The Saturday Send
Massachusetts court blocks high-stakes income tax cut question from the November ballot
By Chris Lisinski and Jennifer Smith
In a blockbuster ruling just as ballot measure campaigns submit their final signatures, Massachusetts’s highest court cut the fuse of a revenue bomb that was set to blow $5 billion out of the state budget. An initiative aiming to cut income taxes is blocked from the ballot because of errors in the attorney general’s summary.
New report urges state to think small on housing crisis
By Jennifer Smith
Massachusetts has become “a victim of our own affluence,” said Andrew Mikula, the report’s author. “It’s like we forgot how to build smaller homes that can be more affordable for folks.”
Springfield mayor calls for ending regional fare-free bus program, drawing criticism from state transit advocates
By Hallie Claflin
Officials and transit advocates have criticized the mayor’s approach and questioned whether the youth disturbances at Union Station can be attributed to the availability of free bus rides. Some have cited the success of the fare-free program and instead called for more policing.
Powerful real estate group says it’s open to rent control compromise
By Chris Lisinski and Jennifer Smith
With just two weeks until a controversial rent control ballot measure could be locked in, a flurry of negotiations — and pockets of sustained resistance — puts Beacon Hill in a tricky position.
At Massport’s urging, Healey signs tax break for sustainable aviation fuel
By Jordan Wolman
Authorizing a pilot program like this is inviting a larger debate about how Massachusetts should weigh the complicated tradeoffs associated with reaching ambitious climate targets, especially for hard-to-decarbonize sectors like air travel.
Raj Chetty’s prescription for reviving the American dream
For generations, it was virtually guaranteed that American children would out-earn their parents. But as Raj Chetty explains in this special live episode of The Codcast, recorded at the recent WBUR Festival, that dream is fading. What factors are contributing to economic stagnation? How can we increase upward mobility? How do these trends vary across neighborhoods, race, gender, and immigration status?
Published by MassINC