“In short, the picture that can be drawn from available official data is inconsistent, though in any case, it is not one of crisis. Nevertheless, migration data often is used – and misused – to push an agenda of tax cuts for very high-income households, the ultrawealthy, and large corporations,” said Kurt Wise, a MassBudget policy analyst.
By The Numbers
Sports betting is soaking ‘financially constrained’ households
The study linked sports betting to “a large decrease” in deposits to brokerage accounts, accompanied by “decreased credit availability, increased credit card debt, and a higher incidence rate of overdrawing bank accounts.”
65% of incumbents in Legislature face no opponents
130 incumbents appear to be going without a challenger in either a primary or the general election. Democrats are expected to continue to hold a super-majority in both chambers.
New poll finds rise in voters who see Mass. on wrong track
Forty-eight percent said the state is heading in the right direction, down from 59 percent in a similar poll done for the business group a year ago. Thirty-nine percent say the state is on the wrong track, up from 29 percent.
Wu gets high marks from voters in think tank’s survey
The survey, conducted for the group by national pollster John Della Volpe, asked about Wu’s job performance, among other topics. Fifty-seven percent of registered voters believe she is doing a good job, while 35 percent rate her negatively.
Mass. residents don’t support hemp THC loopholes
Those who say they have used or purchased marijuana are slightly more likely to support the sale of the hemp-based products outside of the dispensary system, but more say they still want it to be limited to dispensaries. A substantial majority – 65 percent of respondents – said that legalizing marijuana broadly was the right thing to do in the state.
When young people think about the climate, despair follows
A new Earth Month poll of middle school and high schoolers across the country found that 72 percent of poll respondents say climate change is already impacting their lives – with 30 percent saying it already has a major impact and 42 percent saying a minor impact – and 53 percent believe it will be a major problem over the course of their lives.
Half of state residents support legalizing teachers’ strikes
State leaders do not seem inclined to change state law to legalize teachers’ strike, but half of Massachusetts residents favor such a move compared with 34 percent who are opposed to a change.
Mass. residents say ‘immigration/migrants’ top issue facing state
Sixty-seven percent of those polled said the migrant situation was either a crisis (28 percent) or a major problem (39 percent).
Mass. residents conflicted on MBTA Communities Act
The poll seems to show a version of “NIMBY” thinking among residents, with most people supporting the broad goal of creating more housing, but a significant number of responders wary of having that housing forced on individual communities.