American Prospect: Good ideas from the states

I'd like to draw your attention to this interesting article, States of Flux, over at The American Prospect. Jared Bernstein talked to Michael Ettlinger at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), an economic thinktank dedicated to working class economic issues. The EPI was founded by a group of left-leaning economists, including former Clinton Labor Secretary Robert Reich, a truly good guy.

Ettlinger argues that there are three big economic issues being fought at the state level, some with a remarkable degree of success...

Ettlinger argues that there are three big economic issues being fought at the state level, some with a remarkable degree of success. Those are:

1) Minimum wage: Nevada and Florida both voted to raise their minimum wages, even though opponents outspent supporters by at least two to one. The New York State legislature just overrode Governor Pataki's veto of a higher state minimum; Washington, D.C. also followed increased minimum wage, with a two-step increase up to $7.

My argument: we would be a much more credible advocate of the working class if we fought to increase the minimum wage up in every state in which it's needed (part of that 50-state strategy, doncha know). I'm betting those Bush states need their minimum wages increased the most. Then we get each state's minimum wage indexed to inflation automatically, so we don't have to keep going back to raise them every time we turn around.

2) Health Insurance:

On November 2, California came pretty close to passing a "pay or play" health insurance initiative that would have required employers to either provide health coverage for their workers or pay into a state fund to purchase private care for those without employer-provided coverage. The proposition lost 51 percent to 49 percent, as advocates were heavily outspent by business interests. But supporters of the plan are well aware of how close they came, and they will be back -- especially if the number of uninsured in the state continues to climb.

It's widely known that the California electorate bucked Bush Administration policy when it voted to invest public dollars in stem cell research. Less well known is that they approved an additional 1 percent tax on income over $1 million in order to fund mental health services for children, adults, and seniors who are either uncovered or whose insurance fails to cover mental health. Raising taxes to fund mental health is not exactly at the heart of Bush's second-term agenda.

WOW. I live in California and I'm not sure I knew the mental health tax passed. And I can guarantee you that the number of uninsured will continue to go up. I'm thrilled to hear that they're going right back into the fight.

3) Unemployment Insurance: The article states that more states are extending unemployment to part-time workers, and twenty states have changed the way they count earnings in a way that increases benefits for recipients.

My argument: this is all very good news, but to be really credible, we should tie the length of unemployment benefits to the current job situation. As long as there are more unemployed people than jobs available, the benefits continue. Makes it real easy on everyone, and again we don't have to keep fighting for those stupid extensions.

There's a theme in all of this: helping working-class people who need a hand up. Forget trickle-down, let's try "bubble up" for a change. Money that goes into working class hands is way more likely to be spent, and for it to go into their local community. And we are in desperate need of a credibility boost with the working class; we haven't done nearly enough to keep these guys afloat.

I'd like to see some more bold ideas from the Kos community on helping working-class people. For starters, I want to see paid family leave for the first five years of a child's life, and I want to see guaranteed job training for anybody who needs it and can't afford it. Anybody else got a bold populist economic idea they'd like to put forward?