GREG TORRES, MASSINC PRESIDENT: The first question is why did we do this research. Massachusetts is leading the country in the knowledge-based economy and facing more and more competition. Assume a growing base of young skilled workers is a must, then you assume that we would have a good understanding of this group and would check in on them regularly and track and investigate their views on issues. Well, that is not really the case. We did not do this on a regular basis. This really is a first. We could not find it on a national level either. It’s important that we begin to get a handle on this demographic group and what they think about and what their plans are for the future. We completed the research in July. The sponsors of this research are Blue Cross Blue Shield, State Street Bank and State Street Foundation, MassHousing and RealTalk, a program of MassINC and 1 in 3 Boston. It’s high quality research and non-partisan analysis. Between Blue Cross, State Street and MassHousing, we have had ten research efforts at MassINC supported since 2000. It’s an untold story about what goes on in the business world in Boston. Some organizations step up and support work that doesn’t get a lot of media attention. Please look at materials outside about our RealTalk program, which engaged young adults in the issues of the day.
JOE McGRAIL, STATE STREET FOUNDATION VP COMMUNITY AFFAIRS: This is a very important topic to State Street. I bet you think about State Street and you think of a middle aged banker. It’s important to understand why we would support a study like this. State Street is both global and profoundly local. We operate in 26 countries in every region of the world and our business is growing rapidly in Asia. We are deeply rooted and committed to Massachusetts. Half our employees live and work here. We are also one of the few Fortune 500 companies that remain headquartered here. Being a good corporate citizen is part of our business. We have an environmental management system. We offer responsible investment opportunities to customers and we strive to be an employer of choice. We believe it makes State Street a better competitor. Our customers want to know how we treat the environment and invest. Employees want to know too. It’s in State Street’s best interest to be aware of trends in the marketplace and the workforce. With 50 percent of our employees here, we have a very serious stake in the overall economic health of Massachusetts and we look to MassINC for great research on issues facing the Commonwealth. What about the image of the middle age banker? The median age of a State Street employee is 33 years old and the average age of a new hire last year was 27. As our business has evolved, that average age has trended downward. The overall employee population has grown over the past ten years from 16,000 to 29,000. Our human resources department is very conscious of highlighting our corporate citizenship efforts to new and existing employees. On the community investment side we have a growing focus on workforce development and education support. In a conversation a couple of years back between our CEO and the chancellor of UMass Boston, a program was created featuring partial scholarships accompanied with part-time work at our company. We have a lot of very smart people at State Street but absolutely we do not have all the answers and we look to partners to help us think through the key issues.
JAY CURLEY, BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF MASSACHUSETTS: At Blue Cross Blue Shield we are proud to support MassINC. We can do our part to promote our shared goals of qualities opportunities, personal responsibility and a strong commonwealth. Great Expectations was the first survey of its kind focusing on those between 25 and 39 living in Massachusetts. It’s one fifth of the population and will play a leading role defining the nature of our workforce and civic life as Baby Boomers approach retirement. The results of the survey are far-reaching and look at the interests, goals, aspirations and challenges facing young adults. The survey sends a clear message of social responsibility. Three fourths felt it very important to work for an employer respectful of the ethical values of people, the community and the environment. I am excited to share and discuss messages young adults wish to share with policy makers and to share the stage with my good friend and colleague Jay McQuaide.
