Greenhouse Gas, Job Piracy, Crime Rates and More

Posted on April 28, 2016

Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act: Despite universal acknowledgement that governments need to act aggressively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, only eight states are real leaders on the issue (CA, MA, MD, MA, NY, OR, VT and WA). The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, based on Maryland’s new law, requires the state to reduce emissions by 40 percent from 2006 levels by 2030.

Both states and localities can curtail job piracy: Job piracy is the practice of giving tax breaks and subsidies to a few corporations for the supposed purpose of enticing them to move jobs from another jurisdiction. States and localities say they can’t unilaterally disarm, but in fact, they can make an agreement to stop job piracy, as Missouri and Kansas are on the verge of doing. Read about it on IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

Policy Leadership: Five Simple Steps for Coalition Building to Advance Your Agenda: Wednesday, May 4 @3pm Eastern, 2pm Central, 1pm Mountain, Noon Pacific. You have the ideas and are ready to put them into action, now what? In this session, learn how to leverage the Progressive Movement to help build momentum for your policy solutions. We will discuss five simple steps to build coalition support around your policy agenda that will increase the impact of your work. Register here.

There is NO increase in crime rates: The crime rates in America’s 30 largest cities was nearly identical from 2014 to 2015 according to a study by the Brennan Center. Two-thirds of cities had less crime in 2015 than the year before. While violent crime increased slightly, it’s caused by just a few cities (e.g., Baltimore, Los Angeles, Charlotte).

Large-scale government subsidies to corporations have fallen by 70 percent: Over the past two years, subsidies of at least $50 million have plummeted by 70 percent since 2013 according to an analysis by Good Jobs First. Apparently public officials are reacting to the fact that Americans are tired of special tax breaks for the wealthy.

Plan now for your 2017 abortion rights battles: Instead of letting anti-abortion advocates set the terms of debate, why not pick one of the proactive model bills in our Playbook for Abortion Rights and take back the political narrative? Click here to read a summary of the Playbook or download it all.

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