For media inquiries, contact Reginauld Williams at rwilliams@massbudget.org
Advocates pack State House hearing to support bill to expand driving privileges to all Mass. residents, regardless of legal status
An estimated 185,000 undocumented immigrants stand to benefit from this bill if it becomes law, according to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. Currently, residents need to show a work permit or other proof of legal status to be eligible for a driver's license.
Editorial: Time to call curtains on the film tax credit
Meanwhile, study after study has found fault with the economic impact of the state’s film credit. A 2015 report by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center found that the state pays significantly more for every job created by the credit than the wages earned by those jobs, and gets just 13 cents in revenue back from every dollar spent.
Center Looks at ‘State of Working Massachusetts’
In this video, MassBudget President Noah Berger discusses the State of Working Massachusetts 2011 with BNN News anchor Christopher Lovett.
BNN News Interviews Noah Berger of the Mass. Budget and Policy Center
MassBudget President, Noah Berger, discusses the Massachusetts economy and a recent “State of Working Massachusetts” report.
Cracks in the Foundation of MA K-12 Funding
The foundation budget established under the Education Reform Act of 1993 to calculate adequate baseline spending for the state's public school districts understates the costs of special education and health insurance by more than $2 billion, according to a new report from the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.
Editorial: “Zero-based” budgeting
Still, residents should not let their hopes soar. Eliminating waste is unlikely to be enough. According to the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, since the recession began, Massachusetts has cut about $3 billion in spending. The reductions hit cities and towns especially hard. Comparing fiscal 2009 with Governor Patrick’s fiscal 2012 budget proposal, the center projected a drop in unrestricted local aid of $528 million, or almost 40 percent. Education has suffered big losses as well.
Mass. budget builders agree on $20.5B in revenues
Noah Berger, executive director of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan budget watchdog, said the estimate was “reasonable and cautious.” The total of $20.525 billion in tax revenue estimate reflects growth from the revised estimate of $19.784 billion for the current year.
Outlook for State Budget
Noah Berger of the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center discusses the 2012 Massachusetts budget with Steve Ives.
Better By Degrees
All that good news comes from a report released earlier this month by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. The State of Working Massachusetts 2010 examines the state’s rise since 1979 from the middle of the pack nationally in terms of wages and incomes to a sixth-place ranking (behind Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Alaska and Hawaii) in median household income.
Higher Education Attainment Helps Weather Downturn
MASSACHUSETTS (WAMC) – Massachusetts is weathering the economic downturn better than most states, that’s according to a new report released by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center. WAMC’s Berkshire Bureau Chief Charlie Deitz reports that the reason for the state’s performance is its’ commitment to higher education over the last three decades.
State capitol briefs, Tues. Jan 4
The gap between projected state spending needed to maintain state services and available revenues next fiscal year is just shy of $1.8 billion, according to a preliminary analysis released Tuesday morning by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.
Fall River and Massachusetts slated to slice manufacturing, production jobs in years to come
Massachusetts has fared better than most states during the recession but will face “enormous fiscal and economic challenges” in the years ahead, according to a report released Sunday by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center.
Bay State survives jobs crisis better than most
During the recent crisis, Massachusetts lost fewer jobs than most states and maintained higher wages, all while avoiding a significant increase in poverty, according to “The State of Working Massachusetts,” a report prepared by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, a nonpartisan think tank that studies economic issues.
Wages rise for all, but a gap widens
Thanks to its colleges and universities, Massachusetts has one of the best-educated, best-paid workforces in the nation, but a new study shows the gap between the haves and have-nots has widened–especially during the recent recession.