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DANA ANSEL, MASSINC RESEARCH DIRECTOR: I want to give a broad overview. First the survey was of 800 young adults and it was taken in the winter. Princeton Survey Research Associates performed the survey with us and we developed the questions in collaboration with them. Some are original questions. As others have mentioned we think this is the first of its kind in Massachusetts and really nationally. We asked them about their personal lives, their optimism, and public policy issues. We were able to paint a full picture of their priorities and views. There are three groups with very different views on Massachusetts and their own personal circumstances. One we call the imports who grew up outside of Massachusetts and moved here at some point and are still here. They were 37 percent of the people and they were very diverse, high level of education and worked in professional positions. Another group, there are the home-growns, who grew up here and many lived close to where they grew up and their friends who grew up with them still lived here and a third had college degree more. Job opportunities was a key concern. Boomerangs grew up here but lived outside of the state for at least a year as a college student or while working but have moved back. They fell between the home-growns and the imports on key issues. This group accounted for 23 percent. We may think about different strategies based on who grew up here or who moved here from other states. We asked about public policy and young adults have a long list of issues they would like addressed: housing, taxes, cost of health care, transportation, cost of living and job opportunities. At the same time, they have very little confidence in government to make progress on the big issues. Only 4 percent said they were very confident that government could make progress on the issues that mattered most to them. Two thirds said they had no confidence or were not too confident in government’s ability to make progress. Policymakers face this huge confidence gap as they try to address these big issues, very tough to tackle. Confidence was linked to views on taxes and those with more confidence were more tolerant of taxes and young adults without a lot of confidence were not tolerant of the tax level. As public leaders try to solve these big problems, there is a real issue on how to gain the confidence in order to tackle big tough issues.
In contrast to the public sector, the views young adults held about their employers were remarkably positive. Nearly 90 percent were satisfied with jobs, levels of benefits, opportunities for promotion, social opportunities at work. Also this priority of working for a socially responsible employer was key. Nearly three quarters said it was very important to work for someone who is respectful of ethical values, communities and the environment. We have also done research on migration and out-migration. We asked if people were planning to be here or leave in the next five years. One in five said they expected to leave. It’s a significant number should they all choose to act on that. Two thirds of people had advice about what could be done to prevent them from leaving: reducing taxes, improving government, reducing the cost of living, making housing more affordable, and increasing job opportunities. A third said there was nothing government could do. Hopefully we can think through some of these issues. Jobs are the number one reason people come here but jobs cut both ways and are one of the reasons people leave. There is a real confidence gap state leaders face. And then around this issue of migration, which is tied to jobs and government performance, what can policy makers and community leaders do to make people choose Massachusetts as their home? As people settle down, get married and have children, they are much less likely to leave. Finally the question of the nature of civic engagement and is it changing and is it different and what role does the workplace play? With that I turn it over to Jay McQuaide for the discussion.
MCQUAIDE: How many are in this age group of 25-39? (Most raised their hands). Most of our panelists are not. Let’s talk about this huge confidence issue first. The young people surveyed think government has this central role to play and there is this huge confidence issue. Today on the bostonchannel.com the question was, do you generally believe your state and community representatives are honest and trustworthy? Yes 18 percent and no 73 percent. It’s been quite a week with the Dianne Wilkerson story. We’ve had eight years of Bush and eight years of Clinton and have seen some harsh and bitter rancor. Is it the people, scandals or is that government hasn’t proved it can get things done?
FINNERAN: It’s a little bit of all of the above. The gap itself is stunning, 90 percent satisfaction with their jobs but only 4 percent with a very high or somewhat high level of confidence in government. It’s an indictment of everybody who’s in public life, past and present. It tells you how much work we have to do. It’s an extraordinary challenge. The disdain, cynicism and doubt people have are the results of self inflicted wounds and wasteful spending at every level of government. The Big Dig would be a classic example. We have two wars going on and very poor execution of any number of things and a big construction contract at the Big Dig, which was necessary for our economy and quality of life. The failure to be able to do that even close to on time and on budget leaves people with a sour taste in their mouths. Ethical lapses go well beyond the news on Sen. Wilkerson this week. Last but not least there is a media focus on the negative. There are fabulous, positive stories. Greg Torres is one. Many people I worked with in the Legislature are stars. Yet that story is not told.
MCQUAIDE: Those stories don’t get ratings. It’s the Wilkerson story, the fights between the Republicans and Democrats.
FINNERAN: Here’s an example. Public school students in Massachusetts, first in the nation, fourth and eighth grade, in math and English two years in a row. It’s never happened and no other state has been able to do that. Even the Globe, which has been good on MCAS and education, kind of buried it in the third page of metro region. What hits the front page often times is Paris Hilton said this or Howard Stern. Those of us in the public sector deserve a lot of the blame for the self-inflicted wounds and lapses but the media has an incredible concentration on the negative.
MCQUAIDE: Does 4th Estate have a big role to play? It’s not just government. Where is the media’s role in what has happened in terms of the gap?
