May 4th, 2008
With a name like National Institute on Money in State Politics, you can imagine the possibilities, and they are realized on this site.
The National Institute on Money in State Politics is the only nonpartisan, nonprofit organization revealing the influence of campaign money on state-level elections and public policy in all 50 states. Our comprehensive and verifiable campaign-finance database and relevant issue analyses are available for free through our Web site FollowTheMoney.org. We encourage transparency and promote independent investigation of state-level campaign contributions by journalists, academic researchers, public-interest groups, government agencies, policymakers, students and the public at large.
It would be easy to spend hours on this site, exploring all the different analytic possibilities, reading the special reports, and investigating your “favorite” Alaskan legislators and politically influential industries. For example, the state overview feature allows you to view money given to candidates and committees in Alaska in a particular election. You can see state totals as well as for specific races and candidates. Money is broken down into top contributors, industries, political parties, and candidates. Here are some Alaska examples for the 2006 election cycle:
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April 26th, 2008
Over the past five years only one penny of every new, real non-defense dollar spent by the federal government goes to children, a new publication by First Focus, a bipartisan children’s advocacy organization revealed today.
The book, entitled Children’s Budget 2008, was made possible with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. It is an analysis of the over 180 federally funded programs that are aimed at enhancing the well-being of our nation’s children, and how their appropriations levels have changed over the past five years. After adjusting for inflation, Children’s Budget 2008 finds that just one percent of all new spending since fiscal year 2004 is helping American kids. Read the rest of this entry »
April 19th, 2008
According to a recent article in the Anchorage Daily News, “While Alaskans aren’t seeing the number of failed loans as some places in the Lower 48, plenty of people in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough are feeling the pain of bad home-buying decisions. Real estate agents in the Mat-Su area last year said they started seeing a dramatic rise in the number of foreclosure sales.” In March of this year, for example, there were nearly 300 foreclosures in the Mat-Su area. A study just released by the Pew Charitable Trusts paints a somewhat more grim picture of foreclosures in Alaska: Read the rest of this entry »
April 13th, 2008
The following press release was circulated April 10th, 2008, by UAA’s Justice Center and by the Alaska Coalition for Prisoner Re-Entry:
WASHINGTON, April 9 (UPI) — U.S. President George W. Bush Wednesday signed the Second Chance Act, saying the legislation will help prisoners “reclaim their lives.” The act authorizes the administration’s Prison Re-entry Program, which expands job training and placement services, to help ex-prisoners find transitional housing. It also provides mentoring, including help from faith-based groups, Bush said during the signing ceremony.
“Our government has a responsibility to help prisoners to return as contributing members of their community,” Bush said. Most of the assistance provided for in the legislation happens in faith-based communities and community-based groups, he said.
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April 9th, 2008
Tuesday April 15, from 5:00pm-7:00pm at the UAA Campus Bookstore Andrew Yarrow presents “Forgive Us Our Debts: America’s Public Debt Crisis and How It Affects All Americans” at the UAA Campus Bookstore.
Andrew Yarrow teaches Modern US History at American University and serves as vice-president of Public Agenda, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that provides research for American leaders so they can better understand the public’s point of view and helps citizens better understand critical policy issues ranging from education to foreign policy to immigration to religion and civility in American life.
In his book, Forgive Us Our Debts: The Intergenerational Dangers of Fiscal Irresponsibility, Andrew Yarrow discusses why the federal debt is rising exponentially, why our government borrows, what effects it may have on Americans if it continues to grow at this rate, and what it will take to pay it all back. Read the rest of this entry »
April 6th, 2008
Based on research by the Alaska Public Interest Research Group, only 60% percent of workers in Alaska have paid sick days, according to an analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. This leaves 40% percent, or 119,280 workers, without a sickness policy allowing them to stay home with pay when they’re sick.
A modest plan ensuring a minimum paid sick days standard in Alaska would save $9.07 per worker per week. These savings would come from reduced turnover, lower productivity losses for sick workers on the job, avoiding relatives’ short-term nursing home stays, and a healthier workforce. Costs for wages, payroll taxes, and administrative expenses would be much lower: $6.47 per worker per week. Read the rest of this entry »
March 30th, 2008
Center for American Progress
“The Center for American Progress is a progressive think-tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action. We are creating a long-term, progressive vision for America—a vision that policy makers, thought-leaders and activists can use to shape the national debate and pass laws that make a difference. The Center for American Progress is headed by John D. Podesta, former chief of staff to President William J. Clinton and a professor at Georgetown University Center of Law.”
The Center for American Progress covers a vast array of contemporary policy issues ranging from “Credit and Debt” and Bioethics and Science” to “Homeland Security” and even a special section of “Cartoons.” There are newsletters galore, and enough thoughtful analysis on this site to keep you busy for weeks. You really have to visit the site for yourself to appreciate what it has to offer. Read the rest of this entry »
March 22nd, 2008
Since 2003, the non-partisan Drum Major Institute for Public Policy (DMI) has issued annual scorecards analyzing the impact of domestic legislation on America’s current and aspiring middle class and evaluating Members of Congress based on their votes on this legislation.
But once a year just isn’t enough. We need to understand what Congress is voting on as they are voting on it if we truly want to hold them accountable. And so [DMI has] created themiddleclass.org, a dynamic site that will update throughout the year as members of Congress vote on legislation of significance to the current and aspiring middle class. Read the rest of this entry »
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