- All articles

All articles

- Tom Keane: Boston rising

- Edward L. Glaeser: Why income disparity in Boston isn’t a bad thing

- Ilana Bet-El: Democracy’s same old faces

- Editorial: Obama’s World Bank choice a nod to developing nations

- Editorial: Red Line: Happy belated birthday

- Editorial: Grossman v. Polito: Late returns just in!

- Editorial | BOSTON TEACHERS UNION: BTU cutting off its own nose

- Editorial cartoon: Florida law

- Letters | DEFENSE SPENDING TARGETED: Romney’s concerns over our military are shared across aisle

- Letters | DEFENSE SPENDING TARGETED: All those billions of dollars, and many still think our military lags?

- Letters | HORSES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS: A way of life and a beautiful animal meet with resistance

- Letters | HORSES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS: Disregard for review process is the issue, not horses or views

- Letters: No longer a government of laws

Tom Keane

Boston rising

After years of inactivity, ‘a renaissance on steroids’

By Tom Keane

|  Globe Correspondent

March 24, 2012

Brian Snyder/Reuters

Collegiate sailors practiced on the Charles River in front of the Boston skyline in Cambridge this week.

EVER SINCE the 2008 market crash, the metaphor for Boston has been the gaping hole in Downtown Crossing where Filene’s once thrived: a figurative hollowing out of the city. Granted, developer Millennium Partners now hopes to build on the site, but that’s a ways off and so the metaphor still holds: Something, it seems, is fundamentally wrong with Boston.

Not at all.

Walk around the city and you’ll find other holes in the ground. These, however, are filled with cranes and workers. It’s easy to dismiss them as nothing more than anecdotal - tentative signs of an economic recovery the Federal Reserve still views as tepid. Yet while the Fed’s assessment may well be true for the rest of the country, the situation in Boston is different. In Boston, big things are happening.

The Boston Redevelopment Authority expects 62 major residential projects to be built within the next few years. A third of those are already under construction. Their total projected cost is an amazing $9.8 billion, a level of spending that far exceeds that of the last four years and indeed is well more than in the years that proceeded the recession. The BRA estimates all this new activity will directly create 14,000 construction-related jobs (technically, 14,000 “job years’’ - that is, jobs lasting 12 months) and at least an equal number of jobs indirectly. Once built, the new dwellings will house over 20,000 new residents.

The new residential projects are everywhere - 2,070 units in South Boston and its waterfront, 888 in the Fenway, 1,665 downtown, 1,132 in the South End - and they extend to neighborhoods outside of the city’s core, including West Roxbury (with three new developments), East Boston (five), and Allston-Brighton (four).

Once built, the new dwellings will house over 20,000 new residents.

For four years the city’s economy seemed almost paralyzed. Now it is emphatically on the move. Those in the construction trades, most obviously, have reason to be delighted. But there’s much more to the resurgence of residential building than new jobs and new money. That resurgence also speaks profoundly to the next phase of Boston’s renaissance, a renaissance driven not just by office towers in business districts, but rather a rediscovery of the city by people who not only work there, but also want to live there. “It’s a renaissance on steroids,’’ says Peter Meade, the BRA’s head. Last quarter alone, he observes, Boston broke ground for 1,000 new units of housing. He’s excited, and for good reason.

There was a time when it appeared that urban areas such as Boston were doomed. From a population high of over 800,000 in 1950, Boston suffered a dramatic exodus to the suburbs. By 1980, it was down to under 563,000. Since then, things have slowly reversed, with the population now at 618,000. Pushed by the Menino administration’s relentless focus on matters of safety and “urban mechanics,’’ Boston regained its reputation as a livable city.

But the magnitude of the projects now underway suggests that those modest gains are about to accelerate. Boston still has an image for being a sleepy burg. Meade predicts the next few years will see the city transformed into one filled with activity 18 hours a day.

