Why the Mass budget surplus is better spent on infrastructure needs Having just been handed an estimated $1 billion budget surplus for the 2018 fiscal year, Gov. Charlie Baker was quick to make a proposal last week to divide up the unexpected spoils. According to MassLive, “Around half of that will be […]
ON PARADES IN MASS THAT ARE ESSENTIALLY PLATFORMS FOR RIGHT-WING LUNACY
What do parades have to do with right-wing politics anyway? Good question. I’m not exactly sure, since Americans are red, white, and blue, plus a lot of other shades.
NOW WE KNOW HOW THE MEDIA FEELS ABOUT 28-YEAR-OLD BARTENDERS
In other words, it’s fantastic preparation for going to work with greedy DC pricks who are accustomed to doing nothing and being applauded for it.
‘DON’T MOURN, ORGANIZE!’
Why Janus might actually be good for the American labor movement The Supreme Court issued a decision last week that will have profound consequences for American working people. In Janus v. AFSCME, the court overturned a 1977 decision, Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, that allowed public sector unions—like the National Education […]
GRAND SCHEME
Mass legislature helps, harms workers in “deal” with labor and business lobbies No sooner did the Supreme Judicial Court shoot down the “millionaires’ tax” referendum question last week than the Mass legislature rammed a so-called grand bargain bill (H 4640) through both chambers. A move aimed at shoring up tax revenue threatened by […]
CAPITALIST VETO
Popular “millionaires’ tax” referendum question blocked by a pro-business SJC The Fair Share Amendment—better known as the “millionaires’ tax”—that would have gone before voters this November as a statewide referendum question was shot down this week by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC). So the effort to increase taxes on people making $1 […]
‘WALK THE TALK’
Mayor Walsh needs to act faster to mitigate regional global warming threats Environmental groups protested Mayor Marty Walsh last week during the International Mayors Climate Summit and subsequent US Conference of Mayors meeting—demanding fast action to make Boston carbon neutral (achieving net zero CO2 emissions) and better prepare the city for the many […]
MEMORIAL DAY NOTES
Peace actions, Harvest Co-op needs help So I’m writing on a holiday weekend that began with my joining DigBoston and Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism colleague Chris Faraone in having some fairly nasty dental work. What better excuse, then, for doing some brief dispatches this time out instead of the single topic I […]
TOWNIE: CITY ON A HILL
Global warming will flood Boston. Why not move the state capital to Worcester? Many small American cities have boosterish metro research organizations that look like a cross between a public policy outfit and a chamber of commerce, and the Bay State’s second biggest urban area is no exception. The Worcester Regional Research Bureau […]
URBAN MISSION
The solution to UMass Boston’s woes could start with a city-run college There was an interesting conversation recently between two people who I often criticize for being… um… insufficiently public spirited. The Boston Globe’s Shirley Leung asked Boston mayor Marty Walsh a great question: “What if the city took over the University of […]