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MEHEGAN: Not surprisingly I won’t take all the blame or responsibility for the confidence gap. The media has a role to play and shines a spotlight on what take place in corridors of power. And as the speaker said, some wounds are self inflicted. I feel terrible for the people that I come into contact with and are knowledgeable and work hard, the Ways and Means staffers with dark circles under their eyes. There are wonderful people with great motivation and great passion for their work in government but I think the scandals and the lapses unfortunately tend to paint everyone else. They sort of get the collateral damage. It’s our job to tell people. You’re paying lots of money in your taxes. It’s our duty and our role to tell people how that is being spent and how your business is being done. I understand the speaker’s point about good news stories. You are not leading the news with the MCAS story unfortunately. I worked for a long time for a community paper and a regional daily and I wrote all those stories. So people have access to that information.
MCQUAIDE: So we hear you can’t blame the media and the public has a right to know. But give what Tom and Julie said, it makes your job in the Patrick administration all that harder. How can we attack the confidence gap?
CLAY: I agree with the speaker that it’s a confluence of all those issues raised, the distrust in state, federal and city government and frankly it’s difficult when those from my generation, born in early eighties and late 70s, we have not seen our government do one really big thing really well. It’s not the space program or the programs from the 40s and 50s that brought the country back. Part of it for our government now and the Patrick administration is about reaching out and connecting in the 21st century. When we saw this data the governor was alarmed at the 4 percent. In his style, he wanted to meet with young adults to talk about the data. So he hosted a meeting. We are thinking about that conversation and new tools we need to use to hear back from young people in 2008 and not to rely on traditional ways to hear from people, like town halls and constituent services phone calls. How do we use the web and social networking tools like MySpace and Facebook? Where is it that we need to be to hear concerns and desires so we can act on it? It’s not necessarily one big thing to do but the small daily actions the governor can take to make sure he is connecting.
MCQUAIDE: There is this confidence gap but a big contrast with how people view employers – 87 percent job satisfaction, almost 90 percent believe their current employer is socially responsible. What is the private sector doing right?
FINN: The study has not been done and there are so many surprises uncovered by it. In the private sector there has been increasing emphasis on being a socially responsible company. It seems like everyone is going after the same demographic. They are looking at who is going to replace the boomers. The workforce does look different. We need to appeal to people across the broad spectrum. In terms of IBM, I have been busy as each person joining the company is assigned someone as a connections coach to provide a personal touch. That is something that people want. We can’t keep doing things the same way whether it’s government or business. We need to find ways to appeal to this demographic. They want to feel like they belong to something. Some things we have done at IBM is a program for early tenure employees, people with the company for zero to five years, a structure that involves planning social activities and planning community volunteering as a group. There are generational differences. As people start to feel more connected then they will stay. For myself, I am turning 42 on Sunday. I am an import. I came here to go to Boston University. The transition periods are very critical. Just like joining a large company, joining a community involves transitions that we can help people to manage so they can have those social connections.
MCQUAIDE: Do you think that what MassINC has found to be true about social responsibility outside of Massachusetts?
FINN: For sure. Europe is ahead of us and has higher expectations. They really look at companies and how they do business and make decisions based on that. Companies want to be on the right side of that equation and position themselves and learn from each other. They want to do this well and in a way that is sincere. We tend to be a little cynical in the Northeast. You can’t just be doing this to look good.
MCQUAIDE: Tom, you have been in both sectors. What can government do?
FINNERAN: Elizabeth made a very powerful point, referencing the point where government was seen as identified with something massive an successful, whether it was the interstate highway system, the Apollo project and putting a man on the moon, or the challenge of World War II and leading the alliance that was so successful. There were a number of instances where the people could see and feel that their government was competent and capable and really unstoppable when it put its mind to it. Now they see dysfunction, political paralysis, bickering, people throwing sharp elbows to try to get a piece of the spotlight as opposed to finding ways to cooperate together. Any of us in public life, we look back now from a different vantage point on what we might do differently. Government at every level should identify two, three maybe four – the issues identified by this young group are compelling – housing, jobs, education, transportation, infrastructure, cost of living – if you made a consistent application, legislative and executive leadership and administration to administration – say they committed today to a, b and c and ask their successors and the media to join us to keep our successor’s feet to the fire. The issues are going to be constants in all our lives – a decent supply of housing, an expanding private sector economy, good jobs, good educational opportunities. When does that go out of fashion? It might really capture the imagination of young people and minimize the tendency of political leaders to think they have to come up with something new and sexy and snazzy.
