The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation unveiled a blueprint for the MBTA to save more than $1 billion in spending on health benefits over the next 20 years. The report, MTF Recommendations: Saving $1 Billion in Unaffordable Health Care Costs at the MBTA, makes six recommendations to bring MBTA…

In collaboration with four other groups, the Foundation has put forward a comprehensive transportation reform and finance plan to address the long backlog of transportation investments critical to the Massachusetts economy. The plan encompasses the recommendations of the Transportation Finance…

In testimony this week MTF applauded the administration's draft regulations to use civilian flaggers at public construction sites, calling the three-tiered system a "careful balance between public safety and public expenditures" and urged that these regulations be adopted.

The Legislature should take the time to get this right. The proposed bailout rewards the Turnpike's abysmal record while shifting the risks to the taxpayer. Bailing out the Turnpike with no accompanying reforms, no transparency, and no comprehensive plan to address its underlying problems will be…

In testimony before the Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets on June 4, MTF President Michael J. Widmer called on the Legislature to cap the Governor's bridge program at $1 billion. Mr. Widmer noted that there are no new revenues included in the Governor's proposal which…

Continuing its longstanding efforts to reduce reliance on police details, on May 20 MTF President Michael J. Widmer offered testimony to the Executive Office of Transportation and Public Works at the first public hearing on recently passed legislation requiring EOT to recommend guidelines for the…

On October 25 the Foundation released a report analyzing the revenue projections included in the administration's plan to license three casinos in Massachusetts. The detailed analysis raises a variety of questions about the revenues and benefits from the three casinos, including an assessment of…

In a recent news release, the Foundation called on the Legislature to enact a major overhaul of the state's transportation agencies. Both the full Senate and the Joint Transportation Committee have put forth comprehensive and thoughtful proposals to strengthen the Commonwealth's ability to finance…