No doubt, some won’t be happy about this. The NIMBY crowd would just as soon see nothing change - no new buildings, no new residents. Too bad. Vibrant and successful cities need more people, not fewer. There are too many places in Boston where, technically urban or not, it feels underpopulated.

Of greater concern is the nature of the new developments, which - averaging two residents per unit - are plainly geared toward couples, not families. And the new units’ high costs leave nagging worries about those with more modest incomes.

Improve the schools and perhaps more families return. And while wealth is a concern, the converse - a city with only the poor - is far worse. A thriving middle- and upper-income population gives Boston a tax base from which it can better extend a helping hand to those in need.

In a world of virtual communications, some wonder whether cities have much of a future. Builders with money to spend are betting just the opposite. I’m with them. The prospects have never looked so good.

Tom Keane writes regularly for the Globe.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/03/23/boston-rising/Ckmr0g28tX6jdOpoaHnNVM/story.html

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Edward L. Glaeser

Why income disparity in Boston isn’t a bad thing

By Edward L. Glaeser

|  Globe Correspondent

March 24, 2012

THERE IS a deep economic division in Boston, just as there is in the country as a whole. Last week, the Boston Foundation released its annual Boston Indicators Report, which correctly reminds us that “the current configuration of the innovation economy is not working well for everyone, and, indeed, reinforces historic divides.’’ From 2006 to 2010, 15 percent of Boston families earned over $150,000 annually, while 28 percent of Boston’s children lived in poverty.

But while the inequality within a city can reflect the inequality of the nation, the two issues are fundamentally different. And in Boston’s case, inequality is as much a sign of urban strength as urban weakness.

The report reminds us that Boston was once, like all of America’s older cities, a manufacturing powerhouse built around railroads and a port, and we had plenty of jobs for less educated workers. Those jobs disappeared, but Boston was able to escape the fate of Detroit because it had the educated workers who now power urban success. Per capita output in the most educated fourth of America’s metropolitan areas is $45,000, while per capita output in the least educated fourth of metropolitan areas is under $30,000. Boston’s per capita output is over $62,000.

Boston’s economic comeback did not, however, produce uniform prosperity. The Boston Foundation report wisely emphasizes the suffering in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan, “where the child poverty rate is 42 percent.’’ It is a tragedy that America sentences so many of its children to lives of deprivation, and the persistence of this problem has fueled the continuing debate about how much our system of taxes and entitlements should redistribute wealth.

But what inequality says about Boston is quite different. Cities attract poor people with the promise of economic opportunity, a more robust social safety net, and the ability to get around without a car. Poverty rates tend to rise near new subway stops not because subways impoverish local residents, but because poor people move near public transit.

More than one half of Boston’s population was born outside Massachusetts, and over 30 percent were born outside the United States. Almost one half of Boston’s foreigners were born in Latin America, and one quarter are Asian. We should celebrate the long-standing urban edge in integrating newcomers into America. Cities are good gateways for immigrants, and immigrants are good for cities. The diversity of Boston’s immigrants is visible in the restaurants popping up in city neighborhoods, whether serving Italian or Vietnamese.

Not all of Boston’s poor are upwardly mobile restaurateurs, of course. In many cases, poverty is multi-generational, and the city’s most deprived neighborhoods can feel oceans away from the region’s thriving information industries.

Yet we will achieve little in fighting poverty in Boston if we focus on the traditional tools of taxing and redistributing. Mayor James Michael Curley tried to right old wrongs by taking on the old Brahmin establishment, but he mostly managed to get them to leave the city. Local welfare states are easily stymied by the mobility of companies and wealthy taxpayers. The poverty in Dorchester calls for more redistribution by the federal government, not local ones; leaving the country is far more difficult than leaving the city.

The best way Bostonians can promote equality on the local level is to ensure that everyone has the skills needed to succeed in the information age. Only 41 percent of adult high school dropouts are currently employed, while 73 percent of college graduates are employed.

