http://www.progressivestates.org/dispatch Thursday, March 1, 2007Conference Call: Universal and Affordable Broadband in the StatesRemember to join our conference call today at 4pm EST on Universal and Affordable Broadband issues, as covered in Monday's Dispatch.
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"Fast Track": Montana Senate Says No To Bad Trade Deals
The vote in Montana is especially significant, since the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman is Max Baucus from Montana, so, as D.C. insider The Hill newspaper notes, Baucus "is being put under pressure from Democrats in his state to reject an extension of fast-track trade authority, which expires this summer." In the past, Baucus has been instrumental in the passage of fast track, a tenuous position in a state as economically populist as Montana. More recently, while Baucus still says he is open to a replacement for fast track, he has been demanding stronger labor and environmental provisions and a stronger role for Congress in developing new trade deals. Along with resulting in catastrophic trade deficits and lost jobs, bad trade deals like NAFTA, CAFTA and the WTO have significantly eroded state government sovereignty to regulate businesses and even how states spend their own government dollars in their communities.
Oil and Gas Drilling: Not the Way to Preserve the Roan Plateau
Challenging the Oil & Gas Industry: The Roan Plateau is just one of a number of key environmental areas that the BLM is looking to open up to oil and gas drilling, so the movement in Colorado has implications for challenging the hold of the oil and gas industry on federal land policy throughout the West. The fight over the Roan Plateau has brought together new allies: sportsmen and environmentalists. They have joined concerns about preserving the ecological integrity of the area with concern about the loss of recreational areas-- and the loss of the $5 million a year generated for the local economy from hunting, fishing and wildlife watching. The Save Roan Plateau group offers letters that can be sent to the Congressional delegation and the Colorado Governor protesting the BLM plan. Advocates should also on Colorado state legislators to introduce legislation to set money aside to petition the BLM to designate the Roan Plateau as a national recreational or wilderness area. The existing National Park Service, Land and Water Conservation Fund could also be tapped to provide matching grants to the state for purchasing the land if BLM agrees. In fact, Montana's Governor Schweitzer just asked the state's Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks to get $15 million of the state's surplus to buy land for new state parks and greater access for public recreation. Colorado can purchase the Roan Plateau and maintain it's beauty and continue access to sportsmen for hunting and fishing. Doesn't that sound more beneficial than ruining it all for 5.8 hours of oil use?
Beating the drug industry at its own game
States are catching on and starting to beat the drug companies at their own game. Working with academic institutions, several states are establishing "counter detailing" programs, also known as "academic detailing", to counter sales pitches from PhRMAceutical companies. They are sending out their own "detailers" armed with unbiased, scientific, and user-friendly information about the effectiveness of new and old drugs. Counter detailing saves states and health plans money by reducing unnecessary spending on costly prescriptions versus cheaper and equally effective generic medications. Additionally, counter detailing helps to ensure patients are being prescribed the most effective drugs for certain conditions, whether the drug is the cheapest or the most expensive.
