Taxes are on the minds of many this week as April 15th approaches. They're also on the minds of many conservative governors -- in states such as Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Nebraska -- who have seen their radical tax proposals to further enrich corporations and the wealthy run into major resistance from voters, businesses, and even conservative lawmakers. Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who this week withdrew his regressive plan that would have eliminated the state income tax while raising the sales tax, has seen his standing drop sharply in the polls. In the run up to Tax Day, increasing attention is being focused on how tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations increase burdens on the middle class.
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Eight years ago, progressives were recovering from an Election Day that saw a full 11 states ban same-sex marriage at the polls. The environment in early 2013 could not be more different. Coming off of historic successes at the polls in four states in November, momentum behind marriage equality efforts continues to grow in state after state in advance of what is likely to be a landmark Supreme Court decision on the issue this term:
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In a disappointing turn of events, Indiana’s Supreme Court ruled
4-1 in favor of the state’s voter ID law, overturning last year’s decision by the
Indiana Court of Appeals that deemed voter ID requirements
unconstitutional partly because it treated those casting absentee
ballots differently from those at voting booths. But in the end, the
Indiana Supreme Court majority opinion stated,
“It is within the power of the legislature to require voters to
identify themselves at the polls using a photo ID.”
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While the new Affordable Health Care law provides a variety of funding
opportunities for states, one provision in the health law that could
shift billions of dollars from cash-strapped states to the federal
government. Under the National
Medicaid Drug Rebate Program created by the Omnibus Budget
Reconciliation Act of 1990, drug manufacturers are required to enter
into agreements that provide rebates for Medicaid purchased drugs,
establishing a 15% minimum level of rebates. Up until now, the rebates
were divided between the states and the federal government. But under
the new health reform law, a significant portion of the rebates will go
solely to Washington beginning this year.
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Who benefits from hyping criminal enforcement as the solution to the
immigration issue?
As a Service and Employees International Union (SEIU)
campaign
highlights, one key player profiting off the nation's broken
immigration system is the private prison firm, Corrections Corporation
of America (CCA). CCA operates and profits significantly from private
prisons across the country, many of which house immigrants in detention,
a kind of legal limbo in which immigrants are imprisoned while their
cases are being considered, or who are in the process of being deported.
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Dealing with a $309 million
mid-year budget gap and unemployment hovering above 9 percent, the 10-week
Indiana legislative session primarily focused on budgetary and economic
issues. Lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement to only consider bills
with minimal
to no cost, but still considered a broad range of bills, from
property tax caps to energy efficiency initiatives.
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This past week, the Dallas
Morning News revealed that a key figure who contributed to the
privatization of Texas' food stamp eligibility program is now
receiving taxpayer dollars to help fix the problems that the private
system created. regg Phillips, who was Deputy Commissioner at the Texas Health and Human
Services Commission (HHSC) and led the push for privatization a few
years ago, now heads AutoGov Inc., a company that has received $207,500
from the state government in the past four months to assist in
eliminating the errors in the provision and eligibility determination of
the state's food stamp program.
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Last week the Indiana Court of Appeals struck down the photo identification requirement for voting that was upheld by the US Supreme Court in its Crawford decision
last year. In doing so, the court ruled on the basis of equal
protection as guaranteed by Indiana's state constitution, which is more
extensive than federal law. The Indiana court follows Missouri, whose photo ID requirement was found unconstitutional under that state's constitution in 2006.
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As the economic downturn progresses, American workers are facing a
disturbing rise in employers using credit ratings to determine job
worthiness. According to a 2006 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management,
the number of firms using credit histories to screen applicants rose
from 25% in 1998 to 43% despite such inquiries often being
discriminatory and even illegal.
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The Indiana legislature had to go to a special session and still barely
averted a state government shutdown, to turn in a budget that made no
one happy. Leading editorials called the session a "failure." The state went from the 2008 session in the best financial shape
it has been in several years with a fiscal surplus exceeding $1
billion, to an acrimonious session that was dominated by budget
disagreements due to a desire to preserve the state's $1 billion financial cushion,
even after using $300 million in reserves. Nonetheless, the session
produced some progressive legislation including online voter
registration and a fix to the state's broken unemployment insurance
system.