MCQUAIDE: Wouldn’t the governor and legislative leaders argue they are doing that now?
MEHEGAN: Part of the confidence gap is people recognize these major problems – the high cost of housing, the cost of living – and these are the problems their parents were talking about at the kitchen table thirty years ago. They feel how could government ever to solve it because it’s never been able to up to this point. I think government can do as much to solve the confidence gap with competent delivery of basic services before they get to solving the education issue and some of the major challenges of our time. Getting to competent delivery of basic services while at the same time tackling some of abuses that we see taking place – pension reform, how hard would it reform the pension system that has led to a lot of these negative headlines? I think that’s what some people are looking for as well.
MCQUAIDE: Elizabeth, what about that, about government just delivering and showing they deliver?
CLAY: That is what government tries to do and tries to do as efficiently as possible. A concern about waste exists and so it’s important to demonstrate not only is government delivering the services that it promises but it’s doing it in a way that is most mindful of the fact that it is spending the taxpayers’ money. That is the absolute mission of the governor and his administration. Thinking about how people know that that is happening is an important connection. The research talked about how young adults get their media. It’s important that when you move from making sure that services are delivered, it’s important that the recipients understand where those services are coming from. Obvious delivery is without question the fundamental goal.
MCQUAIDE: Cathleen, any other thoughts on this point?
FINN: I wish the researchers had asked about faith in the federal government, particularly the issue of Social Security for this demographic is huge and affects how people feel about paying taxes and their future.
MCQUAIDE: One finding was the idea of civic engagement changing dramatically. This generation sees it much more differently.
FINN: There is a lot more fluidity that younger employees have in terms of mobile technology and email on the fly and more flexibility in how they do their work. So it’s not 9 to 5 in an office but having the flexibility in working at home, being able to relocate for short periods of time. Technology is something this generation has as a strength. The division between work life and how much time people spend at work is a little more fluid and there are ways that we can leverage that.
MCQUAIDE: Is state doing something in this respect with regards to its own workforce?
CLAY: I am not sure. In terms of its own workforce there are definitely ways the state government is thinking about this. We have the SERVE program, an opportunity for state employees to volunteer service for 7.5 hours in a month. It’s a program which has some appreciation among state employees and some popularity. It models what is happening in the private sector in terms of pro bono work, which has spread far beyond the legal community. That’s one place it is happening. State government is certainly incredibly appreciative of and interested in strengthening ways companies can do that work and connect with their communities. There is definitely room for increasing partnerships.
MCQUAIDE: If civic engagement is really happening among young people, it has implications. What does it mean for traditional institutions?
MEHEGAN: I don’t know that this generation is looking for that engagement exclusively through their employer. This is a generation that is very career-focused. Their social lives, everything in many ways is connected to their employers. I think this is a generation that at the upper end of it, those in their 30s, once they buy their first house and try to get a permit for an addition and they figure out I’ve got to figure out how town government works. So that’s an issue that’s important to me so I will go to Town Meeting or the Conservation Commission and start to see how all of that takes place. That I think is not going to change. I experienced it as a town reporter. You learn how every single committee in the town works. I laugh because members of my family still call me to ask about getting a permit. Suddenly they are interested and want to know what’s going on and are showing up at these meetings. Or there’s an override in town. So they have to get educated. That is not going to change. I think it’s wonderful that people are looking for this engagement through employers. I applaud the work of the administration and the private sector to encourage that. But I am optimistic that people will be continue to be engaged through their own communities as well.
