READ THE HEADLINES of the past few weeks – and you’ll see a common theme of an administration that rejects data and science that don’t suit their quest to consolidate power.
Don’t like the jobs report? Fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Want to clamp down on American cities? Ignore the data that says crime in Washington, DC, is down 30 percent and call up the National Guard. Reject climate science. Dismantle the Education Department. Undermine academic research. And last week, force out your own head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention only weeks after she took office, apparently over her unwillingness to reject the CDC’s own science.
These are far from the only examples, in an administration that has systematically replaced experts, researchers, and data with sycophants, charlatans, and falsehoods.
Why does this matter? In an era when facts are contested and expertise is under siege, it’s worth remembering that data not only informs policy—it can transform lives.
In 2008, The Boston Foundation released a groundbreaking report with a stark finding: only 35 percent of Boston Public Schools graduates who enrolled in college were earning a degree within seven years. The implications were clear and deeply troubling. A system that was helping students reach the college door was failing to see them through it to graduation.
Mayor Tom Menino didn’t look away. He didn’t question the data’s accuracy, attack the researchers, or dismiss the messenger. Instead, he called a meeting.
Gathering city leaders, educators, philanthropists, and nonprofits at the Boston Foundation’s offices, Menino declared: “We can do better. And we will.”
From that moment came Success Boston—a citywide initiative that provided coaching, advising, and support to help students persist through college and into careers. Today, nearly two decades later, Success Boston has helped to nearly double the share of Boston Public Schools graduates completing higher education. The lessons are simple: Data reveals the problem, and leadership turns it into progress.
Data doesn’t solve problems, especially when these problems are as complex and systemic as the challenges that face us in areas like housing, education, and health care. However, it provides us with insights into what is working and what is not. It guides innovative strategies that can make a meaningful difference in tackling those problems.
When leaders fire the messenger instead of confronting the message, as the president did when firing Erika McEntarfer as the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consequences go far beyond politics. They erode public trust in our institutions. They blur the line between fact and fiction. And most dangerously, they leave us flying blind in moments that demand clear-eyed solutions.
At The Boston Foundation, we’ve long believed that data is not an obstacle to be overcome—it’s a compass to be followed. It allowed my predecessor, Paul Grogan, whose sometimes rocky relationship with City Hall caused some to think that he would be a political rival to the mayor, to work with Mayor Menino to benefit the children of Boston.
Success Boston is far from the only example. For more than two decades, the Greater Boston Housing Report Card has used local, state, and federal data to track housing supply and affordability in Greater Boston.
By examining more granular affordable housing data, Mayor Michelle Wu was able to identify specific buildings with expiring affordability restrictions, map neighborhoods most at risk of displacement, and quantify the gap between existing affordable units and projected need. This evidence base enabled policymakers and funders like The Boston Foundation to prioritize investments, craft targeted preservation strategies, and mobilize community-based organizations to intervene before homes were lost.
Without this data-driven approach, the effort would have been reactive rather than proactive, missing the window to protect the housing that families depend on. It’s why Boston has emerged as a national leader in so many areas—not because we’ve had all the answers, but because we’ve had the humility to ask hard questions.
We are immediately relying on data as we work with partners across Massachusetts to address the numerous harms being inflicted on the state by federal actions. Our work to address food insecurity, for example, in the wake of federal changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is informed by Boston Indicators’ research to identify the communities most at risk and the organizations most in need of additional funds to meet what will be a rising demand for food assistance.
As citizens, we should expect and demand smart, informed leadership at every level of government. We deserve leadership that listens when the numbers are uncomfortable. Leadership that believes in transparency over theatrics. Leadership that trusts evidence over agendas. Leadership whose mantra is: “Let’s solve this together,” not “You’re fired.”
Numbers don’t create change—people do. What Mayor Menino understood, and what we strive to carry forward today, is that data must be paired with courage, collaboration, and community voice. Success Boston didn’t just work because of spreadsheets; it worked because coaches met students where they were, nonprofits stepped up to expand their services, and a city was willing to invest in long-term solutions.
Boston is not perfect. No city is. But we are at our best when we treat knowledge as a public good, not a political threat. When Donald Trump ignores, denigrates, discards or destroys data that counter his narrow world view, he condemns us all to a future of failed policies and flawed decisions.
As we in Massachusetts are forced to repair the damage inflicted on us by these policies, we can and should use the available data to make informed choices. If we do that, we can provide the strong leadership this nation will need to get through the coming years.
Lee Pelton is president and CEO of The Boston Foundation.
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