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Easing the Financial Burden on the Unemployed: States and the Federal Government Taking Action
Easing the Financial Burden on the Unemployed: States and the Federal Government Taking Action
Thursday, April 22, 2010PERMALINK: http://www.progressivestates.org/node/24998
Easing the Financial Burden on the Unemployed: States and the Federal Government Taking ActionWhile the Great Recession has been hard on families across the country, both states and the federal government have stepped up in unprecedented ways to ease the financial burden on the unemployed through extended benefits and modernization of state programs. Compared to pre-recession rules that generally provided only 26 weeks of unemployment insurance, federal action extended support for up to 99 weeks in states hit hardest by the recession. See graph below, courtesy of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Click image for a larger version online. 
Both the Senate and House have passed separate bills that contain an unemployment insurance extension; however, the chambers have not agreed on a final version. Congress needs to move a bill to the President's desk quickly as part of a more general new round of state fiscal relief to support economic growth. If you are a state lawmaker, please sign onto this letter calling on the federal government to enact a comprehensive jobs plan. Modernizing State UI Programs: State governments have also continued to move forward in modernizing their unemployment insurance systems, taking advantage of last year's Recovery Act which made $7 billion available to states to help groups of workers who traditionally fall through the cracks of the program, including low-wage workers, women, and part-time workers. Last year, 28 states enacted reforms to qualify for incentive funding, with 14 new states adopting the so-called alternative base period and seven states providing benefits to workers in training programs. This year, Alaska and South Dakota increased the incentive funding for which they qualify through additional modernization of their UI programs, while Maryland, Utah and Nebraska all newly qualified for UI incentive funds through modernization legislation enacted this year. Including states that had enacted reforms prior to the Recovery Act, a total of 31 states have enacted reforms that qualify for full or partial incentive funding. Of the 21 remaining states that have not claimed their full share of ARRA incentive funding, 12 have introduced reform legislation this year and seven states, including Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Washington, and the District of Columbia, still have pending bills. See the National Employment Law Project’s (NELP's) state-by-state summary of 2010 state legislation implementing the unemployment modernization provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For NELP's breakdown of the legislation enacted last year, see Federal Stimulus Funding Produces Unprecedented Waiver of State Unemployment Insurance Reforms and their model legislation. Also, see below for a map of reforms enacted in 2009. Click image for a larger version online. 
Arizona Risks Jeopardizing its Economic Future as it Contemplates Passing Anti-Immigrant Law
This week, the Arizona Senate passed the nation's most draconian immigration law - which criminalizes the undocumented and those accused of assisting them - that many critics say will drive racial profiling and further undermine Arizona's devastated economy. The bill now awaits now awaits Governor Jan Brewer's veto or approval. Advanced by anti-immigrant leader State Sen. Russell Pearce, SB 1070 would:
Arizona is the first state in the nation to seek to criminalize all of its undocumented residents who have not committed any crime other than lacking immigration status. Arizona Leaders Denounce Bill: Leaders from Arizona's faith-based communities and organizations, business leaders and law enforcement officers have also spoken out against the bill, noting it will: hurt both employers and their employees statewide; erode community-policing practices by generating widespread fear in immigrant communities of all law enforcement officers; and discourage immigrant residents from reporting crimes or serving as witnesses for fear of being deported. Immigrant and civil rights activists warn that the bill provides a free pass for state and local police officers to engage in racial profiling by stopping anyone who appears Latino or to be an immigrant; members of a national organization of police officers just announced their opposition to the bill and urged other states not to follow Arizona's lead. The public response to the bill has been overwhelming: according to Governor Brewer's office, as of Monday they received 11,931 calls, faxes, and e-mails in opposition to the bill and only 1,356 calls, faxes and e-mails expressing support. Immigrant rights activists, led by Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, delivered another 50,000 petitions to Brewer's office Tuesday expressing opposition to the bill. Brewer has yet to signal her decision, giving hope to some activists. She has until Saturday, April 25 to sign the bill, or can ultimately allow the bill to become law without her signature - if she does not veto it. Brewer faces a tough election race this year, and many believe her indecision on the bill hinges on political calculations related to state voters' attitudes toward immigrants