The American Dream used to mean that if you put in a hard day's work, you could expect good wages, benefits, and a better life for your kids. But the kinds of jobs that can provide a solid middle-class life in return for hard work are in short supply in Michigan—the state’s unemployment rate is one of the nation’s highest, earnings have dropped below the national median, and hard-won health and retirement benefits are being lost. The future of the middle class, which has been the backbone of Michigan’s economy for more than half a century, is at risk.
The American Dream used to mean that if you put in a hard day's work, you could expect good wages, benefits, and a better life for your kids. Today, the kinds of jobs that can provide a solid middle-class life in return for hard work are in short supply-unemployment is up, earnings are flat, and hard-won benefits are being lost. The future of Florida's middle class, which has been the backbone of Florida's economy for more than half a century, is at risk.
Massachusetts’ strong and vibrant middle class didn’t just happen. It was built brick by brick by the hard work of our parents and grandparents and the strength in numbers that came from the unions that represented them.
Household debt is burdening millions of families and stifling economic growth in the nation as a whole. In the first half of 2011, 11 million American households – more than one in five homeowners – owed more on their mortgages than their homes were worth.1 Millions of families have already lost their homes to foreclosure.
Authored by Robert Repetto PhD, a Senior Fellow in the United Nations Foundation's climate and energy program, these four policy briefs examine the health, economic and environmental challenges posed by the effects of climate change in four particularly susceptible states.
The details of the report lay out the near and likely long-term consequences should these states fail to make a serious committment to combatting climate change.
Click on the titles below or select a state in the righthand column to view the individual reports.
Americans’ lives, health and livelihoods would be put at risk if so called “regulatory reform” proposals now being considered by the U.S. Congress were to become law, slowing or stopping the regulatory process.
These dangerous proposals before congress include The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), and The Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act (RFIA).
Americans’ lives, health and livelihoods would be put at risk if so called “regulatory reform” proposals now being considered by the U.S. Congress were to become law, slowing or stopping the regulatory process.
These dangerous proposals before congress include The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), and The Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act (RFIA).
Americans’ lives, health and livelihoods would be put at risk if so called “regulatory reform” proposals now being considered by the U.S. Congress were to become law, slowing or stopping the regulatory process. These dangerous proposals before congress include The Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, The Regulatory Accountability Act (RAA), and The Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act (RFIA).
When drawing legislative districts, New York State counts incarcerated persons as "residents" of the community where the prison is located, instead of counting them in the home community to which they will return, on average, within 34 months. This practice of prison-based gerrymandering ignores more than 100 years of legal precedent.
Like every generation before us, Americans are coming together to preserve a democracy of the people, by the people, and for the people. American democracy is premised on the consent of the governed, and on the idea that we all deserve a say in the government decisions that affect our families. We stand united supporting commonsense protections that recognize the people as the ultimate check on the corrosive influence of money in politics, which is eroding the very foundation of self-government.
This is a joint effort by the following organizations:
Problem: In the 2012 election cycle, state-level candidates and parties raised more than $108 million.1 All that money sways the decisions our leaders make from what’s best for New Yorkers to what’s best for big money donors, and the lack of transparency means we can’t see when money is driving bad decisions.
Problem: Just in the last decade, 15 state-level elected officials have been convicted of corruption-related crimes. Ethics reform isn’t enough—we need to change the way elections work so that our elected officials are truly accountable to voters.
In 2012, just 61 large donors to Super PACs giving an average of $4.7 million each matched the $285.2 million in grassroots contributions from more than 1,425,500 small donors to the major party presidential candidates.
Outside spending organizations reported $1.11 billion in spending to the FEC through the final reporting deadline in the 2012 cycle. That’s already a 200% increase over total 2008 outside spending.
A Nelson hold is a wrestling move used to pin an opponent. The Montana Supreme Court recently upheld its century old restrictions on corporate political spending, finding that the State had a compelling interest in protecting its state government from corruption, encouraging the full participation of the electorate, and defending the integrity of its judiciary.
This memo outlines how the Justices lined up on the issues in Randall v. Sorrell, provides some analysis of the opinions, and touches on the implications for future reform efforts.
In the last thirty years, our nation has experienced a paradox of productivity and progress. Productivity, driven by extraordinary growth in technology and an increased push towards consumption, has nearly tripled. Meanwhile social, environmental, and educational progress has stalled.
