Massachusetts has more than 160,000 units of income-restricted housing. According to a study published last fall by MassINC and the Massachusetts Competitive Partnership, these properties disproportionately house residents who lack high-speed internet.
Jay Ash
Posted inOpinion
No Degree? No Problem
In a state where around 75 percent of jobs that pay family-sustaining wages require a bachelor’s degree, more than two-thirds of Black and Hispanic residents won’t even be considered.
Posted inEducation
Four big mistakes government makes in economic development — and how to avoid them
THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has launched its most ambitious investment in economic development since the Great Depression. With the CHIPS and Science Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the Inflation Reduction Act, not to mention the flexible funds that have been deployed through the American Rescue Plan, there is more than $2 trillion in new money […]
Posted inOpinion
A new vision for equitable learning
THE PHYSICAL CLOSURE of schools due to COVID-19 is taking a toll on our most precious resource; our children. The impact has been even more significant among black, Latinx, and low-income students. A recent analysis by McKinsey and Company determined that the nation’s students, on average, could fall behind in their learning by almost seven […]
Posted inEconomy, Opinion
Tax cap courts tragedy
scholars often differ on whether the title character in Shakespeare’s Macbeth was the play’s hero or villain. The same could be said about Proposition 2½. Macbeth initially saved a kingdom that he ultimately puts into peril. Frankly, hasn’t Prop. 2½ done the same? Like the Macbeth debate, the answer about the virtue of Prop. 2½ […]
Posted inEducation, Opinion, Politics
The 85 percent solution
at a recent MassINC board meeting, we were discussing the achievement gap between students from wealthy versus poor school districts and how best to shrink it. I found myself saying things I’ve been thinking about for years: Is expanded funding for the traditional school day the best way to gain better outcomes for students? Is […]