FINNERAN: A high percentage of these young folks are homeowners. That’s no more meaningful way to sync groups into communities. Buying a home and raising children are thoughtful choices. There is a leverage point to move forward – 42 percent of those polled had phoned, written or emailed a public official. That jumped off the page at me. That is a high number. If you really want to be effective on this, I advise dropping the email and actually taking a pen and piece of paper – I know it’s old fashioned. Nothing will get the attention of an election official better, more quickly than a well-written letter. So few people do it. They think a quick email, someone gave you a form and said send these. I can tell you how it works folks. I get 7,000 of those and 7,000 go in the waste basket. But if I got two well-written letters, I said whew, something is going on. My district was 40,000 people. If I got without exaggeration five letters on a topic, that was a huge response. It opens profound opportunities for you to start to move the ball forward. Tell your representative you are concerned about this issue on pensions.
MCQUAIDE: Before we get to questions, let’s talk about some solutions. What are some strategies the governor is thinking about? How much of this can government impact?
CLAY: I want to jump in on the last question as well. Julie is right. Some of it is about life stage. There is still tremendous engagement with young people in housing developments, churches, around music, and in other groups which the government can tap into. The governor absolutely takes seriously the piece about making sure that young people know they are wanted here. The research helped the governor realize how important it is that he get out there and say that to different audiences. A concrete step that came from his meeting with young people is one man, Gary, made a suggestion that he create a web site. Say wewantyouinmassachusetts.com. While we didn’t quite go with that name, we did go with the idea. And Brad Blake of governor’s new media team is here. We are working on a web site which we think will be live within two weeks which is specifically from the governor to the young people in the commonwealth and saying we want you here, here are some of the resources available to you throughout state government. Here are services critical for young families and young adults. But also some personal profiles. One thing I heard from that meeting with the governor is people said Massachusetts can be hard to get connected to. We thought we try to put up personal profiles of imports, home-growns and boomerangs and let them tell stories so people can connect with them. To take that to the next step, we are thinking about, and would love to hear people’s thoughts tonight, about using social networking as a way to have a place, either a Facebook or MySpace or a page you can go to, and connect with other people in the Commonwealth and talk about civic engagement events that are happening that might not make it into your normal reading of the newspaper. From the policy perspective, the governor has taken a major focus on the issues of jobs and education, critical issues to this cohort.
MCQUAIDE: At IBM, you must be thinking about staying competitive and losing people to other states.
FINN: We have a new program called corporate service corps, which is a leadership development program. We assemble global teams so young people early in their career and those more tenured can be part of an initiative where they go to a developing country and gain important skills and understand what it is to be a global leader. They come back here and are recognized for their efforts. It’s a six-month program, with four months of preparation. We are trying to find ways for people to feel connected and they don’t have to wait ten or 15 or 20 years to be engaged in exciting opportunities. In terms of losing people to other states, with technology allowing people to move anywhere, frankly people are relocating and in many cases keeping the same job. In some ways, we can’t just take a one-company approach to this issue but combine efforts and really work with universities, which provide huge leverage and help people stay in the area.
MCQUAIDE: What can the media do?
MEHEGAN: Some of these initiatives are terrific and government can also do itself a big favor by removing some barriers to keeping people here as much as building programs. I think in particular of efforts to expand broadband access in the Berkshires and rural areas. That is something that is so simple and it was not huge money, in relative terms I should say. Someone might say I don’t have to drive to Starbucks 45 minutes away to send this email to my employer who might be located in Brussels. I can stay in my house and do it. That is a good example of removing barriers. Infrastructure is a basic obligation of government. If someone can drive ten miles from their job to their office without falling into a pothole, that is going to give them more confidence about the government’s ability to provide services. The media landscape has changed dramatically. In my ten or so years of doing this, it’s contracted an enormous amount and the limitations on media outlets are a challenge – I won’t deny it – but we have to live up to our basic obligation to just inform people and shine a light on what government is doing for them and to them.
MCQUAIDE: Tom, if you were sitting in the speaker’s office, what would you Tom Finneran the speaker do?
