sponsored by The Boston Foundation
CommonWealth Voices aims to be a beacon of robust discourse, offering a platform for analysis and advocacy on the challenges and aspirations of political life in Massachusetts.
The Boston Foundation is deeply committed to civic leadership, and essential to our work is the exchange of informed opinions. We are proud to partner on a platform that engages such a broad range of demographic and ideological viewpoints.
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We welcome informed commentary about local, state and national public policy. Please include the author’s contact information when submitting.
Invest in the 80 percent: Why Mass. must fund summer and after-school learning
The gross disparity between in-school and out-of-school learning investments represents a singular challenge for the Commonwealth. We need a new mindset regarding when and how learning occurs.
Proposed rollback of Mass. health aide program previews the coming pain from Medicaid cuts
Cuts to home care are merely a precursor to the devastation that will follow as Medicaid cuts reach our hospitals, community health centers, and nursing homes.
The growing case for single-staircase buildings as one answer to our housing crisis
Nearly every other state in New England — Vermont dating back decades, and Maine, New Hampshire, and Connecticut more recently — has either changed or committed to changing its building code to allow four stories to be served by a single stairway.
It’s time to pay at the wheel, not at the pump
As vehicles become more fuel-efficient and electric vehicle adoption increases, the state will continue to collect proportionally less in gas taxes as drivers have less or no need to fill up at the pump.
It’s not too late for Ed Markey to pass the torch
As he approaches his 80th birthday, the time has come to put the common good ahead of personal ambition – and for Sen. Markey to step aside and make room for the next generation of leadership.
In the AI age, human skills are even more crucial in the workplace. That must be part of our schools’ career-readiness focus.
Massachusetts employers told us that as technology advances, the hardest skills to find are not technical — they are human.
Passing end-of-course assessments should be part of new graduation requirements
Students should be required to pass end-of-course assessments to measure whether they have mastered core academic content and foundational skills that prepare them to think critically, creatively, and innovatively. These assessments would provide a clear, consistent, and objective signal of readiness regardless of where the student lives or their socioeconomic status.  Â
Next MRWA leader must have vision for tackling regional flooding risks, clean-up of Charles and Mystic rivers
We must hire a new MWRA executive director who is committed to finishing the job of cleaning our major waterways from these polluting combined sewer overflows.
Why Massachusetts needs a climate bank
It is a fiscally responsible path to achieve three critical goals: address affordability challenges, strengthen the economy, and remain a leader in addressing the challenges of a changing climate.Â
Holding the line on Gateway Cities designation
There should be no hasty changes to the pool of Gateway Cities . Any future consideration of adjustments should be based on good data, a coherent framework, and involve collaboration with Gateway City leaders.Â
A three-pronged strategy for supporting our immigrant neighbors
Forces opposing justice and equity have always existed, and when they get louder and push harder against what we know is right, history shows we must not only hold our ground, but we must be prepared to do more.
What Norway’s dominance at the Winter Olympics can teach us about youth sports
American sports culture clings to the belief that early competition builds champions—that competition produces toughness, and that lowering the stakes makes kids soft. Norway offers the most compelling counterexample imaginable.
DiZoglio’s right to hire a lawyer to push audit case should be clear-cut
 It’s one thing for Campbell to take lawmakers’ position in the matter and for her office to represent them; it’s another for her to take the extreme view that the auditor cannot hire her own attorney. 
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