Worker-owned cooperatives are emerging as a powerful force in the Massachusetts economy. The Legislature can help but
Economy
Posted inEconomy
Senate preps for economic developent debate, including Everett soccer stadium
The Senate’s bill authorizes $2.444 billion in borrowing, giving the executive branch flexibility to put as much of that amount into use as it determines is necessary and wise, and $350 million in tax credits mostly to be deployed in the climate technology sector.
Posted inOpinion
Legalizing project labor agreements would be huge step backward
NO ONE WOULD tolerate a law that bans union labor from public construction. So why is it OK to shut out non-union workers? The House of Representatives has voted to […]
Posted inBallot Questions
Tech-backed ballot question dead after settlement
WHAT WAS SHAPING up to be perhaps the buzziest ballot measure of the cycle, with Massachusetts residents barraged with millions of dollars of ad spending by both sides, will not […]
Posted inOpinion
Bet on Massachusetts
CEOs and senior executives from some of the largest employers across the Commonwealth continue to value the state’s access to world class talent, its education system, industry clusters, and top research institutions, but we must be willing to tackle the cost of living and cost of doing business headwinds that threaten our standing.
Posted inOpinion
A professional soccer stadium in Franklin Park is a bad deal for Boston
The plan to convert White Stadium in Boston’s Franklin Park into a stadium for a professional women’s soccer team, with the city committing $50 million toward the project, is bad financial deal for the city, a subsidy of $30 million or more for a for-profile sports enterprise at a time when municipal revenues are under stress.
Posted inGovernment
Healey’s capital spending plan puts bond bills in perspective
The state’s plan for actual capital spending dedicates $2 billion for housing over the next five years, and $400 million in fiscal 2025, which is a 30 percent increase over fiscal 2024.
Posted inMarijuana
Cannabis regulators allow marijuana to be transported over state waters
“This was turned around in a really quick time frame,” said Commissioner Kimberly Roy. “At the end of the day, this was about public health and public safety and patients and consumers alike having access to safely regulated products.”
Posted inEconomy
Lawmakers from Lowell, Springfield say cities would welcome economic jolt
Two Democrats who have a chance to stamp their mark on Gov. Maura Healey’s plan to reinvigorate the state’s business climate want the benefits to stretch beyond the Boston metropolitan area.
Posted inEconomy
House approves liquor licenses for under-served Boston neighborhoods
The redrafted bill steers 180 non-transferable licenses over three years to 12 ZIP codes in Roxbury, Dorchester, Mattapan, East Boston, Roslindale, West Roxbury, Hyde Park, Charlestown, and Jamaica Plain.
Posted inHousing
Business leaders say housing shortage is top concern
THROUGHOUT THE PANDEMIC, labor shortages and supply chain issues bedeviled Massachusetts businesses. But business leaders say the housing crisis in Massachusetts is now the major existential threat to the state’s […]
Posted inOpinion
Lowering financial hurdles for Black, Latina women
From gender and racial pay gaps to a lack of assets, Black and Latina women often start at a financial disadvantage, lacking the generational wealth which often provides a safety net for their White counterparts.
Posted inGovernment
Moody’s, with caveat, says Boston in ‘healthy’ fiscal position
The Moody’s analysis affirms the triple-A bond rating for the city, the top credit rating available. But Moody’s also warned the effects of remote work are starting to hit some office property types.
Posted inBallot Questions
SJC appears open to letting tipped-worker question go to ballot
MULLING A CHALLENGE to a tipped-wage initiative proposed for the November ballot, justices of the Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday seemed skeptical of arguments that they should keep the measure […]
Posted inBook Review
The promise — and problems — of the US construction industry
More than 80 percent of construction work was union labor after World War II, but that dropped in single generation to 20 percent. Mark Erlich takes stock of what it would take to bring that number back up — and with it make construction work again a solid path to the middle class.
Posted inGovernment
Watchdog says Boston should look to reserve funds, spending cuts before hiking commercial taxes
The Boston Municipal Research Bureau threw cold water on a city plan to hike tax rates on commercial property, urging the city to instead look to reserve funds and spending cuts, among other approaches, to address a budget crunch.
Posted inOpinion
What to do about our worrisome outmigration problem
Based on most current government data, outmigration cost the state $4.3 billion in adjusted gross income (AGI) and $213.7 million in lost tax revenue in 2021. That year alone, Florida, New Hampshire, and Maine captured $1.77 billion, $1.1 billion, and $393 million, respectively, of AGI from those exiting Massachusetts.
Posted inOpinion
Frances Perkins belongs in the State House
FRANCES PERKINS, born in Boston in 1880 was, among other things, an architect of the New Deal, a series of programs, reforms, and laws that directly impact all Americans today. […]
Posted inOpinion
Is this labor’s comeback moment?
The striking contrast between the strong level of public support for unions today (67 percent) and the small share of US workers they represent (10 percent) frames the enormous opportunity – and challenge – facing the American labor movement.
Posted inEconomy
Advocates say guaranteed basic income programs work
Advocates for guaranteed basic income gathered at the WBUR CitySpace on Wednesday for a United Way-sponsored event to discuss pilot programs across the Greater Boston area, the challenges in implementing them, and what the future holds.
Posted inPolitics
Political Notebook: Worcester envy turns to relief | Another Mariano missile | Doughty off to Argentina
Fifteen years ago, Worcester looked at Boston with jealousy as cranes dotted the capital city’s skyline, adding new office towers. But now, with more and more people working from home post-pandemic, jealousy has given way to relief.
Posted inEconomy
Amid talk of hiking commercial tax rates, should Boston also be tightening its belt?
Boston is seeking state approval to raise tax rates on commercial property, the assessed values of which are expected to drop. Some say the city should also rein in spending if it’s going to ask more of property owners who already struggling with high vacancy rates.
Posted inEconomy
Boston’s effort to head off an ‘urban doom loop,’ explained
Boston has seen office vacancy rates spike since the pandemic. That is leading to lowered assessed values for buildings. With fears that lowered tax payments could create budget woes, Mayor Michelle Wu wants authority to raise commercial tax rates as a potential fix.
Posted inState Government
On Everett soccer stadium, Boston says it wants a conversation
As state lawmakers weigh whether to fast track an Everett soccer stadium on the Mystic River, Boston officials across the waterway are casting a wary eye, raising concerns about congestion that the venue, with little to no parking, could bring to an area just off I-93 on the northern edge of the city.
