The Union Advantage, Costs of War, Errors in E-Verify, Breastfeeding at Work, Tough Job Market, Young Peoples' Views on the Econ

The Union Advantage:  Unionization raises the wages of the typical low-wage worker by 20.6 percent, according to a new report by the Center for Economic & Policy Research (CEPR), which includes state-by-state data on gains from unionization for workers in all income brackets.

Costs of War:  Highlighting the costs of the Iraq War, the Center for American Progress has developed an interactive map that shows what each state is suffering in lost investments in jobs, health care and clean energy.  The projected cost of the war for taxpayers in a large state like Texas are $54 billion, but even a state like South Dakota is losing out on over $1 billion.

Errors in E-Verify:  In Know Your Rights about Basic Pilot/E-Verify, the National Immigration Law Center emphasizes that the government databases upon which Basic Pilot/E-Verify relies contain errors that may affect employees, especially because in practice many employers do not follow program rules.

Breastfeeding at Work:  In a new policy brief, the Sloan Work and Family Research Network highlights recent legislative activity on breastfeeding at work and policies that protect the rights of mothers by promoting ways to diminish taboos associated with breastfeeding in public and sanctioning employer discrimination against breastfeeding workers.

Tough Job Market:  Facing a tough job market, new college graduates are seeing lower average hourly wages, health insurance coverage, and retirement benefits compared to 2001, as highlighted by a graphic snapshot from the Economic Policy Institute.

Young Peoples' Views on the Economy: The generation of young people born in the 1980s and 1990s (so called "millenials") are far more progressive on a host of issues than previous generations.  The Center for American Progress has released a report that outlines how 18 to 29 year-olds believe that the government can be a force for good in the economy, and that increased investments in healthcare, education, and other areas are necessary to ensure strong and sustainable economic growth.

Easing Burden of Road Taxes:  In the The Road Less Taken: Creating Fairer Taxes, As Well As Better Highways, Virginia's Commonwealth Institute highlights that using increased sales, gas, and titling taxes to pay for new highways creates a far higher tax burden on working families than wealthier Virginians.  The Institute argues that the state can offset that burden by making its Earned Income Credit refundable and creating a refundable sales tax credit.

Health Care: There were a number of recent reports and resources on health care:

• State Health Care Expansions: In its State Expansions Resource Center, Families USA provides maps and tables charting which states are expanding coverage to the uninsured and how they are doing it.
• Responding to Rightwing on Health Care: In The Specter of Socialized Medicine: What Is It and Is It Invading Our Country?, the Center for American Progress mocks fears generated by rightwing critics of "socialized medicine" by pointing out that not only do most European countries have a wide mix of public-private arrangements in delivering health care for all, so does the United States.  This country is already mixing government-run care at the Veterans Administration, government-administered insurance through Medicare, and private insurance -- with the difference being the U.S. fails to provide coverage for all its citizens.
• Costs of Bush Medicaid Cuts: A report by New York City's Independent Budget Office condemns proposed Bush cuts in Medicaid support for medical graduate education as devasting to teaching hospitals, costing New York City hospitals alone $1.2 billion in funding.

Same Day Registration:  Demos has released a new report outlining the successful campaign for same day registration in North Carolina.