story’s gist is shorter than its URL: State government will spend more on education. Okay. Onward and upward is always front-page news. The real “groundwork,” though, tends to get buried like a tunnel under Fort Point Channel. The State House News Service (reg. required) exposes an intention to “destroy” the state Office of Educational Quality and Accountability (EQA), and here’s why: “‘It just needs to thoroughly be reconstituted,’ said Glenn Koocher, MASC executive director, comparing getting […]
Which way to a greater Boston region?
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, Housing /byThe indispensable Amy Dain reports from the provinces: Today the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) released its recommendations for the future growth of the region. Its goals for increased housing choice are right on. Implementation will be no easy task, though. A recent report from Pioneer and Rappaport Institutes has shown that the current system of housing regulation does not allow for many needed types of housing to be built. To learn more about your community’s regulations, look here. The MAPC plan calls for new apartments, townhouses, and condos near town centers, as well as more modest single-family houses for people who either cannot afford or do not need McMansions. The plan estimates that over half of the new moderately […]
Strategic Planning? We don’t need no stinkin’ planning.
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byOur friend and Pioneer Board Member, Professor Joe Giglio has a new book on transportation — Driving Questions: Developing A National Transportation Vision, following up on his December 2005 release, Mobility. Professor Giglio’s new book seeks to rise above the hurly-burly of the transportation debate (which he, quite correctly we might add, views as overly focused on tactical matters) and restart the conversation on a strategic level. He begins by asking the following four questions: · What should the nation’s transportation system look like in the future? · What options do we have for transforming the existing system to match this vision? · What resources are available to implement these options? · How do we measure our success in making […]
BGC – a forum for ideas
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, News /by Liam DayPioneer has already received a great deal of interest in its upcoming Better Government Competition awards dinner. Since announcing just Friday that Governor Patrick would be the featured speaker and that Democratic presidential candidate Bill Richardson had been invited and tentatively accepted an invitation to offer prefatory remarks, I have received quite a number of phone calls and e-mails. The majority have been requests for tickets (which have not yet gone on sale), but some have been – well, let’s just say the word traitor came up more than once. In light of this constructive feedback, I thought it worth reminding people that Pioneer Institute is a non-partisan think tank. We are uninterested in the success or failure of any […]