The House Ways and Means budget includes a relatively strong form of the Massachusetts Municipal Association’s plan design proposal.
Government Reform
children and families, election laws, ethics rules, insider jobs, pensions & benefits, structure and operations, transparency
Public Pension Investment Return Assumptions (updated 3/28/11)
The inter-generational fairness of the public pension system depends on the investment return assumption used in planning. This post collects resources on this subject.
Speaker DeLeo on Job Recommendations
In an address to the Boston Chamber of Commerce yesterday, Speaker DeLeo covered a number of important areas, making a commitment to move on municipal health care reform and a commitment to control legislative recommendations on jobs.
Changing state employee benefits
Disclaimer: I am a state employee who works in Higher Education. Will, I understand that state employees get a lot of bad press. I understand that a lot of people are angry when they hear about all of the people who get jobs through connections, and get raises beyond what private employees get, etc. But, …
Two more articles on the unions/pay/pensions issue
Today, NYT: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/02/business/02leonhardt.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=leonhardt&st=cse . Summary: it’s not the pay, it’s the pension and disability benefits. And the work rules. Recently, Fortune/CNN: http://management.fortune.cnn.com/2011/02/28/are-public-unions-our-convenient-economic-scapegoats/?section=magazines_fortune . Summary: the unions are (generally) not the cause. Neither article supports the current moves to strip unions of the right to strike and/or engage in collective bargaining.
Transparency — Overview
Posts on MBTA pension transparency End the Secrecy of the MBTA Pension System Senate Transportation Plan includes Transparency Enhancement Posts on financial transparency in the legislative process July 2012 Senate Transparency and Financial Management Reforms Progress on Controlling Special Interest Tax Breaks Transparency Improvements Implemented Transparency Rule Changes Passed Transparency Improvements Passed Transparency and the …