There’s a thoughtful discussion on On Point today about how to handle guaranteed pensions in the face of economic volatility: http://www.onpointradio.org/2010/07/pension-crisis They touch on pensions’ contributions towards budget deficits, how some public employees game their respective systems, and how public salaries differ from private salaries. It’s worth a listen if you’re interested in the issue.
Massachusetts Freedom to Vote Act
I realize there’s not much time left in the current legislative session and that there are probably more than a few good bills that won’t quite make it through the legislative process in time. I hope that the Massachusetts Freedom to Vote Act (H 651 and S. 348), can be one of those that do …
Speed Limit on Rt 3
Hi Will – I was up visiting my parents in Nashua and it struck me that Rt 3 is still posted at 55 MPH. According to the studies that were done during construction it’s a 65 MPH road. Several years ago, I remember a GLOBE article abotu this in which it was indicated that “as …
Blanchard Road Update
I spoke earlier this week with Sue Clippinger, the traffic planner in Cambridge. She said that she was working on getting the application together for a truck ban on Blanchard Road. She said that she had all the necessary data at this stage. She said that she foresaw little objection in Cambridge since most of …
Let’s Improve Officer Safety
Hi Will – I read with some interest the article in Globe regarding the deaths of several Police Officers on traffic enforcement duty (http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/07/18/trooper_struck_during_stop). This illustrates the danger of exceptional conditions on the highway. As long as traffic moves smoothly and everyone follows the rules, things generally work out fine, but anyone who’s ever been …
The Minimum Wage, give or take…
A lot goes into choosing an appropriate minimum wage level. Like most questions of government intervention in markets, it comes down to efficiency and equity. But even if everybody agreed on a balance between the two, there is still no guarantee that the intentions behind the law will match reality. In the interest of providing …