Winter 2010 Newsletter
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Pace of foreclosures may be slowing in Mass.
Megan Woolhouse, The Boston Globe
March 3, 2010
Corporate tax breaks proposed to boost Mass. economy
Chamber says more breaks for business will add jobs
Robert Gavin, The Boston Globe
March 3, 2010
Mass. home sales, prices rise in Jan.
Some see signs of a rebound, but end of tax credit could hurt
Jenifer B. McKim, The Boston Globe
February 24, 2010
Tackling Public Policy At Northeastern University
In Just A Few Months, Dukakis Center Sees Itself As 'Major Public Policy' School
Ian B. Murphy, Banker & Tradesman
NU student Gabby Gabriel interviews Governor Dukakis
Dukakis comments on national healthcare reform, President Obama's first year, the national deficit and more

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A powerful and cheap stimulus Boston Globe editorial By Barry Bluestone
THE ECONOMIC crisis began with a collapse in the housing market and probably will not end before the housing market enjoys a real recovery. While home prices are no longer plummeting, many potential homebuyers are waiting to see whether this is a safe time to enter the market. Sales of previously occupied homes rose in 2009 for the first time in four years, but sales could fall again with the end of the extended home buyer tax credit in the spring. In repairing the economy, President Obama and Congress face a dilemma. More economic stimulus is needed, yet there is little appetite for expensive new government programs with the federal deficit running more than a trillion dollars. What we need is a new policy, one that could garner bipartisan support, would likely cost the government little or nothing, but should spur many credit-worthy homebuyers to buy now and help rejuvenate the economy. Here is one idea worth trying. The US Treasury in conjunction with the Department of Housing and Urban Development should put in place for the next 18 months a home price insurance program providing a form of catastrophic loss protection for homebuyers taking a chance on the current housing market. |