Michael Widmer

Guest Contributor

Stories by Michael Widmer

Tolls may be best way to deal with congestion

Tracking Transportation/ Transportation/ Opinion

Tolls may be best way to deal with congestion

We can either have free roads or roads that work

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WHEN BOSTONIANS GET TOGETHER and engage in small talk the topics are predictable — sports, politics and of course the weather. But recently a new topic has risen to the top of the list — traffic congestion. It’s on everyone’s minds and the frustration is palpable. One small example tells the story for thousands of(...)

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Is Baker’s commission another delay tactic?

Tracking Transportation/ Transportation/ Opinion

Is Baker’s commission another delay tactic?

Need for more transportation revenues hasn’t changed

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LIKE RED LINE TRAINS, the state’s efforts to address transportation funding are constantly bedeviled by fits and starts in a seemingly endless quest to reach the destination. In the latest iteration, the Baker administration has proposed the creation of a commission to analyze transportation needs and develop a plan to pay for them, though the(...)

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Lack of public sector experience is troubling

Tracking Transportation/ Transportation/ Opinion

Lack of public sector experience is troubling

MBTA's new GM has never worked in government before

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THE APPOINTMENT OF LUIS RAMIREZ as the new general manager of the MBTA again raises the question of whether a successful private sector businessman or woman can make a successful transition to the public sector. One school of thought, usually offered by those with limited public sector experience, argues that proven business leaders can simply(...)

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What’s the rush on Medicaid reform?

Health Care/ Politics/ Opinion

What’s the rush on Medicaid reform?

Baker’s proposals deserve thorough, careful review

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IN THE SUMMER OF 1972, then-governor Frank Sargent announced a series of steps to gain control over the escalating costs of the Medicaid program, which had been launched only a few years earlier. The annual costs were about $500 million. Nine governors and almost half a century later, with annual costs now at $16 billion,(...)

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FY18 budget shortfall could be $1b

Politics/ Opinion

FY18 budget shortfall could be $1b

Nipping and tucking won’t work in coming year

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IT IS WIDELY RECOGNIZED on Beacon Hill, certainly among budget writers, that the fiscal 2018 budgets passed by the House and Senate depend on unrealistic revenue projections. But it is much less well understood that the revenue shortfall could approach $1 billion. How could that be? There are two parts to the answer — first,(...)

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Latest numbers undercut need for health care tax

Politics/ Opinion

Latest numbers undercut need for health care tax

MassHealth enrollment at same level as 15 months ago

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THE LATEST DATA for the state’s MassHealth program indicate enrollment has stabilized, suggesting the assumption behind Gov. Charlie Baker’s health care tax on employers – that Medicaid rolls are soaring – is not supported by the evidence. In a previous column, I pointed out that enrollment had declined in November and December 2016 to the(...)

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Baker’s claim of soaring Medicaid rolls is faulty

Health Care/ Politics/ Opinion

Baker’s claim of soaring Medicaid rolls is faulty

Assumption underlying employer assessment may be wrong

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WITH MUCH FANFARE last January, the Baker administration sounded the alarm that the Medicaid rolls were soaring because individuals were dropping their employer coverage and choosing instead to enroll in the more generous MassHealth program. To help address the budget problem, the administration proposed a broad tax on employers, mistakenly likening the proposal to the(...)

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With health assessment, Baker heading down familiar path

Health Care/ Opinion

With health assessment, Baker heading down familiar path

Proposed levy has shades of Patrick's ill-considered software tax

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“ONCE BURNED, twice shy.” Will the Legislature heed that aphorism in response to Gov. Baker’s proposed health care tax on employers to help balance the state’s fiscal 2018 and 2019 budgets? Four years ago, then-Gov. Patrick proposed a tax on computer software and services to help expand funding for transportation. He assured the Legislature that(...)

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Baker’s health care tax is bad policy

Health Care/ Opinion

Baker’s health care tax is bad policy

It’s also not fair and a misreading of history

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IN AN ERA OF ALTERNATIVE FACTS, a bit of revisionist history may seem like a small sin. But in the case of Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposed tax on employers who don’t offer a high level of health insurance, a misreading of history can have serious consequences. The governor claims that the “assessment” represents a revival(...)

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Boston property tax hike makes sense

Housing/ Politics/ Opinion

Boston property tax hike makes sense

Voters should back community preservation surcharge

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TAXES VS. INVESTMENTS. The tension between these two concepts has been at the center of public policy debates at all levels of government throughout American history. Putting aside the recurring but almost always specious claim that simply eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse will be sufficient to pay for needed public investments, the reality is that(...)

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