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BOSTON – The size of the state workforce reached an all-time high in 2025, and a new Pioneer Institute study recommends implementing an attrition program that would reduce the number of positions under the governor’s authority by 5,000 and save taxpayers $1.5 billion over five years by backfilling three of every four positions that are vacated.

Last week, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation (MTF) released a “Bulletin” announcing its opposition to the tax cut ballot initiative. Odd for a taxpayers foundation to oppose a reduction in taxes. Even odder, however, was the Bulletin’s lack of concern about the Commonwealth’s current economic climate: dismal business formation, job losses, and weakening economic growth across the state. 

Pioneer Institute study finds grads are fleeing to states with more economic freedom, better employment opportunities  

Pioneer New England Legal Foundation and Sullivan & Worcester are pleased with today’s decision, which allows this case to move forward and get to the truth. This case is about restoring fairness and accountability to the City of Boston’s tax system. The...

Welcome to the May edition of The House Call. This edition breaks down results from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Young Residents Survey, including the appetite for legislative action on housing costs, and previews our new AI-enabled local land use regulation...

Out-of-pocket costs rose in 2025 for widely used Medicare drugs targeted under Inflation Reduction Act  BOSTON – Many Medicare seniors paid higher out-of-pocket costs in 2025 for widely used prescription drugs—despite a federal law intended to lower them, according to a new Pioneer...

A new analysis from ADP Research (reported in the Wall Street Journal) delivers a clear warning for Massachusetts: the Boston–Cambridge–Newton metropolitan area now ranks 48th out of 55 major U.S. metro areas in attracting young workers. The study tracks more than 400,000 workers in their 20s and evaluates metro areas on a simple but decisive set of factors—job availability, affordability, and access to degree-requiring work. On those measures, Boston lands near the bottom. High wages are no longer enough to offset the region’s high cost structure and weaker hiring momentum.

The Commonwealth had the nation’s lowest net business formation rate from 2020 to 2024, losing more than 17,000 employer businesses over nine consecutive quarters 

Per-capita analysis reveals surprising exposure in Virginia and Massachusetts, offering a fuller picture of how deeply federal dollars shape state economies 

In Massachusetts, the permitting process for new residential development often slows down housing production and adds unnecessary costs for builders. These costs are then passed onto buyers and tenants, helping to explain why Massachusetts has some of the most expensive housing in the country.  Most residential developments, from single-family...