government - NewBostonPost (Page 3)

Massachusetts

Baker suspends spending on ‘non-essential’ consultants, equipment

STATE HOUSE — The Baker administration on Friday ordered the immediate suspension of all state spending on "non-essential" goods and services in an array of categories, including outside consultants, leases and office equipment and computers. The directive is part of an effort to balance this year's $38.

Massachusetts

Will Massachusetts’ diverse economy blunt a looming recession?

With an overload of disparate data, headlines alarmingly assert that the economy is headed for a recession in 2016. Given the severity and duration of the last downturn, how might Massachusetts fare this time? Technically, The Great Recession of 2007-2009 ended on June 30, 2009. But quantitative evidence feeds negative

press conference

Does social media help the government-citizen relationship? Depends who you ask

Depending where you live, maybe you follow your local transportation department on Twitter for construction updates. Or maybe you watch Periscope videos of city council sessions, or read live blogs of public school board meetings.

Maine

States focus on retaining, hiring older workers

California has a problem: Fifty-two percent of its managers in the state workforce could decide in the next five years that they're tired of working, grab their retirement packages and go. Their departure would create a serious brain drain for the state, which has the largest number of

racism

French government battles intolerance with new public relations campaign

PARIS (RNS) — On a sunny spring morning, an 18-year-old college student wrapped a scarf around her head to feel what it would be like to wear a veil. "I felt stressed," said Valentine Cannepyn, who comes from a Christian background and studies at Sciences Po, an elite Paris

boston

The TSA: Looking for terror in all the wrong places

There's widespread agreement on both sides of the aisle that the Transportation Security Administration needs to change. But just what that change should look like is a question that no one wants to address. Recently, and with some blowback from Congress, the agency proposed that it should discontinue

government

Obama’s towering regulatory state increases burden on taxpayers

A glance at the overall count of rules and regulations leads one to suppose regulatory burdens are decreasing. After all, since Obama took office the total number of rules and regulations appearing annually in the Federal Register has moved from 3,830 in Bush's last calendar year to

congress

Puerto Rican bonds and the small investor

The TV ads flash the noble faces of American retirees and urge Washington to help protect their savings. The back story is kept rather vague. It's that many older people invested in Puerto Rican bonds. The U.S. territory's economy is in deep crisis, and it