and immigration. The Economic Costs of Anti-Immigrant Policies: Arizona has been pursuing an increasingly anti-immigrant approach over the last few years, yet it faces the highest loss of employment in the nation and some of the highest foreclosure rates. Many estimate the bill will just make matters worse with immigrant families and businesses fleeing Arizona in response, further devastating the state's economy by costing the state up to $26.4 billion in economic activity. This is likely to further weaken the state's troubled housing market; and business leaders warn that losing those residents will decrease much-needed sales and property tax revenues. The Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF) and the ACLU are expected to challenge the bill in court, noting it will encourage racial profiling against the state's Latino and immigrant residents. Business leaders warn that costly legal challenges to the bill will not help reduce the state's current $3 billion budget deficit and will result in billions of dollars in lost revenue. Confronting Anti-Immigrant Demagoguery: Senator Pearce, a former state trooper who has introduced enforcement-only immigration legislation for nearly a decade in Arizona, has made anti-immigrant politics a personal crusade, has also been linked to neo-Nazi groups. Pearce was previously vilified by some Republican and Democratic colleagues for his extreme and often-vitriolic stances on immigration, and he introduced a bill similar to SB 1070 during former Governor Janet Napolitano's tenure, which she vetoed. Napolitano is now Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and is responsible for developing national immigration policy. Leaders across the country are stepping up to confront these anti-immigrant attacks. State legislators from over twenty states have worked with Progressive States Network to form State Legislators for Progressive Immigration Policy (SLPIP) to directly challenge these attacks in the states. Arizona Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, a PSN Board Member and State Legislators for Progressive Immigration Policy (SLPIP) leader, confronted bill supporter Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio on CNN yesterday over the issue. Watch the debate online by clicking on the image below. 
Arizona has a unique political dynamic and demographics that may be leading it down this destructive road, one reminiscent of California's anti-immigrant legislation of the 1990s. Arizona, ground zero for unauthorized border crossings from Mexico into the US, has seen its undocumented population surge by over 40% in the past decade, largely fueled by the state's housing boom and a growing number of service sector jobs assisting its aging baby boomer residents. Yet the state's demographics do not mirror its electorate: Latinos account for 30% of the state's population, yet are only 11.7% of the electorate, according to Census data. A More Effective Alternative: Despite Arizona's punitive approach toward immigration, many other states are pursuing far more sensible policies to integrate immigrants into local communities and economies. We detailed many of these effective approaches being pursued around the country in our Dispatch piece, State Immigration Policy to Promote National Change in January. Most states won't want to follow the misguided and potentially economically disastrous example set by SB 1070. More on the Economic Effects of the Bill: Immigrants and Latinos are critical to Arizona's economy. According to a University of Arizona study, the state's immigrant workers generated $44 billion in economic output in 2004 and sustained roughly 400,000 full-time jobs. The state's more than 35,000 Latino-owned businesses generated $4.3 billion in economic activity and were responsible for over 39,000 state jobs in 2002, the last year for which such data is available. Business leaders warn enacting SB 1070 will result in immigrants (including those with legal status or US citizenship who have undocumented family members) leaving the state - thereby decreasing sales and property tax revenues statewide.The Perryman Group estimates that if all undocumented residents were removed from Arizona, the state would lose:
Arizona's Politics: Many of the state's non-citizen Latinos are immigrants who arrived in the state over the past decade and have yet to make their way through the citizenship process and become voters. Political scientists and academics note many of the state's white voters have a "libertarian, Old West mentality" and tend to vote conservatively, supporting Phoenix's anti-immigrant Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- who is currently being investigated by the US Department of Justice for his decision to use sheriff's deputies to enforce immigration laws. Several analyses of the federal 287(g) program, which advocates note also encourages racial profiling, have found the program is often costly and ineffective. Most undocumented residents apprehended through the program in North Carolina, for example, were only guilty of misdemeanors such as traffic violations - at a cost of $5.5 million annually to the state's Mecklenburg County. County Supervisors in Virginia's Prince William County decided to not implement the portion of their local immigration legislation that deputized local police officers to enforce immigration laws after they realized the price tag for the initiative would amount to at least $14 million over five years.
