Promoting Justice

In January, members of the predominantly conservative Texas Board of Education discussed revising the state's social studies curriculum to include highly partisan perspectives on civil rights, the role of government, and American history in general.  Some of the more divisive suggestions range from banning mention of activist and union organizer Cesar Chavezciting Ronald Reagan’s "leadership in restoring national confidence' following Jimmy Carter’s presidency." to

In an effort to stimulate local economic growth and free up credit markets, New Mexico Sen. Tim Keller and Rep. Brian Egolf introduced HB66, which would require the state to give preference to community banks and credit unions to manage the state's general fund operating cash depository account.  Currently, Bank of America holds the $1.4 billion account. 

As this Dispatch will highlight, the first step is to fund jobs that support long-term economic competitiveness, notably by investing in people and physical infrastructure.  While the economic climate for profit-making business opportunities is more limited, investments in education, health care, transit and energy efficiency can create immediate jobs while strengthening building blocks for long-term growth.

Last week the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of disenfranchised felons in Washington, holding in a summary judgment order that the state's practice of denying the vote to felons violates the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA).  Notably, instead of basing their argument on the nature of the felon disenfranchisement law at issue, the case centered on the interaction between felon disenfranchisement and the discrimination in the criminal justice system itself.

On Tuesday, December 8th, President Barack Obama delivered an address to the Brookings Institution on the need for increased focus on the job crisis that is affecting so many working families across the country. 

When Denver voters rejected a proposal last week by 70% to force police to automatically impound cars of unlicensed drivers -- an anti-immigrant measure designed to punish undocumented immigrants who can't get drivers licenses -- they followed the trend of communities across the nation, often led by public safety officials themselves, who are refusing to divert scarce public resources for anti-immigrant purposes.

While the governors' races in New Jersey and Virginia got most of the headlines, other state races around the country delivered a mixed message by voters on a number of issues. Read more about anti-tax forces continue to fail at the ballot box, a split vote on gay and lesbian unions, how voters continue to support public investments, and more.

The lure is the supposed promise that privatization will deliver a short-term budget fix.  Yet many privatization efforts, as this Dispatch will highlight, have cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars and botched services for the public.  That privatization continues to move forward despite such a poor track record reflects pure ideology that the private market delivers the most efficient outcomes, even without demonstrable results.  Some states may also be making the more cynical decision to pursue immediate short-term infusions of capital at the expense of long-term financial cost in pursuit of short-term electoral gains.  In any case, privatization comes at the expense of long-term investments in the community, sustainable budget policy and public accountability.

Along with giving a roundup of the range of initiatives on the ballot in this off-year election, this Dispatch will give special focus to the campaigns against TABOR and defending relationship equality laws.

Local communities are increasingly rejecting punitive anti-immigrant law enforcement policies such as 287g from the previous administration. They are walking away from agreements to have local police serve as federal immigration authorities, rejecting both their budgetary costs and the way they damage relationships and trust between police and the communities they serve.