“She’s a good girl. She helps me a lot. She has big, big dreams. I don’t have the money, but she has big dreams. I hope she’s going to get everything, but she works so hard. She works so hard in school.”
“Our family is needing to make some really big sacrifices because we believe this is important, and so, we’re basically going to do whatever it takes… Sometimes we look at each other and go ‘I don’t know if I can do it again another month…’”
“A lot of the families have to sacrifice and work multiple jobs… And just scraping together enough money to just make tuition, just the basics.”
“It is discriminatory, that parents who want to choose an alternative to public school for their children, would not in any way receive any compensation for that, whether it be tax credit, whether it be a voucher…”
In the 1840s, nativist movement leaders formed official political parties and local chapters of the national Native American Party (later the American Party), although they continued to be commonly known as the Know-Nothing Party. Politicians sought to insert provisions into state constitutions against Catholics who refused to renounce the pope. The Know-Nothing movement brought bigotry and hatred to a new level of violence and organization.
The party’s legacy endured in the post-Civil War era, with laws and constitutional amendments it supported, still today severely limiting parents’ educational choices. A federal constitutional amendment was proposed by Speaker of the House James Blaine prohibiting money raised by taxation in any State to be under the control of any religious sect; nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations. These were then named the Blaine Amendments of 1875.
in recent decades, often in response to challenges to school choice programs, the U.S. Supreme Court has demonstrated great interest in examining the issues of educational alternatives and attempts limit parental options. Massachusetts plays a key role in this debate. The Bay State was a key center of the Know-Nothing movement and has the oldest version of Anti-Aid Amendments in the nation, as well as a second such amendment approved in 1917. Two-fifths of Massachusetts residents are Catholic, and its Catholic schools outperform the state’s public schools, which are the best in the nation.
Learning From Springfield: Lessons in Effective Fiscal Management
/0 Comments/in Economic Opportunity, News /by Editorial StaffLessons in Effective Fiscal Management Author(s): Steve Poftak — Publication date: 2008-04-01 Category: Economic Opportunity Abstract: The Middle Cities Initiative seeks to develop concrete policies to help the Middle Cities grow. One foundational element for economic growth is effective fiscal management by the public sector. The Middle Cities Initiative includes a benchmarking program that would establish incentives for good municipal management, and also equip municipal leaders with the tools they need to succeed. This Policy Brief considers Springfield as a case study in effective fiscal management and reform, and as an example for other communities. It integrates specific policy proposals derived from Springfield’s experience with Pioneer’s work on benchmarking
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Parking garages are silly investments for the State
/0 Comments/in Blog, Blog: Better Government, News /byToday’s Globe reports on a bond bill earmark that gives Salem funding to build a parking garage. The article focuses on environmental advocates objections. They (correctly) don’t want to see the bulk of Transit-Oriented Development funding going to a single project.
And I’ll give you another reason to dislike the idea — parking garages should be able to support themselves. If there really is ‘demand’ for parking, then people will pay for it. And if parking generates a revenue stream, then it should be able to finance some portion of the garage, if not all of it. Perhaps a private developer could be given a 20 year lease to take any risk off of the community.
Don’t believe me, take a look at my rough attempt to finance the project — Salem Parking Garage Calculator. With some relatively conservative assumptions, I’m up to $27 million of the total $34 million in project costs. If you threw in some extra benefits — a longer lease, maybe some retail development, etc, — it would not be hard to get the entire project done with private money.
There are limited resources for the state to spend. Don’t waste them on projects that the private sector can handle.
Zoning out or zoning in-clusionary
/0 Comments/in Blog, News /byHot trends in local zoning include age-restricted villages, in-law abodes, and inclusionary zoning – a requirement or incentives to include affordable houses in market rate developments. Our 2004 survey revealed that 99 of the 187 communities within 50 miles of Boston have inclusionary bylaws on the books.
Developers argue that some inclusionary laws drive up the cost of development (and ultimately the price of market rate housing), and can make some projects infeasible. Housing advocates argue that inclusionary policies are the best way to ensure that affordable housing is integrated throughout communities, and built in the first place.
NYU just released a study comparing inclusionary laws in MA localities to San Francisco and DC regions. If you are considering inclusionary zoning for your community, this is worth reading. Some but not all inclusionary laws work to produce affordable housing.
The study cautions that inclusionary zoning should not be considered a panacea to the lack of affordable housing in a region. I agree – there are other tools. Let’s see… age-restricted villages, in-law flats…