Meanwhile, demographers note the number of undocumented residents in the nation as a whole has decreased by roughly 1 million in the past two years due to the economic downturn, which has hit the construction, restaurant, and service industries particularly hard - all employment sources for many undocumented immigrants. Other states that have seen a significant increase among their undocumented residents include Georgia, Texas, Nevada, Illinois, and North Carolina.
State House Reporting and Public Broadcasting on the Chopping Block
According to the American Journalism Review, state house news reporting is down 30 percent nationally. New Jersey may be adding to the problem by reducing funding for and privatizing functions of the New Jersey Network (NJN), the only non-partisan public television and radio news source that exclusively covers the state. To that end, as part of his regressive budget proposal and misguided aim to privatize several areas of government, Gov. Christie is proposing a $4 million cut in direct appropriation and potentially removing almost $7 million in other funding to NJN. At a time when private newspapers in New Jersey are drastically reducing capitol reporting, the Governor's actions could potentially dismantle NJN and threaten non-partisan news coverage in the state. While Gov. Christie has argued, "the state does not need... its own television network," he ignores the impetus for NJN's establishment. In 1969, New Jersey enacted the Public Broadcasting Authority Act after failed efforts to convince private broadcasters to cover state issues. The Legislature additionally found that New Jersey's 's geographical proximity to two enormous markets, New York City and Philadelphia, skewed media reporting in the state. Since its inception, NJN has proved to be an extremely valuable resource for residents, preserving local community voices, and allowing for accurate and reliable reporting on state political, cultural, historical, and economic issues. Privatization Is Not The Answer: If NJN were to be re-organized into an independent not-for-profit, it will "inevitably lead to pressure to merge services and operations with NYC and/or Philly broadcasters that will ultimately endanger New Jersey content" as a result of economic pressures, according to Dudley Burge, a representative at Communication Workers of America (CWA), Local 1032, a group that has championed NJN's cause during this budget fight. Privatizing the network risks the loss of substantial state assets, such as broadcast licenses, towers, studios, and media equipment. Progressive States Network has previously detailed other problems posed by privatization, which often leads to loss of accountability and public revenue. Burge additionally stressed, "[t]hey (NJN) believe that with a non-profit in complete control, no-bid contracts for legal work, business advise and more will flow -- to the detriment of actual broadcasting." CWA offers a concrete set of recommendations to shore up the network, including increased dedicated funding and administrative restructuring. Other groups are working diligently on this issue, including Free Press and the AFL-CIO. Budget Cuts Threaten Statehouse Reporting: Gov. Christie's proposed cuts will only add to NJN's woes. State funding for the network has steadily eroded over the years, creating persistent structural deficits. Other states, like Virginia Florida, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Utah, are considering or have enacted cuts to their respective public broadcasting systems as well. This alarming trend coincides with conservative groups bankrolling media operations to fill the void, which will likely lead to right-wing advocates pursuing partisan ends rather than accurate and unbiased reporting.
To maintain honest coverage of state political affairs, promote community voice and access, allow for an informed citizenry, and provide greater transparency, it is imperative that states with public broadcasting systems find methods to preserve dedicated funding for these programs.
