Reform

Third and State This Week: State of Working PA, New Online Sales Tax Rules & Honoring Work on Labor Day

This week at Third and State, we blogged about the State of Working Pennsylvania, new rules that will close an online sales tax loophole (at least a little bit), new budget guidelines for 2013-14, honoring work on Labor Day, and much more.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

  • On jobs and the economy, Mark Price wrote about layoffs in the Pittsburgh School District and the Keystone Research Center's State of Working Pennsylvania report that came out this week. The Keystone report concludes that Pennsylvania and the nation need a new policy direction to lift up working and middle-income families.
  • On state tax policy, Michael Wood blogged about a rule change that will level the playing field somewhat between online retailers and bricks-and-mortar stores by requiring retailers like Amazon, with a physical presence in Pennsylvania, to collect sales tax on online purchases.
  • On state policy, Jamar Thrasher highlighted news reports on new 2013-14 budget guidelines from the Corbett administration and a new type of voter ID introduced this week.
  • And in honor of Labor Day, Mark Price highlighted a few commentaries honoring work and calling for a middle class-friendly economic policy.

More blog posts next week. Keep us bookmarked and join the conversation!

Morning Must Reads: The Tax Foundation Has It Both Ways

Paul Krugman catches the Tax Foundation making a bizarre claim about income inequality and in the process reminds us all about the organization's poor track record on the facts.

Morning Must Reads: Training and Education? Let Them Go To The Pittsburgh Opera

When workers lose their jobs in a recession, they have time that could be spent in training programs targeted to the needs of employers. Of course, there is a hitch: during a recession, employers are not hiring, so at the very time there are lots of people available to train, employers don't need new workers. As the economy improves (like it is now), it opens the door to training tied to the needs of businesses that are hiring. 

Third and State This Week: Gloomy Economic News, Trade Agreements and Tracking Salaries

This week, we blogged about the need for a jobs plan, an effort to make labor markets more transparent, and the negligible effect the recently passed trade agreements will have on reducing joblessness. Plus, the Friday Funny is back, with the warm words of everybody's favorite CEO, T. Herman Zweibel (extra points, if you know who that is without looking him up).

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

  • On the recession and recovery, Mark Price addressed a Patriot-News editorial that calls for passage of the American Jobs Act but misstates the important impact that the Recovery Act of 2009 had on turning the free-falling economy around. Mark also blogged about some of the awkward facts that make it difficult to root for GE and other multinationals.
  • On unemployment and the economy, Mark compared a poll performed by the Mercyhurst College Center for Applied Politics with labor analysis done by the Keystone Research Center — both finding that roughly 1 in 4 Pennsylvania residents have had less paid work than they wanted during the last 12 months.
  • In other economic news, Mark blogged about Congress' failure to address the lack of consumer demand that is keeping unemployment high and its passage of a free trade agreement that will have a negligible impact on U.S. employment.
  • On wages and the workplace, Chris Lilienthal blogged about an online project aimed at creating a more transparent labor market. You can share and compare salaries and wages, understand your rights on the job, and look up the salaries of politicians, CEOs, athletes, and Hollywood stars.
  • Lastly, a bit of humor after a gloomy news week. Chris shared some satire from The Onion's publisher emeritus, T. Herman Zweibel, who is shocked that his repeatedly mistreated employees are in disbelief that he would move their offices to the Yukon.

More blog posts next week. Keep us bookmarked and join the conversation!

Video: Our New Hero

Posted by Third and State on October 10, 2011 4:09 pm
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If you have been following the Occupy Wall Street Movement, you may have already seen this clip last week. In case you missed it, here's the rundown.

Jesse LaGreca, a vocal member of the Occupy Wall Street Movement, was interviewed by a producer for Greta van Susteren‘s Fox News show. The articulate LaGreca quickly puts the producer in his place, prompting him toward the end of the clip to admit: "Fair enough. You have voiced an important reason to criticize myself and my company."

The New York Observer shared the video that Fox chose not to run. As the Observer writes, "... the decision was made to leave [this segment] on the cutting room floor. The reason should be obvious pretty quickly."

Third and State This Week: The State Budget, Voter ID and CEO Pay

Posted by Third and State on May 13, 2011 5:44 pm
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This week, the state budget dominated with the introduction of the House Republican budget. We also weighed in on the cost of a voter ID law and the rules for CEO pay.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

  • On the state budget, Chris Lilienthal shared a Patriot-News feature that asked the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center what a good budget would look like. Chris also wrote an initial take on the House Republican budget plan unveiled on Tuesday and later in the week highlighted the center's full analysis of that plan.
  • Sharon Ward blogged about another recent Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center report on what it would cost to implement a voter ID law in Pennsylvania.
  • Finally, on income inequality, Mark Price wrote about a change in the rules of measuring CEO pay at Wal-Mart that ensures CEO compensation keeps growing.

More blog posts next week. Keep us bookmarked and join the conversation!

Voter ID Law Costly to Taxpayers

Posted by Anonymous on May 12, 2011 12:41 pm
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The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is considering legislation that would require every citizen to present photo identification as a condition for voting in primary and general elections.

Many recently enacted voter ID laws have been subject to legal challenges, and states considering such laws are being proactive about including safeguards that eliminate impediments to a citizen's constitutional right to vote. But it doesn't come without cost.

In a recent policy brief, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center applied the experiences of other states with voter ID laws to estimate the cost of implementing such a law in the Commonwealth. In order to meet the requirements set forth in the legislation and avoid potential litigation, PBPC estimates the first-year costs for a voter identification program of approximately $11 million.

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