MORE ARTICLES
The Changing Landscape of Standardized Testing in MassachusettsJune 18, 2025 - 2:50 pm
Shaka Mitchell on the American Federation for Children & School Choice OptionsJune 18, 2025 - 1:41 pm
Boston Policy Institute and Pioneer Institute Announce Boston DataLabs: New Tool Will Allow for Easy and Powerful Municipal Government AccountabilityJune 18, 2025 - 12:00 am
Study Recommends Easing Barriers to Innovative Learning ModelsJune 17, 2025 - 12:00 am
Adoption of Electric Vehicle Charging StationsJune 13, 2025 - 9:52 am
New Report Shows Massachusetts Has Been in Economic Slow Down Since 2020June 12, 2025 - 12:00 am
Amanda McMullen on the New Bedford Whaling MuseumJune 11, 2025 - 10:45 am
AGI Growth in the Last Decade: The Winning and Losing States June 10, 2025 - 2:03 pm
Connecticut’s H.B. 5002: A Stark Contrast With Massachusetts’ Approach to Housing ReformJune 9, 2025 - 7:00 am
Fixing the Foundation: Can Massachusetts’ Infrastructure Reach National Standards?June 5, 2025 - 4:44 pm
Getting Home: Overcoming Barriers to Housing in Greater Boston
/0 Comments/in Housing, Press Releases, Press Releases: Government /by Editorial StaffAuthor: Charles C. Euchner, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. With Elizabeth G. Frieze, Harvard University Affordable housing is important to the vitality of Massachusetts communities, but the state needs to encourage the marketplace to create a broader range of housing types. The first step is to identify the factors that raise the cost and reduce the supply of housing in the Commonwealth. Both state and local governments have a legitimate interest in regulating certain aspects of housing development to assure reasonable safety and health standards and allow for the overall well-being of the community and its character. Some regulations are clearly necessary. Government support of affordable housing may also require grants, tax […]
Getting Home: Overcoming Barriers to Housing in Greater Boston
/0 Comments/in Economic Opportunity, Housing, Press Releases, Press Releases: Economic Opportunity /by Editorial StaffAuthor: Charles C. Euchner, Rappaport Institute for Greater Boston, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. With Elizabeth G. Frieze, Harvard University Affordable housing is important to the vitality of Massachusetts communities, but the state needs to encourage the marketplace to create a broader range of housing types. The first step is to identify the factors that raise the cost and reduce the supply of housing in the Commonwealth. Both state and local governments have a legitimate interest in regulating certain aspects of housing development to assure reasonable safety and health standards and allow for the overall well-being of the community and its character. Some regulations are clearly necessary. Government support of affordable housing may also require grants, tax […]
Rationalizing Health and Human Services
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Healthcare, Press Releases, Press Releases: Education, Press Releases: Health Care /by Editorial StaffAuthor: Charles D. Baker, Jr. The proposal to rationalize health and human services presumes that EOHHS would eliminate its existing operating agencies over time and replace them with an integrated Secretariat organized along functional, rather than product, lines. In this model, each operating division would be led by a commissioner, who would report directly to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The implementation process would happen one commissioner consolidation at a time and would take place over at least a two-year period. Each one would involve the development and submission to the legislature (and presumably to the public) of a timetable for consolidation, a set of deliverables as the process unfolded (staffing, resources, responsibilities, key interfaces), and a set […]
Competition and Government Services: Can Massachusetts Still Afford the Pacheco Law?
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Press Releases, Press Releases: Government /by Editorial StaffAuthors: Geoffrey Segal, Adrian Moore, Adam Summers When faced with insufficient revenues, state governments typically have four options: increase taxes, scale back expenditures, spend down reserves, or seek ways to provide services more efficiently through contracting with private providers. Massachusetts, however, has only the first three options available; it is the only state in the nation that has virtually outlawed the privatization of public services. Competition & Government Services: Can Massachusetts Still Afford the Pacheco Law
A Declaration of Independence: Reaffirming the Autonomy of the Third Branch
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Press Releases, Press Releases: Government /by Editorial StaffJames W. Dolan, Esq., Principal, Dolan and Connly, P.C., Former First Justice, Dorchester District Court The study graphically documents the wildly uneven distribution of resources caused by a patronage system that has led to overstaffing of courts that are politically connected and understaffing of those that are not. The documentation is compellingly clear, one of the best existing analyses of the effects of patronage in a court system. The legal maxim “res ipsa loquitur” captures the self-evident nature of the presentation. There was no need for editorializing. A Declaration of Independence: Reaffirming the Autonomy of the Third Branch