Housing in New Orleans, the Econonomy and Working Families, Broadband, Paid Sick Days, Children in Poverty, Election Inegrity

Despite the good news that New Orleans survived Hurricaine Gustav, the unfortunate reality, as a new report by PolicyLink
details, is that working families there still do not have access to
affordable housing three years after Katrina.  Rental housing is in
especially short supply, with only 2 in 5 affordable damaged rental
units being repaired or replaced with recovery assistance.

The Economic Policy Institute has released its 2008-2009 edition of The State of Working America, one
of the most comprehensive analyses of the American economy and labor
market that exists.  Key facts include how the business cycle this
decade failed to deliver the jobs of past cycles and how inequality in life expectancies continues to expand.

The second annual Speedmatters.org survey,
which measures Internet speeds of users nationwide, shows that the
United States continues to lag behind other industrial nations, ranking
15th in the percentage of residents who have broadband access.

When you compare parental leave between industrialized nations, a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)
finds that the U.S. ranks 20th out of 21 when it comes to the total
length of leave guaranteed to a two-parent couple.  And with no federal
paid leave laws, the U.S. ranks dead last, since every other
industrialized nation offers some form of paid leave to new parents.

Americans overwhelmingly support requiring employers to provide a minimum number of sick days for employees, according to a new survey by the National Opinion Research Center. 
77% indicate that having paid sick days is "very important" for workers
and fully 86% favor a law that guarantees paid sick days for all
workers.

The Drum Major Institute's Survey on the Middle Class shows
supermajority support for a range of issues, from guaranteed health
care to stronger union rights to foreclosure prevention.

In Staying Afloat in Tough Times, the National Center for Children in Poverty highlights
some of the ways that state-level policy can help families both avoid
and cope with economic hardship, including work supports such as child
care, income supports such as tax credits, and asset development
programs to help low-income families plan for the future.

Voters Unite published Vendors are Undermining the Structure of US Elections, which outlines the significant damage being done to our democracy by the widespread privatization of our election systems.

FairVote has released the first
in a series of reports surveying the uniformity of election
administration practices in swing states.  The report examines ballot
and machine distribution, ballot design, and campus polling places in
Missouri and what guidelines are used, if any, in assessing needs for
each election.