FINNERAN: I would reach out to the Senate president and the governor immediately and say, I will have my own ideas and I can move those through the House and persuade my colleagues but if it’s going to be sustainable and significant in ending the problem, we have to do this together so why don’t’ we all put our heads together. That would be much more powerful and if I individually set out two or three goals. It would be much more powerful for the speaker, the governor and the Senate president to be speaking with one voice and making part of that conversation specific to the younger people of Massachusetts. Acknowledge the obvious – we have a problem and too many young people are leaving. Our future depends upon this population, not me, I am an old timer. When you publicly commit to something on the political stage you damn well better deliver or the spectacle is quite obvious. In the midst of all this, it is appropriate briefly to talk about some of the good and the commitment to a quality study such as this. It should be applauded. I try to do that a little bit on my radio show each day. I don’t do the Howard Stern approach to life and I am not sure that I will ever match Howard Stern’s ratings but to me it’s important to acknowledge the good that is going on. Two other things. Julie made a great great point about spreading broadband to rural parts of the commonwealth. We should recognize there are two states. Boston and Greater Boston is unique and different from the rest of the state. Whatever you move to on jobs and transportation, recognize that central and western Mass are fundamentally different economically from Boston. I would have a person on my staff – I never did this and wish I had – whose job was solely to focus in on what our ten or 12 competitor states are doing. On a daily basis, what’s going on in North Carolina, Texas, California. I want to know what the governor, legislative leaders and the press are saying in that state about positioning themselves to take our jobs and seize our future. None of us who go about a task seriously want to be unaware of what our competitors are up to. Bill Belichick knows what the hell the competitors are up to. We should approach it the way Belichick does. What the hell is California doing on tax policy, transportation policy and the like?
AUDIENCE STATEMENT: The reason I am here today is not because of big media, but literally I was invited on Facebook by someone I developed a relationship with. As a suggestion the government needs to rethink its thinking about marketing. If government were a business I guarantee it would go out of business tomorrow. To be a big story today you have to be massive. You have to be so huge to beat out all the static. The government needs to rethink how it communicates with the residents of the state. My good friend works at the State House and talked about ways constituents reach out to representatives and the follow-up process. If I in business engaged in that same follow-up process, my consumer would go to someone else. There is so little follow-up and actual personal discussion with residents of the state that if you are wondering why people don’t associate the production and the good that you do with who did it and how it happened, you are not speaking their language. You are not speaking the way they listen but the way it’s always been approached. I suggest the way to do that is you need to hire or work with people who actually do consumer behavior and consumer marketing and who understand the way people buy. Don’t think of government as a service, but as a product that people actually buy. How would you sell more of it?
CLAY: That was a great and very helpful comment. If I could make one major change to take us in a direction to serve young adults better, it would be to involve more young adults in politics and in positions of authority in government. Your point about speaking that language, some of that has to do with who is in the room and who is doing the decision-making. When you have folks making decisions about how to communicate with constituents who are using Facebook, then that is going to reach a certain audience. If you have people in the room who have been involved for years in communicating well and effectively through letters and through the telephone, then that is who you are going to reach effectively and that group will be most satisfied with what you are sharing. So there is a need for both representation of young adults and diversity within government and that’s something we are trying to do and move in that direction, particularly around technology. In terms of us trying to out-Coke Coca Cola, we can’t do that. The Boston Herald would be the first to notice.
MEHEGAN: We want you to out-Coke Coca Cola.
CLAY: If there were too much or an incredible amount of resources spent and it wasn’t really used wisely to do exactly what government is asked to do then that would be a problem and it might be a sign of waste. We have to meet some of those same goals but in a way that is fully respectful of taxpayer dollars.
MEHEGAN: There is a limitation inherently in government. It is massive first of all. It’s very difficult to try to bring innovation to such a massive body. It’s not any reason not to try but that’s probably why it hasn’t happened. When you walk through the halls of the State House, I feel like a fossil there because of the aides, so many people are working as aides who are young kids who do speak that language. But you step through the doors of the State House and City Hall and suddenly become part of a culture that’s a little bit different. You have an inherent structure that works against innovation in many ways. You have organized labor and contracts to negotiate with thousands of employees. It’s very difficult to innovate in that kind of environment.
AUDIENCE RESPONSE: To be honest the things I am suggesting and describing are incredibly cheap and effective. Amongst all the people who work in government and at the State House, how many have used Constant Contact, an email marketing tool? I can communicate with thousands of customers for less than a hundred dollars a month. It’s a Massachusetts company mind you.