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Perhaps the most impressive recent success story in expanding political
participation has been the dramatic turnaround in public agency voter
registrations in some states. With the prodding of Demos, Project Vote, and others under the umbrella of the NVRA Project,
several states have reinvigorated compliance with this federal law that
requires that certain state agencies offer voter registration to the
individuals they serve. The most well known agencies are motor vehicle
departments, but public assistance agencies are also included and it is
they that can have the greatest impact on bringing low-income and
marginalized citizens into the political process.
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In the final week of their legislative sessions, the Colorado and Indiana legislatures gave final approval to bills allowing residents to register to vote online. Colorado Senators passed HB 1160 and Indiana House Members passed HB 1346;
both bills allow residents with driver's licenses or state-issued ID
cards to register to vote online. The legislation has been sent to the
governor in both states. In Colorado the governor is expected to sign
the bill, while Indiana's governor has not indicated support or
opposition.
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Early Voting Shows Big Gain Nationally, Hits Majority in Ten States
The final numbers for early voting have been posted by the United States Elections Project
at George Mason University and they are big: 30% of votes nationwide
were cast early and a majority of voters cast their votes either by
mail or in person before Election Day in ten states. The total
increase is 50% over the number cast in the 2004 presidential election.
And even more striking, Coloradans cast 79% of their
votes early, the vast majority through mail-in ballots. These numbers
make clear that the electoral landscape is changing in many states, and
the endorsement by so many voters will likely fuel further adoption of
early voting this session and beyond.
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As states face mounting deficits, corporate lobbyists have been promoting the idea that privatization of public services and assets is a free lunch -- services can be delivered more cheaply than by public employees and public assets like highways can be sold or leased for a hefty return to the taxpayer. As PSN has detailed in our December 2007 report Privatizing in the Dark: The Pitfalls of Privatization & Why Budget Disclosure is Needed, the promises of privatization too often yield to a reality of lost money and degraded services, weak oversight and lost expertise, assets sold off for short-term gains but long-term loss, lost democratic accountability, and the corruption of the political process.
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In the past few years states have become increasingly unwillingly torely on the chance that volatile global investment markets will chooseto invest in their local communities. Instead, states are choosing todirectly invest themselves in local emerging opportunities. The greatadvantage of direct investment, instead of simply raiding the statetreasury and giving away corporate welfare, is that by making directinvestment in local businesses, states create a financial stake infirms. If these businesses are successful, they will return equity tothe tax payers that can be reinvested in other projects. According to the National Association of Seed and Venture Fund, as of 2006, all but six states had state venture capital funds.
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Fallout from Montana Voter Challenge Plan Continues: Last week we highlighted the tremendous job that Forward Montana
and other local advocates did in bringing a massive attempt to
challenge voters in Montana to a stop. In just a few days the plan was
abandoned amid serious public backlash. This week there has been
additional fallout as the executive director of the state GOP has stepped down. Clearly trying to keep people like deployed soldiers from voting wasn't a popular activity in the big sky state.
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A couple of weeks ago, we outlined the rash of voter suppression
activities cropping up, like clockwork, around the nation. This week we
cover the new suppression efforts that have come to light since.
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The benefits of a post-secondary degree are plentiful. For example, an employee with a four year college degree earns 60 percent more than a worker with only a high school diploma. Paying for college, however, has become a daunting task and strain for many American students and families. The cost of higher education across the country is rapidly increasing, at almost double the rate of inflation, outpacing increases in financial aid and many families ability to pay. The combination of these factors result in too many students being unable to earn or complete their degrees due to financial constraints.
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By one estimate, the federal government spent over $367 billion in 2005 aloneon subsidizing Americans' retirement savings and tax breaks to build upother assets like buying a home. Unfortunately, those subsidies gooverwhelmingly to those Americans who already have high-incomes; almostnone of it goes to the poorest Americans who need the most helpbuilding the financial assets that can lead to long-term economicopportunities and security.
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Voter suppression is growing rapidly in America today. Over half of states now have voter ID requirements more stringent than that required for first time voters in federal elections. Several states are clamping down on voter registration drives or are considering proof of citizenship requirements.
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