In an effort to take counter detailing to the next level, Prescription Policy Choices, a non-profit focused on developing policies that reduce prescription drug prices and increased access to medications, is working with Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts to develop a multi-state academic detailing project. It is no surprise that PhRMA sales reps would have a huge impact on the prescribing practices of medical professionals, if they are the only people providing information. Counter detailing is an effective way to ensure the medical field is receiving up to date, scientific and unbiased information about prescription drugs, old and new. This is important to reducing prescription drug spending, as well as to ensuring the quality of prescriptions being written. Research RoundupResearch Roundup
An analysis by the Center for Budget & Policy Priorities find that the President's budget provides less than half the funds states need to maintain SCHIP enrollment-- and erects fiscal incentives for states to cease providing SCHIP to many children and low-income parents. Looking at the offshoring of service jobs overseas, The Brookings Institution projects that twenty-eight metropolitan areas will lose between 2.6 and 4.3 percent of their jobs to offshoring over the next decade. The impact will be especially sharp in areas with high shares of information technology and "back-office" service jobs. According to a McClatchy Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty-- severe poverty meaning a family of four with an annual income less than $9,903. The number of severely poor Americans grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005, contributing to a drop in the median houshold income for families over that period. Here's a handy tool for state legislators to understand the importance of the Earned Income Tax Credit to their constituents, a spreadsheet of how many people are receiving EITC payments and how much EITC money is being received in each legislative district, both upper and lower chambers. Speaking of EITC, the North Carolina Justice Center has produced a new report on why that state needs a state EITC, as has the Connecticut Association for Human Services. Despite the claims of the rightwing business lobbies, most regular small business owners are not against a rise in the minimum wage, according to a recent survey by a leading payroll service provider. Only 25.6% are against some kind of minimum wage increase and 49% think the minimum wage should be raised to at least $7.25 per hour. Good Jobs First highlights more corporate subsidy giveaways, including nearly $260 million for Google in North Carolina, over $25 million to Microsoft in San Antonio and highlights an out-of-control bidding war between Lousiana and Alabama for a German stell mill. "Fast Track": Montana Senate Says No To Bad Trade Deals
Progressives States Network, Montana Resolution to Halt “Fast Track” to Bad Jobs and Low Wages is a First Step Towards Fixing Washington’s Failed Trade Policies Montana S.J.R. 17, Resolution opposing "Fast Track" authorization Public Citizen, Make Trade Work for States: A Once-in-a-Decade Opportunity to Replace Fast Track Forum on Trade & Democracy, Trade & Federalism Oil and Gas Drilling: Not the Way to Preserve the Roan Plateau
Roan Plateau Eligibility Report for the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System Roan Plateau Energy Development, The Wilderness Society The Denver Post, Last Ditch Bid to Halt Roan Drilling Who Owns the West? Oil and Gas Leases in America's West, Environmental Working Group: http://www.ewg.org/oil_and_gas/part6.php
Beating the drug industry at its own game
Physician's News Digest - PA launches academic detailing New England Journal of Medicine - Improving drug-therapy decisions through educational outreach. A randomized controlled trial of academically based "detailing" American Medical Student Association - Counterdetailing Initiative National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices - PhRMA Watch Eye on the Right
As you no doubt now know, Al Gore has been accused of hypocrisy regarding his home's high energy bills. Keith Olbermann, record-straightener extraordinaire, shot back with a deeper analysis of the figures. Whatever the energy numbers, what's interesting is where the accusation came from: a release by the Tennessee Center for Policy Research, supposedly an "independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan research organization" according to their website, and a "think tank" according to Fox News. For a center ostensibly focused on thought and research, they have released surprisingly little of either; no "policy briefs" since October of 2005, their last "policy report" came 11 months ago. On the other hand, their press room is a flurry of activity. It turns out, the Tennessee Center for Policy Research is a lauded member of the auspicious State Policy Network, a veritable rogues gallery of state-level right-wing organization. It seems the Tennessee Center for Policy Research is just another sign of the State Policy Network's loose standards for the thinking half of "think tank." 3 Steps Forward1. CA: State would set up $500 savings account for every newborn under proposed legislation 2. ME: Bill would let unwed partners miss work 3. PA: Counter-detailers help doctors wade through drug company marketing Jobs & InternshipsCheck out current opportunities with Progressive States on the Jobs & Internships Page. MastheadThe Stateside Dispatch is written and edited by: SuggestionsPlease shoot me an email at jbacino@progressivestates.org if you have feedback, tips, suggestions, criticisms, or nominations for any of our sidebar features. John Bacino Progressive
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Early this week, the Montana State Senate took a shot at out-of-control U.S. trade policies when it overwhelmingly passed (44-6) 
Pharmaceutical companies spend $11.4 billion each year on marketing. Much of that is spent on salespeople, known as "detailers", who visit doctor's offices to pitch the latest drugs, in order to increase prescriptions for their company's products-- usually at the expense of older, cheaper, and often more effective drugs. 
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