Secretive Energy Industry Giant Funding State-Based Groups Denying Climate Change
The drumbeat of research papers, talking heads and issue briefs attacking the scientific consensus around climate change has been carefully bankrolled by the oil and gas industry. This includes Koch Industries, the energy industry giant and second-largest privately held corporation in the country, which is a key funder of a vast network of right-wing groups -- including many focused on state policy -- who have promoted climate change denial, according to a recent report released by Greenpeace. Foundations controlled by Koch Industries even outspent industry titans like ExxonMobil in giving millions to organizations and front groups that routinely deny climate change and work to obstruct the regulation of carbon emissions. Charles and David Koch, brothers tied for the rank of 9th richest American, have for decades been major funders of the national right-wing movement. Koch Industries and its subsidiaries, the vast majority of whose assets are controlled by the Koch brothers, encompasses the operation of oil systems, pipelines and refineries, coal supply and trading, and oil and gas exploration efforts.
According to the Greenpeace report, which analyzed the finances of various Koch-related foundations, the Koch brothers funneled $24.9 million from the years 2005-2008 to research organizations involved in discrediting the findings of climate science. This includes the funding of many state-level pro-business nonprofit and policy organizations who have promoted climate denial:
And the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has received $75,000 in the last couple of years, part of over $400,000 it received from the Koch network of sources in the last decade. ALEC's work on behalf of the energy industry has included placing energy industry executives on its natural resources task force, writing model legislation that would obstruct attempts to limit carbon emissions, and approvingly citing the work of climate change deniers in its publications. Other conservative foundations involved in denying climate change who received significant funding from the Koch foundations include the Heritage Foundation ($1.6 million from 2005-2008), the Cato Institute ($1.0 million), the Manhattan Institute ($800,000), the Washington Legal Foundation ($655,000), the Federalist Society ($542,000), and the Foundation for Research on Economics and the Environment ($365,000). In total, the report reveals that over the past 13 years, Koch-associated foundations have contributed an astonishing $48 million in grants to right-wing groups who have worked to discredit the science of climate change. The worrying implications of this well-funded effort to promote scientific denialism are becoming clearer as recent polls have shown a significant drop in the percentage of Americans who are aware of the threat of global warming.
Koch Industries has responded to the Greenpeace report by claiming that they believe "the political response to climate issues should be based on sound science" and asserting that they've simply "strived to encourage an intellectually honest debate on the scientific basis for claims of harm from greenhouse gases." But by funding a multi-million dollar national network of groups with a common focus of discrediting the widely accepted scientific consensus on climate change (including many with a specific focus on the fight in the states), it is clear that Koch's real goal is to promote myths and misinformation in order to boost their own profits at the expense of both our nation's global economic competitiveness and our planet's environmental health. Research RoundupPremature End of Federal Assistance to States Threatens Education Reforms and Jobs and Governors Proposing New Round of Cuts for 2011; At Least 45 States Have Already Imposed Cuts That Hurt Vulnerable Residents - In these two reports, the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities highlights that without additional federal support for state fiscal relief, states will be forced to make further severe cuts in health care, education and services for the elderly and poor. With hundreds of billions in projected deficits, cuts may go even deeper than those enacted to date.
Two Studies from the Center for Community Capital detail How State Anti-Predatory Lending Laws Protected Consumers -- and how Federal Preemption Made the Housing Crisis Worse:
Studies on Industry Lobbying Money, the Benefits to the States from Health Reform, and Improvements on Burden of Citizenship Verification Rules:
Equal Pay Day 2010: Families Can’t Afford the Gender Wage Gap - With the recession leaving many women supporting their families, the persistent gender pay gap is adding insult to injury for families already hit hard by unemployment, as shown in this Center for American Progress report. State-by-state data demonstrates that mothers in every state and the District of Columbia are financially supporting their families—and many are their family’s primary breadwinner. Green Energy and the Economic Benefits of Public Transit Reports:
