In The News: Transportation

“It sounds awfully high. It sounds like a fairly well-paying position,” said Andrew Bagley of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “If there’s been no change, that’s a problem. If the governor has called them out, saying this is something you need to balance better and they haven’t, then that’s something that needs a closer look.”

Keenan pointed to numerous studies, including a 2009 review of MBTA finances by former John Hancock CEO David D'Allessandro, a 2007 Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission study, and a 2002 Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation report entitled "MBTA Capital Spending: Derailed by Expansion," all of which conclude that expansion was not badly needed and the consequences would be severe.

Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation said it's a waste. "Why in this day and age, we have a policeman manually operating a traffic light at this exorbitant cost totally bewilders me," he said.

The result has been a toothless effort that has fallen far short of expectations. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, when questioned about the flagger regulation by NECIR.

The result has been a toothless effort that has fallen far short of expectations. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, when questioned about the flagger regulation by NECIR.

"There's a huge opportunity for more savings that are going unrealized," said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself."

“The law has worked, but given the enormous publicity and political pushback from the police and unions, probably the citizens thought we were biting off much more than we actually did.”

"The problem is, it (the regulation) doesn't go very far. There's a huge opportunity for more savings that are going unrealized," Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation President Michael Widmer said. "The hype surrounding this reform has always been much greater than the reform itself."

"In broad strokes it doesn't appear that we've made any progress on the $20 billion," Widmer said. "The squeeze is going to intensify post-2012. This thing is going to build."

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, was also a member of the 2007 committee. He said the state has let the transportation infrastructure decline over several decades, as large regional projects, notably Boston's "big dig" central artery project, were undertaken without a dedicated revenue source, depriving the rest of the state.