the bay state economy expanded by more than 10 percent last decade—8 percent growth on a per capita basis after accounting for inflation. It’s not the Massachusetts Miracle, but given […]
Demographics
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
The lost decade
the past decade in both the United States and Massachusetts has been referred to as a “Lost Decade” for the economy and especially its workers. Nationally, the Gross Domestic Product […]
Posted inPolitics
Occupy attracts few people of color
Three things stood out during five days and nights of visits last week to occupy Boston in Dewey Square – how peaceful things are, how committed the occupiers are, and […]
Posted inEconomy
Time to get to work
the big dig was touted as saving time and money for commuters, but the most recent Census data show travel time to work for most cities and towns around Boston […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
Rainbow Boston
For all of its inglorious history when it comes to matters of race, Boston is now a national leader in diversity and multiculturalism. That’s the finding from a new look […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
The middle-class squeeze
The much-heralded demographic change seen in the latest Massachusetts census numbers is at least partly the reflection of a decade of economic change that was particularly challenging for the state’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
The next great thing
despite the economic woes in the country, investment in research and development continues to expand in all public, private, and nonprofit sectors, according to federal statistics. Nowhere is that impact […]
Posted inEconomy
Untethered competition
wireless phones, it seems, are ubiquitous. Talking, texting, surfing. On the street, on the T, and in the car. You can’t swing a dead Samsung without hitting someone with a […]
Posted inThe Download, Uncategorized
MassINC Research Director on Chronicle
Friday, April 8, 2011 MassINC Research Director Ben Forman appeared on WCVB’s Chronicle last night to discuss the rise in immigration in Massachusetts, and the dramatic demographic shifts that have […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Redistricting opportunities for minorities
In the redistricting process now underway, the state’s minority groups are poised to reshape significantly how they are represented in every elected office from selectman to state senator, from school […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download
The Download: Redistricting road show or sideshow?
The Legislature’s redistricting road show debuted in Springfield last weekend, and the good people of western Mass. hit ‘em with everything they had. Multiple pols noted that the region’s two […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Download: Killing them softly
It hasn’t appeared on the Federal Election Commission filings yet, but it can’t be long before President Obama and his aides send campaign contributions to Mitt Romney. It would only […]
Posted inEducation, Politics, The Download
The Download: Census data, race, and advertising
Robert Groves, the director of the US Census Bureau, is a man in demand. While state demographers mull over why people are fleeing Lincoln, Stockbridge, and Provincetown, advertisers are trying […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download, Transportation
The Download: Green Line delays
Right-wing budget hawks in Congress could hold the planned Green Line extension hostage. That’s the terrifying vision state transportation secretary Jeff Mullan raised yesterday. Amid a day filled with talk […]
Posted inHealth Care
Health plans are tiering up
a new law is prodding health insurers to design plans that would force their customers to pay more out of pocket if they go to a more expensive hospital or […]
Posted inEconomy
Swearing off earmarks
earmarks. you might as well insert a profanity into the federal budget with all the disdain that has been dumped on the term. For decades, incumbent congressmen touted their ability […]
Posted inEconomy
Shifting the burden
it’s a cautious dance trying to find the balance between maximizing local revenues and squeezing too much out of property owners. Too much of a burden on homeowners can cause […]
Posted inEnvironment, Politics, The Download
The Download: Mass inequality
Massachusetts is leading the way into a new Guilded Age. The Bay State has one of the largest income gaps between the rich and the poor in the country. The […]
Posted inPolitics, The Download
The Download: Mitt’s op-ed machine
While Sarah Palin goes the reality show route to boost her popularity and reduce her negatives, Mitt Romney takes a more conventional path to building presidential gravitas: holding forth on […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
A winning blueprint
Fairhaven marked a point of no return for Charlie Baker early on election night. The South Coast town, with a September unemployment rate of 10.2 percent, went narrowly for Republican […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics
Tribes lobby for reservation land
The demise of state gambling legislation this summer was a blow to Gov. Deval Patrick and many legislators, but no one was more disappointed when the deal fell apart than […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Tea Party for real in Massachusetts
For those who continue to view the Tea Party as a fringe group of “nutcases” or the butt of an easy political joke, take notice. The Tea Party has a […]
Posted inEducation, The Download
School segregation report tells us what we knew
By Michael Jonas To borrow from a certain sage of the ’60s, you don’t need a demographer to know the racial breakdown of Boston and Springfield area schools. But a […]
Posted inEducation
The wage sage
Labor market and income statistics can be pretty dry stuff —until it’s in the hands of Andrew Sum. The director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University […]