According to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, consumer prices fell by 3.4 percent in the Boston area in July, compared with July 2008. That's a sharper […]
Economics
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Bay State tourism $ takes dive, but Brazil and Argentina send more visitors
The just-posted (even though it's dated as June) newsletter from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism has some grim numbers that help explain why Boston and other cities are […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Florida calls Boston “thick” (in a nice way)
Sociologist Richard Florida is subbing at Andrew Sullivan's blog, and today he puts another brick in his monument to cool, creative, and gay-friendly cities like Boston. (Remember that these are […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Looking for government savings from the homeless and carless
On Friday the Boston Herald reported on "an expanding state program handing out donated cars to welfare recipients with state-funded insurance and AAA memberships" — and on efforts by Republican […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Starbucks hunkers down in Massachusetts
The Boston Business Journal reports that Massachusetts will be unaffected by the shuttering of about 200 Starbucks locations across the US. Perhaps we're not cutting back on pricey coffee to […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Fast track to fast Internet service?
While most government entities are bracing for budget cuts, the Massachusetts Broadband Institute is crossing its fingers for a windfall of cash. The MBI, whose full board met for the first […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Patrick’s low ratings part of national trend
Before anyone writes Deval Patrick's political obituary over the 7News/Suffolk University poll released yesterday, it's worth noting that Patrick has plenty of bad-ratings company among his fellow governors. Judging by the range […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Florida makes play for Bay State’s pet industry
It's tempting for Bay Staters to engage in a bit of schadenfreude when reading about the horrible economic conditions in Florida (read George Packer's excellent "The Ponzi State," in The New Yorker, even […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Massachusetts is 10th most economically stressed state
That's according to the Kaiser Family Foundation's StateHealthFacts.org. The Bay State's 10th-place showing is mainly due to an increase in Food Stamp program participation from October 2007 to October 2008 […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
“Stimulus Watch” drills down to “shovel-ready” projects
Via David Bernstein and Talking Politics: The website Stimulus Watch lists thousands of "shovel-ready" projects vying for federal stimulus funds all over the US, including 266 in Massachusetts. Website visitors can […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, State House News Service, The Download
“Starting Line 2009” tackles DeLeo, State House scandals, and the bleak economy
Is new House Speaker Robert DeLeo really just "a hamburger guy", and are other members of the House no more than "sheep"? Do voters pay more attention to public pension […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
A Capital idea
John R. Schneider, MassINC's executive vice president, offers his take on the governor's FY 2010 budget: Included in the governor's FY2010 budget is a new approach to managing the state's […]
Posted inEconomy, Politics, The Download
Capital gains freefall
More spending cuts and new taxes will probably be necessary as state officials awaken to the potential for a sharp downturn in capital gains tax revenues this fiscal year and next year. At […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Massachusetts welcomes California to its demographic nightmare
Things are so tough in Massachusetts that the closest thing I could find to good news today is a report that the biggest state in the US has many of […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The 401(k) blues are louder in Massachusetts
Massachusetts has a disproportionate number of workers nervously checking their 401(k) numbers this fall, according to new data from the Employee Benefit Research Institute. The state ranks 13th in the […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Plymouth goes Hollywood
After watching a montage of movie clips and hearing video pep talks from actor Casey Affleck and talk-show host Leeza Gibbons, Plymouth town meeting members voted overwhelmingly last night to […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: Edward Glaeser on “the silver lining of bleak fiscal times”
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: Tamara Draut on “the deregulatory impulse”
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: Jacob Hacker on the “Great Risk Shift” hitting home
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: Stephen Crosby on budgeting in an economic crisis
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: David Weil on transparency and the economic crisis
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
The Fix We’re In: Alan Wolfe on “the utter failure of conservatism”
With the stock market nosediving, credit lines freezing, retirement savings disappearing overnight, and the state budget on the chopping block, we are facing an economic peril as great as any […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Revenue Dept. says film tax credit could cost Mass. millions
From CommonWealth editor Bruce Mohl: The Massachusetts Revenue Department says the state’s 25 percent film tax credit would not come close to paying for itself in terms of generating new […]
Posted inEconomy, The Download
Tax breaks and transparency in Quebec
New Brunswick Business Journal columnist David Campbell notes the reputation of Québec as a "bad boy" in terms of stealing jobs from other provinces (and, presumably, the United States) by […]