FINNERAN: You find a huge variety among the representatives and senators, some very comfortable with everything you describe and others who might be more old fashioned and use the telephone. The goal from a politician’s point of view is to establish a personal relationship so that you feel comfortable calling me at any hour day or night on any issue.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: I agree that finding ways to create more efficiencies when it comes to services, treating citizens as consumer, but we lose something when we treat citizens completely as consumers. We are citizens. Trust in government is down and meeting people on that ground is another way to reinforce trust.
CLAY: I could not agree with you more. The Office of Grassroots Governance is specifically focused on institutionalizing channels for citizen participation in policymaking. So at any given time there are a number of series of policymaking processes going on. Now there is one on the New Americans agenda. There was one that just finished up called You Move Massachusetts, with 20 transportation meetings. The access and opportunity office is doing series of town meetings on civil rights issues across the Commonwealth. We are trying to create as many of those opportunities as possible. How do we make sure enough people know about it and use the best channels so that everyone knows they can attend and if they can’t attend in person is there another way for them to have their voice heard?
AUDIENCE QUESTION: I am independent researcher who does survey research of college students. I feel the survey is a little harsh on itself and there may be a silver lining. On Page 57, of the two items mentioned as among the highest priority for young people, the data showed the state has done better between 2003 and 2007. Or look at the confidence level on the same page, 33 percent were somewhat confident. The president’s approval is 29 percent. So the numbers to me didn’t look so bad. As an import to the state I have just returned from my high school reunion in West Virginia and the state may be doing better than some of us say. The final point is the question is compared to what? It’s difficult with a single survey. I’m quite bullish on Massachusetts frankly.
MCQUAIDE: I think there is a lot to be happy about in these results. The point is well taken.
FINNERAN: It’s always good to be aspirational. Everybody recognizes it. We can do better. One in five envisions leaving. I understand the context of your remarks but it doesn’t allow any of us to rest.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: I am also an import. Sixty percent of respondents had experience in other states. Does the lack of confidence have to do with their experience in other states? How much of it has to do with local control, the police details, auto insurance, local control and the branding Massachusetts has outside of Massachusetts that lends to the belief of Taxachusetts, whether it be correct or not? Ms. Clay, is this something the governor can work on with social networking?
CLAY: That’s a great question. The point of the myth of Taxachusetts was one of the examples of the gentleman who suggested the web site. He said you should talk about that because if that’s a myth, people don’t know it. It’s important that Massachusetts put the data out there about how it compares to other states that people might be considering moving to. As a boomerang, my impression would not be tainted or impacted by a better experience of a state government in another state. It’s life stage. People without a major interaction with a state don’t necessarily think about it as much.
AUDIENCE QUESTION: I work in the governor’s office as director of new media. It’s been a challenge with outreach. One point in the survey about satisfaction with jobs versus government – what are the thoughts about those being different things in that if you polled people who work for the state or receive services or people who see the state imposing fees and fines or causing potholes, as opposed to the people who work there who think they are really doing a good job. I am completely new to government and have met some of the hardest working and dedicated people I’ve seen in my life. To the point of different ways off reaching out, one of the things that needs to change is things like making meetings public for example. The rule now is that someone can either fax or mail or email the meeting notification to the Office of Administration and Finance and the person who sits at the front desk there punches it in a three-hole binder and puts it into a notebook. People can call and get that information. That’s not making something public anymore. It’s working on those things. It’s looking at laws around accessibility for example. A lot of the great new social networking tools that I am on all the time in my personal life, they do not always meet handicap accessibility requirements. You have to be really careful with that. Things like Java Script. We are working to change those or even work with Facebook, Youtube, places like that, to get them to be better about those things so that government can use those tools. How is the satisfaction in the workplace different in private sector and government?
FINN: You know what your job is. When you respond to a survey you need to give an answer to a question to cooperate. Maybe in the absence of people not being a homeowner yet, maybe your income tax filing is the extent of your dealing with the state. If there is a gap in terms of awareness, you fill in all the stereotypes and what you have maybe is more regulatory in nature or complying with some state law. I am glad there is someone who holds your position in state government. Different generations want different things. We just have to have a whole menu. There is a successful pilot in the city on a tip line and then they made it available for text messages and tips went through the roof.
