Equity & Justice
The Public Leadership Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy and leadership center organized to explore and raise public awareness about key public policy issues of equity and justice and to develop public leaders who will improve the economic and social conditions of all Americans.
IdeaLog
Trump’s Razor—it’s always money and power
Posted on June 12, 2025
Like Occam’s Razor (the simplest explanation is usually best), we should recognize Trump’s Razor—that the truest motive for any of his actions is personal power and/or money. A corollary is that his actions are...
Read MoreDespite right-wing lies, crime is down
Posted on May 28, 2025
Trump and his allies rely on fear to advance their authoritarian agenda. A favorite tactic is to spread fear about crime, with the explicit or implicit message that they are talking about immigrants and...
Read MoreWill SCOTUS uphold the rule of law?
Posted on May 13, 2025
Right now, the federal judicial system is keeping our government from sliding into a dictatorship, but just barely. With six aggressively right-wing Justices, the Supreme Court will side with Trump as much as it...
Read MorePLI Bulletin
Preemption, Green Earth, Police Force and More
Posted on June 12, 2025
Police Use of Force Act: Here we go again. Donald Trump is encouraging excessive force by police. The Police Use of Force Act limits law enforcement officers, requiring them to use no more force...
Read MoreRideshare Protections, Election Analysis, Right-Wing Lies and More
Posted on May 28, 2025
Too Young to Test: Given their age, skills and abilities, it is developmentally inappropriate to administer standardized tests to students in prekindergarten through grade two unless it is necessary for diagnostic screening. In recognition...
Read MoreOpen Meetings, Congestion Pricing, Speed Limiters and More
Posted on May 13, 2025
Open Meetings Act: Livestreaming has become cheap and technologically easy so there’s no reason why public meetings shouldn’t be livestreamed. The Open Meetings Act requires government boards and commissions to make their meetings open...
Read MoreIn the News
PLI President Gloria Totten in the New York Times
Posted on December 1, 2021
Where the Pro-Choice Movement Went Wrong, New York Times, December 1 …Having lost at the Supreme Court, anti-abortion organizations set out to restrict abortion in cities and states. By the late 1970s, the leading...
Read MoreThe Lily features the Playbook for Abortion Rights
Posted on October 21, 2021
The Lily, published by The Washington Post, ran a story headlined “Lawmakers are racing to mimic the Texas abortion law in their own states” which includes PLI’s Playbook for Abortion Rights. That section of...
Read MoreNew York enacts a PLI model
Posted on October 13, 2021
New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently signed legislation (S.343-A/A.3412-A) classifying certain threats to report a person’s immigration status as extortion or coercion under New York law. As acknowledged in the Governor’s statement about the...
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