From the Dispatch

Corporate Transparency in State Budgets

Altaf Rahamatulla — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 12:38:38 -0800

As part of the Progressive States Network’s 2010 Shared Multi-State Agenda, we are advancing a corporate transparency initiative in coordination with key allies and experts. Demand for transparency in government is rising, but most states still do not collect even the most basic, critical data from recipients of state grants, state contracts or tax breaks. In this Dispatch, we will examine the need for corporate transparency, recent cases relating to the subject, and how the policy will benefit states dealing with massive deficits.

Assuring Accountability and Equity in Recovery Spending

Nathan Newman — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:20:48 -0700

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.

New Mexico Enacts Wage Law Enforcement, Joins National Trend

Caroline Fan — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:09:48 -0700

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson recently signed a wage enforcement bill (H 489) to allow underpaid workers to collect their back wages plus twice that amount in damages. The bill was backed by community groups and labor unions as well as the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions. New Mexico now becomes the eighth state that allows workers to collect treble damages against employers violating the minimum wage – a key deterrent to employers to ensure compliance with the minimum wage.

Privatization Update: Schools, Prisons, Mental Health -- and What States are Doing to Hold Contractors Accountable

Nathan Newman — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 09:24:25 -0700

Given the central role of private contractors in delivering public services, this Dispatch continues our series of Privatization Updates (see November's edition). Today we focus on current privatization debates in the education, prison and mental health sectors -- and what states are doing to increase accountability for contractors.

Montana Defeats Attack on Minimum Wage, Cost-of-Living Increases for Working Families

Caroline Fan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:25:07 -0800

Recently conservatives in Montana sought to roll back the annual cost-of-living wage increases for minimum wage workers that voters overwhelmingly approved in 2006 by 73-27%. Montana is one of twenty-seven states (plus the District of Columbia) that has a minimum wage higher than the federal minimum wage, and one of eleven states that index the minimum wage to the consumer price index. Montana progressives successfully fought a conservative push by the restaurant industry to keep wages stagnant.

Indexing Minimum Wage to Inflation Critical for Low-Income Working Families

Caroline Fan — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:42:59 -0800

Washington State minimum wage workers got a raise January 1st to $8.55 per hour -- now the highest minimum wage in the country. Like nine other states, Washington automatically increases its minimum wage each year at the rate of inflation to make sure families don't face a de facto pay cut as rising costs eat into family budgets. Because the federal minimum wage is not indexed to inflation in this way, we have seen a decline in its value from $9.34 in inflation-adjusted dollars down to just $6.55 per hour this past year. This trend highlights why state efforts to index the minimum wage to keep up with inflation are so critical.

The Financial Bailout and the Challenge for the States: De-Leveraging Working Families

Nathan Newman — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 15:09:42 -0700

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.

Promoting Wage Enforcement Laws as an Alternative to Anti-Immigrant Proposals

Nathan Newman — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 14:57:56 -0700

Instead of allowing the right-wing to scapegoat undocumented immigrant workers, Progressive States Network will be working with progressive leaders across the country to introduce wage enforcement laws that emphasize that native and immigrant workers both suffer under illegal working conditions. See State Immigration Project: Policy Options for 2009 for the full range of immigration policies Progressive States Network is supporting in upcoming legislative sessions.

New PSN Report: The Anti-Immigrant Movement that Failed

Nathan Newman — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:28:00 -0700

Today, the Progressive States Network is releasing a new report: The Anti-Immigrant Movement that Failed: Positive Integration Policies by States Still Far Outweigh Punitive Policies Aimed at New Immigrants. The Executive Summary is available online, as well as the full report in PDF and HTML format.

States Still Leading Feds on Minimum Wage

Nathan Newman — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:54:00 -0700

With food and gas prices rising rapidly, low-wage workers can at least welcome an increase in the federal minium wage to $6.55 per hour scheduled to go into effect on July 24th. Even better, a number of states will also be increasing their minimum wage rates even higher than the federal rate: