Smart Growth and Green Jobs

This Dispatch will focus on the long-term investments and policies that will be central to the creation of good jobs in a 21st century green economy.

In this Dispatch, we emphasize that any stimulus spending has to be tied to increased accountability and transparency in spending decisions, especially by government contractors who often operate like a shadow government with little oversight.  One key reality is that those most in need often don't receive help from government spending without transparency and accountability measures built into the rules.  While the recent federal recovery plan made real strides in expanding such accountability, additional measures are still needed if the recovery plan is going to deliver real equity in our economic recovery.

The Obama administration announced on Tuesday a comprehensive national standard aimed at improving fuel economy and auto emissions through the implementation of tough new rules for tailpipe emissions and higher fuel efficiency standards for new vehicles, based largely on standards already adopted by California and other states, illustrating how state policy can drive national change.  Under the White House plan California will retain the ability to set its own emissions standards in the future, once the the current program being put forth by the Obama administration expires.

As concerns about reliance on foreign energy resources increase and states try to reduce carbon emissions and expand renewable energy use, the idea of public financing for home solar systems has been gaining momentum.

This Dispatch will outline how funds allocated in the ARRA aim to support broadband initiatives and how states can leverage broadband to create efficiencies, increase opportunities and begin to bridge a major resource divide in our country by implementing progressive broadband initiatives.

One of the biggest topics of conversation in Massachusetts these days is the proposed additional 19 cent gas tax which would go toward roads, bridges, regional transit authorities and public transit improvements throughout the state. More than half of state and local bridges of 20 feet or longer are structurally deficient, while 82 percent of the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority's (MBTA) rapid transit rail cars are in poor or marginal condition, according to a report by TRIP. Furthermore, a 2007 report by the Massachusetts Transportation Finance Commission found that “the condition of our roads, bridges and transit systems are all in broad decline…we have no money for transit or highway enhancements or expansions without further sacrificing our existing systems and exacerbating our problems.”

Policies that restrict greenhouse gas emissions, such as cap-and-trade programs, are often proposed to encourage energy efficiency and greater use of clean energy sources.  To offset the impact of higher energy-related prices, on low and moderate income households, associated with restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) has designed a “climate rebate” plan. According to the CBPP, rebates are an effective way to assist households because they allow consumers to maintain their purchasing power amidst rises in energy costs while preserving the incentive to conserve energy and invest in energy-efficiency that is created by higher prices.

In a positive step forward for federal respect of state regulatory powers, President Obama directed the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider a previously denied waiver to allow California to set more stringent auto emissions and fuel efficiency standards than required by federal law.  In a statement by the White House, President Obama said "the federal government must work with, not against, states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions."  The directive represents not only greater respect for state authority, but also a sharp break from the climate policies of President Obama's predecessor. 

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.

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.