Boston is a great hub for education and technology, which makes the city an ideal breeding ground for ideas that can improve the educational prospects for disadvantaged children. If the Commonwealth seriously wants to fight inequality, it should do more for education-oriented start-ups that use new technologies to teach our children - and it should spend less money subsidizing, for instance, film companies. And if we can figure out how to teach better here, Boston will also be doing its part to fight equality on a national and global level.

Edward L. Glaeser, a professor of economics at Harvard University, is author of “The Triumph of the City.’’ His column appears regularly in the Globe.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/03/23/why-income-disparity-boston-isn-bad-thing/2klHfoqkoXwszCh6UiBYBJ/story.html

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Ilana Bet-El

Democracy’s same old faces

By Ilana Bet-El

|  Globe Correspondent

March 24, 2012

Associated Press

National Front Party candidate Marine Le Pen, right, embraces her father, politician Jean-Marie Le Pen.

THE FAILURE of political systems in democracies to produce fresh candidates is a worrying — and dangerous — trend. Many people around the world look at the US Republican primary race with a sense of disbelief, and wonder: Are these the best candidates the greatest democracy in the world can produce? Of course, the United States is not alone. As the French presidential election enters its last weeks, the level of debate is causing some to cringe, but so is the sense of deja vu: President Nicolas Sarkozy has been in politics for decades, as have all his challengers - Marine Le Pen, leader of the far right Front National, more or less inherited the position from her father, the founder of the party. A truly democratic move.

Still, the French political scene is positively fresh in comparison to Israel, where one of the most perplexing questions is how a state that has the most PhDs per capita can be run by a motley crew of ex-army officers, demagogues, and career politicians. Across the water, in Greece, the problem is the same: The politicians who led the country into crisis have been around for years, and are still there - mishandling the crisis.

This survey is dire because it points to a growing disease in the body politic of democracies: The political structures apparently find it difficult to regenerate, and to serve the broader populations rather than themselves.

To be fair, there are new faces around the European political scene - notably in the United Kingdom. The prime minister, the chancellor of the exchequer, the deputy prime minister, and the leader of the opposition are all in their early 40s, but their qualifications pose something of a problem: All can offer exclusive backgrounds in nothing other than politics. They all went into it as a profession immediately after university, and have stayed there for the past 20 years, more or less, first as researchers and bag carriers, then as elected members of Parliament - bringing no experience of real life, or any professional discipline. The only exception is the prime minister, who worked in public relations for a few years. Clearly it’s the only useful background in politics today.

Italy used to hold the record in rapid government changes, but the title has now moved to Japan: Since the turn of the century there have been eight prime ministers, with a rate of one a year since 2006. On the other hand, Italy suffered under stability: Silvio Berlusconi dominated the political scene for 13 years, and was prime minister for eight out of the last ten years. When he eventually left, in November 2011, Italy was in tatters. He was replaced by an unelected prime minister, Mario Monti, who brought in an unelected technocratic government.

Outside Italy, this is seen as highly undemocratic - but maybe it is not. First, the Monti government has the support of political parties across the board, and they are happy to let him do the heavy lifting. It has long been obvious that painful economic changes were needed, but no party wanted to take a hit for doing them: a respected non-politician is a perfect stooge, as far as they are concerned. Second, the electorate holds the political class in such disrespect - only 8 percent have faith in it, according to a recent poll - that a government of professionals seems to be viewed as positively refreshing.

The reluctance of politicians in so many developed states to serve the broader populations spilled from elections to the financial crisis. The leadership vacuum has exacerbated the crisis - and we are still left with no clear vision of a future. Rather than engage in the fundamentals, leaders have mostly opted for grandstanding, finger-pointing, and ever bigger summits that produce remarkably little. Perhaps they have all gone Italian, waiting for unelected technocrats to come and do the hard work and take the hit.

Democracy is probably the single most significant advantage of the developed world: If it cannot be maintained, to the benefit of all its citizens, and the international community, then the current fears of decline will not only be compounded - they’ll come true.

