WE’RE EAGER to provide a forum for well-considered commentary on issues of the day, and 2023 saw sharply argued pieces on everything from high-stakes testing in schools to a novel approach to reducing tobacco use.
Perhaps not surprising at a time when it often feels like MBTA stands for “more bad transit agita,” half of the 10 most-read commentary pieces of 2023 related in some way to how we get around, two of them specifically zeroing in on the T.
Taking on conventional thinking is something we think the public square can use more of. Readers apparently agree, as also ranking among the year’s top-viewed commentary pieces was a counterintuitive argument that the best way to preserve the historic character of cities and towns might be to strip them of local power over development.
The top 10 list includes pieces taking on big policy questions, whether it’s the homelessness and addiction crisis at Mass. and Cass in Boston, the state of the T and what to do about it, or land use policy governing how communities grow (or don’t grow).
But readers also showed a strong appetite for voices that articulate relatively straightforward fixes to everyday frustrations. That’s the best way to describe the most-read commentary piece of the year, with more than 93,000 views – a plea from a loyal Amtrak rider for some basic adjustments, including offering assigned seats on all trains, publishing a viewable schedule, and making pricing more sensible, that could make a big difference to passengers.
The top 10 commentary pieces of 2023 are listed below, in reverse order, plus a noteworthy break with usual commentary.
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10. Why I resigned as co-chair of JP Progressives
Missteps in the Kendra Lara endorsement should serve as a wake-up call to the organization
By Ed Burley
October 17
“The ordeal is a stark reminder that in a heavily Democratic state like Massachusetts, progressives would be best served by encouraging robust dialogue that includes personal attributes as well as policy, and moving from loyalty-based relationships with politicians to arm’s length accountability-based relationships so we can regain the public’s trust and force politicians to be the best they can be.”
9. Are we being ‘yessed to death’ on Red-Blue connector?
The same goes for initial efforts on commuter rail electrification
By James Aloisi
July 30
“Don’t ‘yes’ me to death,” my mother used to say. What she meant was, “Don’t placate me by saying ‘yes’ and then doing nothing.” Is the same thing happening when it comes to the Red-Blue connector that would provide a direct link between those two subway lines and the electrification of the T’s commuter rail system?
8. Backroom deal for Everett soccer stadium in works again
Stealth amendment would override local zoning rules
By Bradley Campbell
October 18
“The proposed stadium (full disclosure: I’m a soccer fan) may indeed be the highest and best use for this site – now a derelict and contaminated power plant site. But that should be decided in an open and transparent process that includes the voices of all affected communities, weighs competing opportunities like clean energy, advances a sound vision for our shared waterfront, and includes enforceable measures to address any unavoidable impacts – like congestion and air pollution.”
7. Tufts Medicine facing existential challenges
How did the health system get to this point?
By Paul Hattis
August 7
“To allow Tufts Medicine to fail, or even let its current bondholders make the most important decisions about what happens next, would be a bad societal event—having both significant negative implications for our state’s health care market and for medical education.”
6. The MBTA is in crisis. Let’s treat it that way.
After decades of neglect, the time for can-kicking must end
By James Aloisi
September 23
“I put aside my rage at the conditions left by the prior gubernatorial administration, conditions that certainly have been long in the making and left largely unresolved. I calmed myself, and endured transit conditions that no 21st century urban American should be asked to endure. But patience is not an inexhaustible thing, and silence, which is appropriate at times when people need some leeway as they transition into challenging jobs, can eventually turn into complicity. “
5. Tampering with Mass. license plates has got to stop
It’s costing the state a lot of money, and a harbinger of an un-civil society
By Paul Rehme
June 26
“While there have always been, and always will be, people who try to ‘game’ the system, the proliferation of those who openly violate laws (and common courtesy) should be a concern to those of us who want to live in a civil society, and not pick up the tab for others.”
4. Want to protect the historic character of Massachusetts cities and towns? Take away their power.
History shows that cities and towns have been poor stewards of what makes them special
By Garrett Dash Nelson
July 8
“Massachusetts municipalities have rarely been good stewards of their own historical character when given free rein to exercise the powers of their local land-use controls. In fact, the opposite is closer to the truth. For much of the 20th century and still to this day, town-level control of development has been one of the primary culprits of historic destruction.”
3. A new path for unionizing Uber and Lyft
Blocked at the federal level, Massachusetts must act by passing a new state law
By Kate Andrias, Sharon Block, and Benjamin Sachs
December 2
“As Massachusetts becomes the latest battleground in the national fight over rideshare drivers’ rights, we’re celebrating efforts in the state to build a new path for unionizing Uber and Lyft. The Drivers Demand Justice coalition, which includes SEIU 32BJ and the Machinists Union, along with the coalition’s allies in the Massachusetts Legislature, have introduced a bill that would create a new collective bargaining law for the rideshare industry, adapted to the nuances of Uber and Lyft drivers’ working conditions.”
2. A sweep through Mass. and Cass will do irreparable harm
Sweeps driven by misperceptions about people who live in the area
By Madeline Lessing
September 10
“A more promising and humane response is for the state, alongside Boston, outer municipalities, and the federal government to provide more resources to meet the needs of Mass. and Cass residents.”
1. Amtrak doesn’t make it easy for its customers
A few simple fixes would really improve the ride
By Peter O’Connor
December 13
“The problem, far too often, is not with the ride, but with managing to get on the train and in your seat in the first place. And what perplexes me is that so much of the frustration that happens prior to putting your seat back could be so easily fixed.”
An argument against the most strident arguments. Also catching our eye is a still-ongoing series of pieces that began in November and will continue into the new year by Jim Peyser, who served as Gov. Charlie Baker’s education secretary. Peyser is well-known for his strong views on lots of hot-button issues in education. But he’s set out with this set of essays (the first three are here, here, and here) to make a different kind of argument – premised on the idea that lots of important public policy issues are more complicated than the most fervent adherents to either side usually acknowledge, a dynamic that often hinders our ability to engage in thoughtful debate. We’d do well, he argues, in this era of political polarization and social media snark to “encourage humility, civility, and even empathy in our public discourse and decision-making.”