January 5th, 2009
This public forum is your chance to learn more about the issue and to tell your legislatures why Alaska needs to return to a safe and secure retirement system in order to attract and retain qualified firefighters, police officers, teachers, and other public employees.
JOIN IN
Saturday, January 10 10am-12noon
Dena’ina Center, Tyonek Room, 600 W. 7th, Anchorage
Three years ago, the Alaska legislature dismantled the public employee retirement system. Overnight, Alaska went from a retirement system that helped build our state to one that is no longer competitive for quality public employees.
Even before recent stock market problems, quality employees were going elsewhere. Alaska has high turnover and too many job vacancies - 40% in public safety alone. Without retirement security, how will we recruit police officers, firefighters, correctional officers, teachers, and other public employees to provide vital services to Alaskans?
Most public employees in Alaska do not receive Social Security. Under the current state system, most newly hired employees will have only a risky stock market account when they retire and no affordable health care.
Alaska needs to return to a safe and secure retirement system to stay competitive. Join us to find out how you can help get Alaska back on the right track and protect our critical public services. Read the rest of this entry »
December 18th, 2008
Voices for Alaska’s Children and Youth
Voices for Alaska’s Children and Youth creates awareness of and advocates for effective public policy on behalf of Alaska’s children, youth, and their families.
Join us for an advocacy networking lunch
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Could you use some assistance in your advocacy efforts?
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Don’t have time, energy or resources to get your advocacy efforts underway?
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Does your agency want to work more collaboratively with other agencies to increase the power of our advocacy efforts?
VOICES for Alaska’s Children and Youth is hosting a FREE soup luncheon. Meet representatives from other organizations that you can actively collaborate with on behalf of the whole child.
Date: January 20th, 2009
Location: Success By Six Building, 3350 Commercial Dr. Suite 201
Time: 12:00-1:00
For more information please contact Meghan Johnson at 360-7384 meegorama@yahoo.com or Sallye Werner at 345-6354 slwerner@alaska.net Read the rest of this entry »
November 25th, 2008
Image by James Morrison via Flickr
The following is a slightly edited description of Gapminder taken from their own website. Really, they are trying to describe an orchid by listing the chemical composition. You have to go to the site and play with the software. Otherwise, you will never see the beauty of the “orchid.”
Gapminder is a non-profit venture promoting sustainable global development and achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals by increased use and understanding of statistics and other information about social, economic and environmental development at local, national and global levels.
Gapminder was founded in Stockholm February 2005. Gapminder does not award any grants. It is an operating foundation that implements activities as defined by the board, often as collaborative projects with universities, UN organizations, public agencies and non-governmental organizations. Read the rest of this entry »
November 21st, 2008
Joseph Stiglitz Image via Wikipedia
[This letter, signed by 387 economists, including Nobel Laureates Joseph Stiglitz, Robert Solow, and George Akerlof, urges Congress to move quickly and decisively to pass an effective new economic stimulus package.]
The Honorable Henry Reid The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Senate Majority Leader Speaker of the House
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Mitch McConnell The Honorable John Boehner
Senate Minority Leader House Minority Leader
Washington, DC 20510 Washington, DC 20515
Dear Sen. Reid, Sen. McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Rep. Boehner:
We, the undersigned economists, urge Congress to pass a new stimulus package as quickly as possible. The need to deal with financial turmoil has directed attention away from the “real” economy. But the latest data clearly show that the economy is entering a serious recession, initiated by the collapse of homebuilding and intensified by the paralysis of credit markets. Without a fast an effective response by government, the economy could continue to spiral downward, leading to a large increase in unemployment and a sharp decline in GDP. Read the rest of this entry »
November 15th, 2008
The following is a communication from Progressive States Network:
We invite you to check out PSN’s new website at www.progressivestates.org
While it is very much a work in progress, we hope it will make it easier for state leaders to access the wide variety of legislative and policy resources that Progressive States Network has archived over the three years of our existence, along with information from allied organizations that we highlight. From health care to tax policy to election reform to technology issues to fighting foreclosures, our website aims to be a “first stop” destination for legislators and advocates, who can read about topics and find links to legislation enacted in other states, research reports, and the range of organizations available to support legislators looking to enact similar policies in their state. Read the rest of this entry »
October 27th, 2008
Image via Wikipedia
It is a health hazard
While proclaiming the benefits of building a freeway connecting the Glenn and New Seward Highways, officials are not acknowledging the health threats to people who would live near the proposed highway.
In 2005, local air quality officials studied how constructing all proposed projects in Anchorage’s Long Range Transportation Plan would affect air quality. They found that while carbon monoxide levels would drop citywide due to cleaner engines, two square kilometers of Fairview would experience increases in carbon monoxide[1]. Increases came from expected doubling of the traffic along the Gambell-Ingra corridor after construction of the Glenn-Seward Highway connection. Coarse particle pollution from roadway silt is also expected to rise along the new highway connection.
Read the rest of this entry »
October 23rd, 2008
The following is the executive summary of a longer analysis of Obama’s and McCain’s health plans. The analysis was conducted by the Commonwealth Fund, a widely respected foundation that analyzes national and international health plans. The full report is available on their website.
INTRODUCTION
With the 2008 presidential election just weeks away, health care reform is at the top of the nation’s domestic policy agenda. The soaring costs of health care, along with a faltering economy and lackluster wage growth, are leaving many working families without insurance or with medical expenses that consume a large share of their incomes. A recent Commonwealth Fund study found that nearly two-thirds of working-age adults—an estimated 116 million people—either were uninsured for a time during 2007, were insured but had such high medical costs compared with their incomes that they were underinsured, reported a problem paying medical bills, or did not get needed care because of its cost. Over the past seven years, such problems have crept up the income scale among people with and without health insurance. Consequently, voters are calling for change: eight of 10 adults said in a May survey that the health care system is in need of a major overhaul or fundamental reform. Read the rest of this entry »
October 17th, 2008
Image via Wikipedia
The Center for Economic Policy (CEPR) - The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people’s lives. In order for citizens to effectively exercise their voices in a democracy, they should be informed about the problems and choices that they face. CEPR is committed to presenting issues in an accurate and understandable manner, so that the public is better prepared to choose among the various policy options.
Toward this end, CEPR conducts both professional research and public education. The professional research is oriented towards filling important gaps in the understanding of particular economic and social problems, or the impact of specific policies. The public education portion of CEPR’s mission is to present the findings of professional research, both by CEPR and others, in a manner that allows broad segments of the public to know exactly what is at stake in major policy debates. An informed public should be able to choose policies that lead to an improving quality of life, both for people within the United States and around the world. Read the rest of this entry »
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