Ilana Bet-El is a Brussels-based political analyst and co-author of the forthcoming “The Grand Disillusion.’’

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/03/23/democracy-same-old-faces/28Ton2DNsQhPC2N1vwaKJJ/story.html

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Editorial

Obama’s World Bank choice a nod to developing nations

March 24, 2012

IT WAS one of the best kept secrets in Washington. After months of speculation that the top job at the World Bank would be offered to former Harvard President Larry Summers, UN Ambassador Susan Rice, or Massachusetts Senator John Kerry (who loudly signaled he didn’t want it), Obama announced his pick yesterday: Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim, a South Korean-born doctor who co-founded the Boston-based nonprofit Partners in Health.

Kim’s nomination has been greeted with enthusiasm in many quarters. If he is officially selected by the World Bank board, he will be the first development expert to lead the financial juggernaut. But it remains be seen whether developing countries will warmly welcome him. Since the bank was created in 1944 to help countries out of poverty, it has always been headed by an American because of an unspoken agreement that Europe will always support the US nominee in exchange for US support of a European as head of the International Monetary Fund.

As China, India, Brazil, and Nigeria grow in economic influence, they are understandably concerned about being permanently shut out of the top job at these global institutions, especially since they were established to help the developing world. This year, as the White House kept mum about its choice, developing countries hoped that their candidates might finally have a chance. Some rallied around Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, while others lobbied for US economist Jeffrey Sachs, who withdrew his name yesterday in support of Kim.

By nominating yet another American, Obama missed an opportunity to show that he understands this US monopoly at the bank can’t go on forever. But in an election year, when giving control to a foreigner would have attracted attacks, Obama did the next best thing by appointing a development professional born outside the country who is widely respected for battling HIV and tuberculosis around the world.

Kim is a strong choice who can and should win global support.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2012/03/23/obama-world-bank-choice-nod-developing-nations/oHIi129Sdx1UMV4LN8hNNL/story.html

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Editorial

Red Line: Happy belated birthday

March 24, 2012

Dear Red Line:

Happy 100th birthday! Of course, these wishes are arriving a day late, but who are you to complain?

Since service began in 1912 as the Cambridge-Main Street Subway, the Red Line has become an invaluable asset to Boston - a time-saver for commuters, a spur to economic growth, even an iconic part of the city’s gritty identity.

To be honest, though, you’re a high-maintenance friend - as the shutdown of weekend service to Alewife this winter proved. But we’ve put up with you for 100 years (and one day), and here’s hoping for another century of (usually) getting us to where we’re going.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2012/03/23/red-line-happy-belated-birthday/24BO6orCshU5pIw2m5XFeL/story.html

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Editorial

Grossman v. Polito: Late returns just in!

March 24, 2012

Karyn Polito would like Steve Grossman to purge a 2010 campaign ad.

The campaign for state treasurer is heating up - the 2010 campaign, that is. That largely forgotten contest featured an ad by Democrat Steve Grossman, now the state treasurer, attacking Republican Karyn Polito for allegedly steering 68 of the first 100 Red Sox license plates to relatives and supporters. Polito, who introduced the legislation that created the plates, claims the relatives and supporters applied for the plates fair and square, and that the ad implies wrongdoing. Two years later, it still exists in the far reaches of YouTube and Grossman’s Facebook page. Still furious, Polito had a “cease and desist’’ letter hand-delivered to Grossman’s home. Grossman did nothing of the kind, responding with a demand that Polito relinquish her own Red Sox plate (number 2) and have it auctioned for charity.

No doubt both Polito and Grossman feel their honor is at stake, and this episode, which would be funny if acted out by Bugs Bunny and friends, should remind voters that candidates are people too, with feelings that can get very hurt.

