The first-of-its-kind Middle Class Index is designed to serve as a barometer of the status of middle class residents. Composed of 26 different indicators, the overall score for Massachusetts in 2010 was 97.4, down 2.6 points from the benchmark figure of 100 for the year 2000. Nationally, the index number was 94.2. The index number
Moving Forward with Funding
New strategies to support transportation and balanced regional economic growth
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Difficult economic times have created a host of challenges for Massachusetts. Among them, the financial shortfalls of the state’s transportation agencies place high on the list. The MBTA is considering fare hikes and service cuts; even with these actions, real questions remain about how the agency will close gaps and keep the aging system operating
Topic(s): Economic Development, Transportation
Going for Growth: New Education-Housing Partnerships to Stabilize Families and Boost Student Achievement, the fourth brief in a series exploring policy innovations to spur reinvestment and renewal in the state’s key regional cities. Extensive research documents the negative consequences that student mobility – the churn of youth entering and exiting classrooms during the school year
The 80 Percent Challenge
A Survey of Climate Change Opinion and Action in Massachusetts
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This report, made possible with generous support from the Barr Foundation, represents the first in-depth look at how Massachusetts residents perceive the problem posed by global warming, as well as their willingness to embrace efforts to address this unprecedented challenge. With the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2008, Massachusetts became one of the first states
Topic(s): Environment, Public Opinion
Next stop, Massachusetts
Strategies to Build the Bay State’s Transportation Future and Keep our Economy Moving
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Building from discussions at May’s National Transit Summit, a new strategy paper, Next Stop, Massachusetts focuses on state transportation policies fundamental to the Commonwealth’s long-term economic competitiveness. Despite years of independent reports sounding the alarm, the state’s inadequate transportation finances continue to place this critical infrastructure in jeopardy. This stubborn challenge persists because transportation lacks
Topic(s): Transportation
Going for Growth
Promoting Access to Wealth Building Financial Services in Massachusetts Gateway Cities
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This paper examines the market for personal financial services and finds that many Gateway City residents do not have bank accounts, which leaves them dependent on high-cost services like check cashers. Without bank accounts, families have difficulty developing the credit history needed to qualify for low-interest loans. They turn instead to pawnshops, rent-to-own stores, and
Topic(s): Jobs and Economic Security, Gateway Cities