Showing posts with label costs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label costs. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 16, 2022

Boston Globe: "What to do about your cable bill"

"Last year, I got tired of paying Comcast $14 a month to rent a modem and router, especially because the Wi-Fi service I got at home was so spotty. So I purchased my own modem and router for $290.

I now have better Wi-Fi and lower monthly cable bills. What I am saving monthly will soon exceed the cost of my new equipment. After that, it will be like getting a $14 discount every month.

I continued, however, to pay a very steep price to rent three digital adapters, which I need for the three “extra” TVs in my house. In December, Comcast hiked the fee for each adapter to $8.50. How can I justify paying $25.50 a month for adapters to TVs my wife and I only occasionally use?

I can’t. And so began my long-overdue quest to free myself of those infernal adapters, spurred on by Comcast’s latest round of price increases. I finally figured it out, and I will soon be rid of them. In the process, I realized cutting cable altogether isn’t such a scary prospect, even for a somewhat technophobic baby boomer like me."
Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)

Saturday, July 17, 2021

"The total health and climate consequences of the American food system cost three times as much as the food itself"

"The true cost of food is even higher than you think, a new report out Thursday says.

The U.S. spends $1.1 trillion a year on food. But when the impacts of the food system on different parts of our society — including rising health care costs, climate change and biodiversity loss — are factored in, the bill is around three times that, according to a report by the Rockefeller Foundation, a private charity that funds medical and agricultural research.

Using government statistics, scientific literature and insights from experts across the food system, the researchers quantified things like the share of direct medical costs attributable to diet and food, as well as the productivity loss associated with those health problems. They also looked at how crop cultivation and ranching, and other aspects of U.S. food production impacted the environment. Focusing on the production, processing, distribution, retail and consumption stages of the food system (not including food service), they evaluated what it would cost to restore people’s health, wealth or environment back to an undamaged state, as well as the cost of preventing a recurrence of the problems."
Continue reading the article online (subscription maybe required)
The Rockefeller Foundation report can be downloaded 

The Rockefeller Foundation report
The Rockefeller Foundation report



Thursday, January 19, 2017

MassBudget: Budget Explainer: Transportation



MassBudget  Information.
  Participation.
 Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center  Democracy.

Budget Explainer: Transportation 

Better transportation infrastructure makes the economy more productive, connects people to jobs, and reduces the amount of time people waste in traffic.

Where do the resources come from to operate our transportation system, and where is the money invested? The flow chart below displays state revenues and spending, with the width of the arrows representing the dollar amounts. Read the fact sheet with a larger chart.


MassBudget has also recently updated two fact sheets that compare Massachusetts taxes to other states: 
The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts.

MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER
15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700
BOSTON, MA 02108
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Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with
Constant Contact

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

MassBudget: A preview of the Fiscal Year 2018 budget challenges



MassBudget  Information.
  Participation.
 Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center  Democracy.

Our state budget is how our Commonwealth funds the things we do together to strengthen our communities, make life better for our people, and build a vibrant economy. The budget process works best when the choices are clear to everyone and made in as deliberate of a manner as possible, considering long-term issues as well as immediate challenges.

As budget writers prepare for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018, it appears that the Commonwealth again faces a significant gap between ongoing revenue sources and the cost of maintaining current services. This has been the case for many years in Massachusetts, with a series of budgets balanced using temporary revenue sources and savings initiatives that may prove to be temporary in nature (such as early retirement strategies that can lose their fiscal effectiveness if it turns out that the people who retired need to be replaced). Because the Commonwealth has been using temporary revenue to balance the budget during this period of economic expansion, we have not been able to build up the level of reserves to be prepared for the next recession.

We have also seen a pattern of instability, with mid-year budget cuts and, this year, major changes to the budget very late in the budget process. This pattern is caused partly by a lack of adequate transparency in the budget process.

Two steps by state government would allow for a significantly more transparent process and, likely, fewer unwanted budget surprises in the future.



Continue reading the entire Budget Preview here...

The Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center (MassBudget) produces policy research, analysis, and data-driven recommendations focused on improving the lives of low- and middle-income children and adults, strengthening our state's economy, and enhancing the quality of life in Massachusetts.

MASSACHUSETTS BUDGET AND POLICY CENTER

15 COURT SQUARE, SUITE 700
BOSTON, MA 02108
TwitterFacebook


Sent by nberger@massbudget.org in collaboration with
Constant Contact

A Preview of the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Challenges - Table 1
A Preview of the Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Challenges - Table 1


Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Election costs reimbursed

Franklin will get about $12,000 back from the State for their costs in running the special election on Dec 8th and Jan 19th.

The full article can be found in the Milford Daily News here
http://www.milforddailynews.com/newsnow/x1920415040/Local-towns-get-money-back-for-special-election


Franklin, MA

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

College Cost webinar - Thu Sep 17 - 7:00 PM

The word "college" can trigger a lot of stress, but here's a solution...

One of the country's leading experts in college admissions and financial aid, author and speaker Paul Hemphill, will be conducting a live seminar online Thursday evening, Sept 17, at 7 PM. Topics will include:

• How to cut $42,000 from college costs without a parent taking out a single loan
• The financial advantages to applying to 10 colleges instead of 5
• Why a student should apply Early Action and NOT Early Decision
• The 4 questions to ask to get the most financial aid
• The money advantage of appealing a financial aid award
• The financial advantages of going to college during high school
• The college application – why answers to innocent questions can cause rejections
• Financial aid forms – why you must be cautious

Paul provides 60-70 minutes of pure stress relief. Be sure your high school student is watching - Paul will set their minds - and yours - at ease.

Paul has a fact-filled and fast-paced program that will produce a few laughs from true stories that will really hit home.

Go ahead and register now, and be sure to send this notice of the webinar to 4 of your friends who have high school students.

Here's a free YouTube video Paul created, which has become the second most-watched video on college essays: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ago6tIEnL0g


Click through to register here

Sunday, January 18, 2009

"average rate of municipal health care cost increased 13 percent"

BOSTON - Rep. James E. Vallee, D–Franklin, support plans to file legislation this month to remove union veto power over cities and towns seeking to save hundreds of millions of dollars by joining the state health insurance plan.

"Cities and towns need our help and I am committed to doing all I can to help my communities weather the current fiscal crisis," said Vallee. "I believe these changes will help communities save money by allowing them to join the state health insurance plan. The cost savings to communities is tremendous."

Read the full article on the cost saving measure online at Wicked Local here

Thursday, March 27, 2008

In the News - diesel costs for school buses

The skyrocketing price of diesel fuel is putting a squeeze on school budgets and the contractors that districts hire to bus students.

"It's impacting us tremendously," said Joseph Vendetti, owner of Vendetti Bus Co. in Franklin. "Everybody's complaining about paying $3 a gallon for gasoline, and we're paying $4 for diesel."

Most school buses run on diesel, and the cost for that fuel shot past $4 last week - up 59 cents from just five weeks ago, according to AAA of Southern New England. As of Monday, the average price for diesel in Massachusetts was $4.14 a gallon.

Read the full article in the Milford Daily news