Across the Spectrum: The Wide Range of Jobs Immigrants Do - This report, the latest in a series from the Fiscal Policy Institute that examine immigrants' roles in the economy at the city, state, and national level, details the broad range of jobs held by immigrants in the 25 largest metropolitan areas of the United States. The analysis shatters much of the flawed conventional wisdom on immigrants being overwhelmingly conventrated in low-skilled, low-wage jobs - in fact, immigrants hold a wide variety of jobs, including those in highly-skilled sectors such as science, engineering, and the medical professions. Perhaps most importantly, the report underlines that immigration and economic growth "go hand in hand" - in many metropolitan areas. Valuing Good Health in Connecticut: The Costs and Benefits of Paid Sick Days - Employers covered by a proposed paid sick days law in Connecticut would save a net $73 million, equivalent to lowering their real wage costs by an average of $0.15/hour per employee, according to a new study by the Institute for Women's Policy Research and Connecticut's Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. While providing paid sick days would add a new cost of $92 million/year to employers' payroll expenses, these employers would benefit from a $165 million reduction in other payroll and healthcare-related items. New York Has the Ways and Means: How and Why Wall Street Should Give Back to Main Street - In light of Wall Street's major role in the financial meltdown and the massive profits financial firms have experienced in the past year, the Center for Working Families and Fiscal Policy Institute propose a temporary bonus recapture tax, temporary reduction of stock transfer tax rebates, suspension of the carry-forward provision for 2007 and 2009 net operating losses for financial firms, and a windfall profits tax as a means to confront New York's budget deficit. Please email us leads on good research at research@progressivestates.org
Create Jobs, Protect the Environment: Join PSN at the 2010 Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference
The Good Jobs, Green Jobs National Conference, taking place May 4-6 in Washington, DC will gather thousands of union members, environmentalists, business and community leaders, and elected and administration officials to invest, innovate and take action to create good, clean energy jobs as we preserve America’s economic and environmental security.
The Progressive States Network will be traveling to DC for this very exciting event. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Secretary of Energy Dr. Steven Chu, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, and Colorado Governor Bill Ritter will headline the conference. Joining them will be Dr. Paul Anastas, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. EPA, Dr. David Michaels, the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational Safety and Health, Robert G. Stanton, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Representatives Keith Ellison, Emanuel Cleaver and Chellie Pingree, Des Moines Mayor T.M. Franklin Cownie, and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. In addition, speakers from the labor, environment and business sectors will share some of their expertise on this topic, including Richard L. Trumka, President of the AFL-CIO, Carl Pope, Executive Chairman of the Sierra Club, Leo W. Gerard, International President of the United Steelworkers, Rick Fedrizzi, President, CEO and Founding Chairman of the U.S. Green Building Council, George H. Miller, President of the American Institute of Architects, Arnold Wellman, Corporate Vice President for International and Domestic Affairs at UPS, Inc., and Beth Springer, Executive Vice President for International and Natural Personal Care at Clorox. The three day conference will feature exciting plenaries and more than 100 workshops on topics ranging from environmental and occupational health and safety to green manufacturing to transportation to state and local initiatives. May 5 is the Green Innovation Expo, where leaders from labor, industry, environment and academia will showcase how they are charting the path to the green economy and developing clean energy jobs. And May 6 is Green Jobs Advocacy Day. ResourcesEasing the Financial Burden on the Unemployed: States and the Federal Government Taking Action
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - Policy Basics: How Many Weeks of Unemployment Compensation Are Available? Arizona Risks Jeopardizing its Economic Future as it Contemplates Passing Anti-Immigrant Law
Immigration Policy Center - How Much Will Arizona's Immigration Bill (SB 1070) Cost? State House Reporting and Public Broadcasting on the Chopping Block
American Journalism Review - Statehouse Exodus Eye on The Right: Secretive Energy Industry Giant Funding State-Based Groups Denying Climate Change
Greenpeace - Koch Industries: Secretly Funding the Climate Denial Machine 3 Steps Forward
1. IL: Thousands rally at Illinois Capitol -- For a Tax Increase 2 Steps Back
1. CA: Schwarzenegger Defends Corporate Tax Break 2. NJ: Schools Plan Heavy Cuts After Voters Reject Most Budgets MastheadThe Stateside Dispatch is written and edited by:
Nathan Newman, Executive Director Please shoot us an email at dispatch@progressivestates.org if you have feedback, tips, suggestions, criticisms, or nominations for any of our sidebar features.
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