Highlights from "Turning Ideas into Action"

Dwindling Middle Class, Changing Demographics, State of the Poor, Unsophisticated Public Institutions: Four Serious Issues for Our State

Tripp Jones, a self-described "think tank guy", last night reflected on 15 years in politics and the nonprofit sector and trying to make Massachusetts a better place to live. Jones spoke to a crowd of 90, including former political candidate Chris Gabrieli, former Swift Administration Chief of Staff Peter Forman, and Jerome Lyle Rappaport, at the Old South Meeting House in Boston last night.

Jones, a key behind-the-scenes player in the Education Reform Act of 1993, the campaign manager for Mark Roosevelt’s gubernatorial campaign in 1994, holder of several positions in Governor Michael Dukakis’s 1988 presidential campaign, and former executive director of MassINC Jones has seen both success and failure in public life. Jones is currently current Senior Vice President of The MENTOR Network.

"Few people know the ins and outs of making change in the state – in all three sectors – than Tripp Jones," said Charles Euchner, executive director of the Rappaport Institute. "He knows how to look around the corner and spot the issues that will play a major role in how ordinary families live their lives. And he knows how to get everyone talking about those issues."

At the lecture sponsored by the Rappaport Institute and co-sponsored by MassINC, Jones outlined four serious challenges facing the state:

• Middle Class – in the last 25 years and for the first time in recent memory it has become unclear whether children will be more successful than their parents.
• Changing Demographics - our labor force growth is nearly zero in Massachusetts and we need to find ways to help the immigrants that our economy is dependent on.
• Failure to Reform Public Institutions- We have a thriving public sector, a non-profit sector that is attracting people who traditionally would devote their energy working for the government, and a legislature that is behind the times and still shuffling paper.
• The Poor – We don’t have a pro-active agenda for people detached or barely attached to our economic ladder.

Jones also spoke to five actions need to make policy change:

• Outline of Goal and Research to Back It Up.
• Leadership Style – allow others to take credit for actions.
• Marketing – media and community gatherings such as town meetings.
• Timing – be realistic in what you can accomplish and be patient.
• Accountability – must be incorporated into major change because "if the lights aren’t turned on it won’t happen".

Since 1729, Bostonians have gathered at the Old South Meeting House for debates, discussion, revolution, and celebration. Today this museum and historic site is a living symbol of our country's quest for freedom and justice. Old South Meeting House is an inspiring National Historic Landmark that is an important resource for more than 85,000 children, parents, teachers, visitors, and citizens each year.