Public Services, Budgets, and Economic Development

Too often, states and cities pursue economic development strategies that amount to little more than tax giveaways to big corporations. Pushing back on this flawed approach, EARN groups design and promote smart economic development policies that invest in infrastructure, in people, and in the communities where opportunity is lacking.

Smart economic development means strong workforce development programs, such as apprenticeships and sector strategies; infrastructure investments in transportation, schools, broadband, and healthcare; and community development projects that deliver good, high-paying jobs to local residents, especially in communities of color, and other underserved communities.

Federal funds for state and local governments

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Public Services and Employment

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Education

High-quality and equitable education opportunities, ranging across early childhood, K-12, technical education, higher education and apprenticeships, are pivotal for the economic prospects of working people and their children. Read More.

Healthcare

Across the country, 29.8 million people would lose their health insurance if the Affordable Care Act were repealed—more than doubling the number of people without health insurance. And 1.2 million jobs would be lost—not just in health care but across the board. Read More.

Infrastructure

State and local governments account for the bulk of public spending on infrastructure. Infrastructure investments can ensure that we do not leave future generations a deficit of underinvestment and deferred maintenance of public assets. Read more.

Budgets and Taxes

Closing budget deficits is not always the optimal fiscal policy in the short term  or the medium term. Instead, budgets should simply be seen as a tool with which to boost living standards. Read More.

Publications

Increasing Rhode Island’s Minimum Wage & EITC

The Governor’s FY17 Budget Article 13 increases the minimum wage to $10.10 next year and expands the state earned income tax credit from 12.5 percent to 15 percent of the federal credit (the Governor indicated an interest in further expanding the EITC pending available resources following the mid-year revenue forecast). Senator Goldin and Representative Slater have each introduced bills (S 2156 and H 7347) to further increase the EITC to 20 percent of the federal credit. Lawmakers have made real progress in these two areas over the past several years and future process to raise the labor and living standards of our workers going forward is well warranted.

No Substitute: Assemblyman Kolb’s Proposed EITC Expansion Is No Substitute for Governor Cuomo’s Proposed $15 Minimum Wage

As an alternative to the Governor’s proposed phased increase in the state’s minimum wage to $15 by 2019 in New York City and by mid-2021 outside of New York City, Assemblyman Brian Kolb recently proposed to increase the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) from 30% to 45% of the Federal EITC. The bill memorandum in support of his proposed legislation states: “Expanding the EITC is a much better alternative because it would put more money in the
taxpayers’ pockets, boost the economy and create employment opportunities for the unemployed.”

While the state’s EITC is a beneficial program for working people receiving low- and moderate wages and should be enhanced, for several reasons, it is not a substitute for increasing the state’s minimum wage. In fact, it does not even come close.

Women in Maryland Pay More in Taxes as a Share of Their Incomes

  • December 1, 2015
  • Mark Scott

Because women in Maryland typically earn less than men, they are more likely to pay a higher percentage of their household income in state and local taxes. The state’s highest-income households – more likely to be headed by men – pay a lower percentage of their yearly earnings in state and local taxes compared to middle-class and low-income households, which are more likely to be headed by women.

Women in Maryland, on average, earn more than their counterparts in all but one other state. Yet for every dollar women in Maryland earn, men on average earn 13 cents more—a pay gap that leaves households headed by women thousands of dollars behind those headed by men. This means that the more than 1.4 million female workers in Maryland (49 percent of the workforce) tend to shoulder a larger burden than men do when it comes to supporting our schools, the construction of our roads, and other services.