Polito’s legal action was excessive, and so was Grossman’s in-your-face response. The wording of the letter was, at least, correct. Both sides should cease and desist.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2012/03/23/grossman-polito-late-returns-just/0z30HoGQhRvJQz20auQSWL/story.html

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Editorial | BOSTON TEACHERS UNION

BTU cutting off its own nose

March 24, 2012

BOSTON TEACHERS are on the verge of losing $9 million in well-deserved bonuses for going the extra mile to turn around failing schools. Meanwhile, their union leadership is blithely using the potential loss of funds as a bargaining ploy to squeeze the city for a richer teachers’ contract.

In 2010, the US Department of Education awarded $9.3 million to Boston and $12.6 million to Springfield from the federal Teacher Incentive Fund. The money is for the recruitment, retention, and training of top educators to work in the systems’ toughest schools. In addition to giving top teachers a pay boost, the federal government seeks to prompt districts to adopt new teacher evaluation systems in the process.

The grant requires that the Boston Teachers Union and school department reach an agreement on how the funds will be used. Union head Richard Stutman insists those details be worked out as part of the overall negotiation of a new teachers contract, which has been dragging on for almost two years. Basically, he’s playing chicken with the paychecks of his hardest-working teachers.

It would be shameful to lose this funding. All that is needed is a simple side agreement between the union and school department. The latter is ready to get it done. But the union - in what has become a familiar attitude - won’t budge.

The entire state grant could be jeopardized if Boston doesn’t resolve the issue soon, according to state education commissioner Mitchell Chester. He said he needs an agreement in hand by the end of the month - that’s next week - to satisfy federal deadlines. And if he doesn’t get it, he’ll move quickly to find a more reasonable recipient than Boston.

If the teachers’ union hopes to gain public support during a critical stage in its contract negotiations, this isn’t the way to do it.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2012/03/23/btu-cutting-off-its-own-nose/CC5t0AicXlOMxYDFkKVbSJ/story.html

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Editorial cartoon: Florida law

By Mike Luckovich

|

March 24, 2012

Mike Luckovich

Mike Luckovich, a cartoonist for the Alanta Journal-Constitution, reflects on the Trayvon Martin case.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2012/03/23/editorial-cartoon-florida-law/Gk5V0cybDaZEi4qv2aefJJ/story.html

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Letters | DEFENSE SPENDING TARGETED

Romney’s concerns over our military are shared across aisle

March 24, 2012

RE “ROMNEY’S defense budget target is lofty’’ (Page A1, March 19): Your piece on Mitt Romney’s defense policies suggests that military cuts are just another area of partisan squabbling, but that’s not true. Democrats such as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and independents such as Senator Joe Lieberman echo many Republicans in warning that $500 billion in defense “sequestration’’ cuts set to begin next year would hollow out US forces and create “unacceptable risk’’ to our troops.

After a decade of war, the military needs rebuilding and restoration, not more cuts. Many US fighter jets are older than their pilots, and America’s decades-old bomber and tanker fleets are simply geriatric. As cheap technologies such as anti-ship missiles and cyberweapons proliferate, we need new research to maintain our high-tech defenses.

But sequestration cuts would slash research and modernization up to 40 percent. Preserving military leadership boosts the economy by driving manufacturing and spinning off new civilian technologies and businesses. When these benefits are taken into account, defense investments cost far less in the long run than critics assume. But by the same token, slashing these budgets now would cost thousands of jobs, many of them in Massachusetts, and slam the brakes on economic recovery, making our budget problems worse, not better.

Smart leadership means stopping the coming sequestration cuts and investing in our national and economic security.

Brigadier General Stephen C. Boone

Raleigh, N.C.

The writer serves in the US Army Reserve.

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2012/03/23/romney-concerns-over-our-military-are-shared-across-aisle/OyKDwsc4div1IPNJT6457L/story.html

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Letters | DEFENSE SPENDING TARGETED

All those billions of dollars, and many still think our military lags?

