PLI Bulletin

Minimum Wage, Popular Bills, Free Markets and More

Posted on November 7, 2019

Fair Minimum Wage Act: With the exception of a few states and cities that have really dealt with the issue, like IL, NJ, NY, MA, MD, Seattle and Washington, DC, it is both good politics and policy to push for a higher minimum wage. Polls show this is true in both red and blue jurisdictions. See the Fair Minimum Wage Act and don’t forget to address the unfair exemption for “tipped” wages.

Ten popular measures for 2020: Americans don’t want their leaders to defend the status quo, they want agents of change. So be proactive, whether your state is red or blue. If you can pass the legislation, do it. If you can’t, use these battles to show the differences between conservatives and progressives. Read about the ten in the latest IdeaLog, our blog intended to raise eyebrows and engage minds.

A series of podcasts about local government: The group ELGL (Engaging Local Government Leaders) has a podcast called Gov Love which is designed to help local governments adopt a wide variety of procedural best practices. Choose from more than 300 podcast topics here.

The Biggest Issues Facing State Legislators in 2020: This is a blog from Fiscal Note that explains the most likely urgent priorities for the coming year, including election security, redistricting, education, health care, “red flag” laws, marijuana, gambling and abortion rights.

The U.S. Only Pretends to Have Free Markets: A professor of finance at NYU explains the ways that U.S. laws and regulations skew markets in favor of big corporations and the rich. (He makes excellent points, but as a matter of messaging, PLI prefers the term “fair markets.”

See us at the exhibition hall at National League of Cities: If you’re coming to the National League of Cities conference in San Antonio, November 20-22, please visit us in Exhibition Booth #411.