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Policy Resources

Growing Economy

Overview

Nov 10 2008

We live in a global economy where corporations have little loyalty to maintaining decent paying jobs in the United States. Failed policies of corporate welfare and tax subsidies to the already wealthy do little but accelerate job flight and growing economic inequality.

Promoting a growing economy requires a combination of key policies, including:

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From the Dispatch

Toxics Disclosure: Challenges and Victories in the States

Dec 05 2008

Recently, in New Jersey, Governor Jon Corzine's administration proposed rule changes that threaten to prevent the public from accessing key environmental information about the state's most potentially hazardous facilities.  Advocates say the environmental information that would be withheld would block public access to information that estimates how many people may be in harm's way if a toxic chemical disaster occurred at 12 sites regulated by the state, as well as additional information for 85 New Jersey sites under federal oversight.
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Taking Action on Job Creation: Invest Michigan! Fund

Nov 21 2008

In the past few years states have become increasingly unwillingly to rely on the chance that volatile global investment markets will choose to invest in their local communities. Instead, states are choosing to directly invest themselves in local emerging opportunities.  The great advantage of direct investment, instead of simply raiding the state treasury and giving away corporate welfare, is that by making direct investment in local businesses, states create a financial stake in firms.  If these businesses are successful, they will return equity to the tax payers that can be reinvested in other projects.  According to the National Association of Seed and Venture Fund, as of 2006, all but six states had state venture capital funds.
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Energy Efficiency Created 1.5 Million Jobs in California; Points to National Economic Recovery Program

Oct 24 2008

Can investments in green jobs and energy efficiency revive our national economy?  A new study, which assesses job creation as a result of energy efficiency policies in California over the last thirty years, argues that it can.
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Feds Approve Broadband Data Improvement Act

Oct 17 2008

Congress has passed — and President Bush has signed — the Broadband Data Improvement Act.  The Act, which had been pushed by Senate Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and supported by a coalition of organizations, such as the Communications Workers of America, has as its explicit purpose "to improve the quality of Federal and State data regarding the availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation." 
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A First Look at How McCain and Obama's Policies Would Affect the States

Oct 13 2008

There are stark differences between the two presidential campaigns' approaches to federal-state relationships.  Differences range from the amount of funding appropriated for programs run by the states to whether the candidates would strengthen or weaken state regulatory authority.
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Left in the Cold – Utility Shut-Offs and State Responses

Oct 09 2008

Working families struggling to make utility payments are feeling the chill as companies shut off their gas and electricity. Shut-offs are up across dozens of states, particularly Michigan where unemployment is high, with a 22 percent increase in the number of families left without heat or electricity. The state's Heating and Warmth Fund, which helps those in need pay delinquent heating bills, has seen a record 42 percent increase in people applying for heating payment assistance.
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The Financial Bailout and the Challenge for the States: De-Leveraging Working Families

Sep 29 2008

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Fed and Treasury officials have identified the disease. It's called de-leveraging, or the unwinding of debt. During the credit boom, financial institutions and American households took on too much debt."  But let's not buy into a false equivalence of "financial institutions" and those "American households" borrowing beyond their means.

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Carbon Auctions for Polluters to Start in Northeast Region

Sep 18 2008

The good news is that next week, ten Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states will begin holding first-in-the-nation auctions of greenhouse gas allowances, an initiative aimed at capping the pollution causing global climate change.
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Community Schools Movement Gains Momentum

Sep 18 2008

Public schools will have more success if they pay attention not only to students' lives in the classroom, but also to the multiple elements of their development: social, emotional, physical, cognitive, civic, and moral. Working alone, schools or families may not be able to provide students with the support needed for academic success, but community schools are an approach to public schools that provide diverse activities and programs for students, families, and community members in order to focus on nurturing all the aspects of students' well-being.
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Spurring Broadband Development through Maine's ConnectME Grants

Sep 12 2008

On September 4, the ConnectME Authority awarded its second round of grant awards to bring broadband communications services to unserved areas in Maine. A total of more than $1.75 million was awarded to six grant recipients, expanding services to an estimated 12,500 residents. "This second round of grants shows that the ConnectME initiative is spurring private investment in broadband and cellular service across Maine," said Governor Baldacci.  "These investments are enabling people in rural areas enhanced access to technology, transforming our state economy, and expanding business opportunities for more Mainers."
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