PLI Bulletin

Hate Speech, Teacher Pay, Tobacco Taxes and More

Posted on May 8, 2019

Tobacco Tax Act: Despite the fact that nearly all states have increased tobacco taxes in recent years, polls show that voters would gladly raise them again. The Tobacco Tax Act not only provides millions of dollars for worthy state projects, it substantially decreases teen smoking which in time saves lives.

Don’t accept the normalization of hate speech: America is not really a nation of laws. It is our national culture – a set of generally-accepted beliefs, customs and behaviors – that determine right and wrong. The United States is at a turning point. Will we accept the unapologetic use of bigotry? This is discussed in the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

The growing movement around public banking: Wednesday, May 22 @ 2:30pm Eastern, 1:30pm Central, 12:30pm Mountain, 11:30am Pacific. Increasingly, municipal and state governments are investigating whether publicly-owned banks could improve the management of their fiscal resources. This webinar, put on by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), provides the basics on public banking and details about campaigns currently underway. You can register here.

Repeal the TANF “family cap” in 13 states: A recent column from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities calls on states to follow the lead of Massachusetts and repeal the “family cap” in TANF. Thirteen states (AZ, AR, CT, DE, FL, GA, IN, MS, NC, ND, SC, TN, VA) still have such a cap.

Teacher pay, adjusted for inflation, has been decreasing: Despite claims that policymakers support public education, and contrary to the obvious teacher shortage, teacher pay has declined and the “wage penalty” inflicted on teachers hit a record 21 percent in 2018, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute.

Review our pocket messaging guide: This very small booklet contains a great deal of poll-tested messaging advice covering a wide range of issues. To download a PDF, click here.