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Ask voters in any state what single issue concerns them the most, and the answer is likely to be the same: the economy and jobs. More than two years removed from a crisis that caused the greatest economic downturn in generations, Americans with a job still feel as vulnerable as ever, while those...
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2011 presents states with a stark choice: austerity and inequality or progress and growth. This Dispatch will address three key progressive policy options for legislators to promote economic security by rebuilding prosperity in the states: Corporate Transparency, Progressive Tax...
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Whether the focus of a specific policy is Rebuilding Prosperity in the states through smart tax and budget policies, Job Creation to build the green economy here at home, or Job Security and Health Security to ensure the stability of our families, these...
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This week, the new leadership of the House of Representatives made good on their campaign promise to bring repeal of the health law up for a vote as their first legislative priority of the 111th Congress. The House passed HR 2 without proposing anything to take its place, despite the repeal effort...
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This past week, Illinois lawmakers approved legislation to raise the state corporate and personal income tax. In explaining the need for the effort, Gov. Pat Quinn explained that the state's "fiscal house was burning." Indeed, faced with a revenue shortfall of $15 billion, legislators...
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As the nation’s unemployment rate ticks close to ten percent, the Obama administration has announced it will push for early 2011 passage of the largest trade agreement since the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement (FTA) is modeled on NAFTA, with...
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.As we reported last week, legislators and advocates in several states are gearing up to oppose legislation that would roll back long-accepted labor standards and weaken prospects for a meaningful economic recovery. Proponents of those measures are polarizing the political climate by vilifying...
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Recent Census figures show that the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in 2009 had a substantial impact on low-income families across the country. Provisions of the Recovery Act, including extension of unemployment insurance, assistance programs for low-income Americans,...
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As states prepare for the worst and steel themselves against attacks on voting rights, a coalition of advocates in New Mexico celebrated a remarkable triumph just prior to the holidays. In response to a lawsuit filed by groups including Project Vote, Demos, and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil...
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A report commissioned by the Federal Communications Commission underscores that, while most libraries and schools have some sort of Internet connection, many are not at a level that meet their needs. About 80 percent of the libraries and schools that receive funding through “e-rate” programs said...
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As states confront collective shortfalls amounting to almost $140 billion in the coming year, progressive leaders face an enormous challenge in building support for necessary investments, even as the general public has grown skeptical of the ability of government to deliver on its promises. To...
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On the heels of December’s tax-breaks-for-unemployment-insurance hostage crisis and news of record levels of profit-making failing to result in job creation, conservatives are planning a slew of attacks on workers’ rights and labor standards in 2011. This exploitation of anger about unemployment...
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