Our public debates favor controversy and often gloss over important details and trade-offs. The result: important issues get oversimplified and decision-making becomes dysfunctional.
Opinion
Posted inOpinion
Panelists who impressed at health cost trends hearing
The Health Policy Commission’s annual cost trends hearing didn’t attract much media coverage this year, so I thought I’d summarize what I thought was most interesting.
Posted inOpinion
Safety should come first on social media platforms
Tech companies, including Meta (Facebook, Instagram), Google (YouTube), TikTok, and others have refused to answer to the government or parents like me who must bury their children because of the dangerous and toxic effects of social media. We are finally at a point in which Big Tech may have to answer for its greedy and misguided actions.
Posted inOpinion
Beacon Hill dawdling comes with consequences
Despite months of opportunity to work with Gov. Maura Healey to accommodate migrants and other families and pregnant women under the state’s right-to-shelter law, lawmakers dawdled, seemingly content to let Healey take the political heat.
Posted inOpinion
It’s time to protect gig workers and consumers
Gig economy companies like Uber and Instacart are exploiting workers by misclassifying them as independent contracts and not employees, which limits the employment protections they deserve to have.
Posted inOpinion
To reduce recidivism, raise the age of juvenile jurisdiction
We’ve seen the benefits of raising the age to 17 — a 48 percent reduction in juvenile arrests and a 67 percent drop in the arrest rates of 18- to 20-year-olds, according to data from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. Now it’s time to go further.
Posted inOpinion
Creating equity in Boston’s liquor license market
IT’S NO SECRET that Boston’s liquor license market is antiquated and broken. This year, Boston’s liquor licenses have been selling for $625,000 on the private secondary market. That means that before a chef or owner invests one penny into a buildout, stocking the kitchen, or hiring staff, they must come up with a $625,000 loan […]
Posted inOpinion
Boston’s large nonprofits fall short once again
Since the PILOT program’s creation in 2010, the city has been shorted over $204 million. Imagine what the city could have done had those funds been collected.
Posted inOpinion
Let’s be honest about cost, challenges of electrification
Before asking constituents to dismantle gas stations, turn off natural gas-fired power plants, stop cooking with gas and propane, abandon a newly updated gas or oil furnace, or turn over their beloved car, policymakers need to be realistic about the timeframes associated with electrification.
Posted inOpinion
A Marine’s perspective on gun control
It’s clear now that there were many warning signs in the months leading up to the shooting in Lewiston, Maine that the shooter was a danger to the community and to himself, and many policy failures that allowed him to keep access to military-grade, semi-automatic rifles.