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Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle is hinting interest in signing legislation to deregulate
the rent-to-own industry. The bill passed Wisconsin's conservative
legislature and is now awaiting the signature of Doyle, who as Attorney
General opposed similar bills.
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The 2000 election sparked an interest in electoral reform. Paired with
a rising tendency among voters toward self-declared independence from
the two major parties and a new wave of reforms have started growing in
popularity across the country. In statehouses and in voting booths,
reforms are moving...
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While conservative organizations like the American Legislative Exchange
Council (ALEC) have coordinated takeovers of state legislative agendas
across the country�a reality documented in our report, Governing the Nation from the Statehouses
� they are usually helped locally by a range...
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Wyoming faces an ongoing saga of attemps by ALEC to steer legislation
while pretending that all of their actions are homegrown. Local
businessman Brett Glass became dismayed when a telecom "deregulation"
bill was introduced that would destroy his business but would be a
major help to...
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A good place to start in researching your local corporate-backed policy outfits is the State Policy Network;
pick your state on the linked map and you'll be able to see a list of
"free market" think tanks in your local area. While there is a lot of
overlap, you can also check out the map...
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Last Thursday's Dispatch incorrectly stated that the minimum wage ballot initiative in Michigan
would raise the minimum wage to $7.40. In reality, the $7.40 figure
appears in the bill being pushed by rightwing legislators. Rightwing
legislators are attempting to undercut the initiative that ties...
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An old rule of politics is to not let the perfect be the enemy of the
good. A new corrolary may be: Be wary of letting the good become the
enemy of the perfect. In both Michigan and Pennsylvania, conservatives reading the polls are looking to defuse a ticking political time-bomb: the minimum wage...
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Two states, two different stories. Colorado's House just weakened a bill that would allow workers to take a small amount of time off each week for family reasons, such as parent-teacher meetings. Meanwhile, Arizona's legislature is unanimously moving a bill forward to protect the right of mothers...
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A few folks pointed out that in Monday's Dispatch we had given anti-public school activists too much credit for success when we said that Texas, Lousiana, and Kansas had passed the 65% Distraction into law.
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It's no secret that one of the top priorities for the rightwing
movement has been privatization of public education through vouchers
and tax credits. But the raw fact is that the public has consistently
rejected their initiatives when they've come to a vote-- every time the
voters have faced...
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The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) recently issued its 2006 version of its "Report Card on American Education",
the organization's annual propaganda that public schools are failing
and that more resources for poorer schools won't make a difference.
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And distraction is what the newest rightwing educational campaign -- the so-called "65% Solution" -- is all about.
The proposal requires each district to spend at least 65% of all revenue "in the classroom." It's poll-tested and sounds good -- Georgia has passed it, with many...
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