March 24, 2012

THE ARTICLE “Romney’s defense budget target is lofty’’ (Page A1, March 19) notes Gallup’s finding that “only 54 percent of those surveyed believe the United States has the world’s leading military.’’ What? I have to ask the other 46 percent: So, who has the stronger forces, then? Russia? China? Maybe North Korea?

No other nation comes close to what we spend on the military.

Democracy only works when voters are well informed. What does the Gallup survey say about America today?

John Bonavia

Needham

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2012/03/23/all-those-billions-dollars-and-many-still-think-our-military-lags/YzOq2ku20zmyHC2jpsbEFM/story.html

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Letters | HORSES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

A way of life and a beautiful animal meet with resistance

March 24, 2012

IN HER March 20 op-ed “Neigh of life: In rural Mass. towns, the horses were there before the McMansions,’’ Jennifer Graham raises an issue that demands more attention. I am a horse owner, and board my horse at a trail-riding barn across the street from miles of conservation land. A few years ago, we had a battle with the local conservation committee because people were allegedly complaining about the presence of horses on the trails.

Horse manure was the main issue. Horse manure is essentially grain and hay. Horses do not eat meat. Their manure is far less offensive than the waste of cats or dogs.

Now we are required to get off our horses and kick any offending manure to the side of the trail. Ridiculous, but we do it. Otherwise, we’d have nowhere to ride. Yet I have stepped in plenty of dog poop on those very trails when hiking.

The developer Graham cites who says that horses smell is oblivious to the joys of horses and the natural world. Horses have a pure, sweet smell. Unfortunately, it is the attitude of these people that makes things difficult for those who appreciate the beauty of the horse.

Horses make no noise on the trail, and do not spill gasoline or other toxins. To slowly close ourselves to a way of life and an animal that should be respected and understood is sad indeed.

Karin A. Smith

Sudbury

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Letters | HORSES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS

Disregard for review process is the issue, not horses or views

March 24, 2012

IN REGARD to the March 20 op-ed “Neigh of Life’’ : As a neighbor of Archibald and Tamara Johnston, owners of Maplewood Farm, I am disappointed with the whitewash that Jennifer Graham gave this case. The crux of the matter isn’t horses or views. Rather, it is about a commercial fill operation, to the magnitude of several hundred thousand cubic yards of fill from Fan Pier and elsewhere. The Johnstons’ disregard for Berlin and its review process is why they have been ordered to cease and desist.

Rob Hall

Berlin

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Letters

No longer a government of laws

March 24, 2012

UNTIL THE March 19 op-ed “Death, by order of your president,’’ I have not agreed with John E. Sununu on important public policy matters. I taught social studies for more than 30 years, during which time my classes frequently discussed the difference between a government of men and a government of laws. I was always pleased to cite our system as an example of the latter. After the killing of Anwar al-Awlaki, I am sad to think that, were I still teaching, I could no longer use our governmental system as an example of the latter. And I applaud Sununu for pointing that out.

Carl W. Corey

West Roxbury

This article was downloaded by calibre from http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2012/03/23/longer-government-laws/InoY8RJ7rPwACB9vtEfzfN/story.html

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Table of Contents

Tom Keane: Boston rising

Edward L. Glaeser: Why income disparity in Boston isn’t a bad thing

Ilana Bet-El: Democracy’s same old faces

Editorial: Obama’s World Bank choice a nod to developing nations

Editorial: Red Line: Happy belated birthday

Editorial: Grossman v. Polito: Late returns just in!

Editorial | BOSTON TEACHERS UNION: BTU cutting off its own nose

Editorial cartoon: Florida law

Letters | DEFENSE SPENDING TARGETED: Romney’s concerns over our military are shared across aisle

Letters | DEFENSE SPENDING TARGETED: All those billions of dollars, and many still think our military lags?

Letters | HORSES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS: A way of life and a beautiful animal meet with resistance

Letters | HORSES AND THEIR NEIGHBORS: Disregard for review process is the issue, not horses or views

Letters: No longer a government of laws