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Judicial Gerrymandering Talking Points
with Kadida Kenner Click here to print or read full screen. Continue reading
Author: Marc Stier
Deflection by Constitutional Amendment: On HB 55
Republicans this week will seek to advance a constitutional amendment that would enable the General Assembly to act by a concurrent resolution to override a governor’s emergency order after 21 days. In doing so they are doubling down on their false narrative about COVID-19 and the economic crisis it created. That crisis remains severe. New cases and hospitalizations have fallen to about half of their peak in mid-December—but they are far greater than the first wave of March and April. Meanwhile, COVID-19 deaths per day have just reached their peak. The economy of the state remains in bad shape especially for small businesses and those with low incomes. Small business revenues are down by more than 25% from January 2020 and, shockingly, by more than 40% in high-income neighborhoods, where many people with low incomes work. As a result, employment remains at 6.7% below the January 2020 level and for… Continue reading
Here’s how we stop the coming eviction and foreclosure tsunami
Originally published at the PA Capital-Star on August 28, 2020 Pennsylvania is now facing a housing catastrophe as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf told legislative leaders that he does not have the authority to extend the moratorium on evictions and foreclosure beyond the August 31 deadline. This decision sets the state on the path of a humanitarian and economic disaster. As the governor’s letter to state lawmakers points out, the General Assembly can, and must, take action to prevent that disaster from coming to pass. The COVID-19 pandemic reduced the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 9.5 percent in the second quarter of the year, or 32.9 percent, on an annual basis. The damage in Pennsylvania has been equally severe. The pandemic has left many Pennsylvanians short of the funds needed to pay their rent. But they have not been subject to eviction because… Continue reading
The Republicans have been dead wrong about reopening
Originally published by the PA Capital-Star on June 30, 2020. For months Republican leaders in Harrisburg have been demanding an early reopening of businesses in the state and have criticized the demand to wear face masks in public. And recently all Republicans and a few Democrats voted to overturn Governor Wolf’s emergency order. Extremists like Representative Russ Diamond and Senator Doug Mastriano have been claiming, with no justification at all, that those orders conflict with our rights as Americans. The evidence is now in. The policies Republicans, along with a few Democrats, have supported were wrong. Governor Wolf’s actions have saved thousands of lives. It’s rare that we can do experiments in political and social science to test our ideas. And because we can’t do that—and because people rarely question policies that accord with their self-interest—we have debates that are more about ideology assertion than a rational discussion and weighing… Continue reading
1968 and 2020
I was talking on a national call about this time and 1968. I was only 13 then and maybe don’t recall how crazy and unsettled and uncertain that time felt, what with the Tet Offensive (which made it clear that Vietnam was a lost cause), the assassinations and riots, the Democratic convention, and the election of Nixon (and probably more I don’t remember). But this time feels more uncertain and scarier. I’m not exactly sure why but I suppose it’s mostly Trump and the support he has from half this country. Police brutality, property destruction in cities, even COVID-19 wouldn’t feel utterly unmanageable if we had a president who was not both incompetent and a threat to our Constitution, democracy, and freedom. And while Nixon’s possible election was scary, he was never nearly as scary or as bad as Trump. The immorality of Vietnam weighed heavily on us, but it… Continue reading
No “Buts”—Really Seeing White Supremacy in America
Prefatory note: I start more writing projects than I can finish and usually have 20 or 30 half-finished pieces that I’m waiting to complete at the right moment. This seemed the right time to finish and post this one on racial justice. There is nothing new here at all. But it seems important for white people to be talking about these issues at this moment. My colleagues in the State Directors Racial Equity workgroup of the State Priorities Project State Directors helped me immensely with the hard thinking and personal reflection that led to this piece. Of them, I particularly want to thank James Jimenez of New Mexico, a great colleague and friend who contributed in many ways to this piece. I’ve been part of a group of directors of organizations that parallel mine who came together to better understand how racial equity should fit into our work. And those… Continue reading
Blinders
One of Stu Bykofsky’s charming friends said to me on Facebook last night, “Are you blind?”’ Since laugh icons come easily to his friend and reasoned arguments come hard, I’m not exactly sure what he thinks I was blind to. But I suppose he thinks I’m blind to the random looting and torching of police cars in Center City. I’m not. I don’t approve of crime of any kind. I don’t like seeing shops torn apart and businesses hurt, even if they are no doubt well insured. And I don’t think that random looting and attacks on police cars (or police officers) is a useful political tactic for those of us who care about putting an end to racist police violence. But, unlike the hysterical old bedwetter Bykofsky and his friends, I don’t think it is the end of the civilized world. And I understand the anger with continuing police… Continue reading
Only Wealthy Immigrants Need Apply: The Chilling Effects of “Public Charge”
By David Dyssegaard Kallick, Cyierra Roldan and Marc Stier Originally published at by the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center of the Keystone Research Center. The day the new public charge rule goes into effect, the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center and the New York Fiscal Policy Institute are releasing a report demonstrating the harm it will create for Pennsylvania families, the Pennsylvania economy and state revenues. The “public charge” inadmissability test has been part of federal immigration law for more than one hundred years. Federal law allows the government to deny permanent residence (a “green card”) to a person “likely at any time to become a public charge.” The Trump administration’s new regulations significantly stiffen this forward-looking test. The public charge rule will make it much more difficult for low- and moderate-income families to make their lives in the United States if they are considered likely to use public benefits… Continue reading
Corporate Tax Cuts Since 2002 Cost PA $4.2B Annually
By Stephen Herzenberg, Diana Polson, and Marc Stier Closing Delaware loophole, instituting worldwide combined reporting would level the playing field for small businesses and generate over $700 million a year to invest in PA communities This paper focuses on the details of one part of this story: the cuts in corporate taxes in Pennsylvania since 2002 that have reduced revenues by what is now $4.2 billion per year and have created a tax system that is among the most unfair in the country. Pennsylvania’s tax–cutting, shaped by the corporate-sponsored narrative, has taken a variety of forms. Under both Republican and Democratic governors, we have entirely eliminated one of our two major taxes on corporations, the Capital Stock and Franchise Tax (CSFT). We have also allowed businesses to lower their reported profits subject to the largest remaining corporate tax—the Corporate Net Income (CNI) tax. And we have continued to give multi-state corporations free rein to cook their books and exploit corporate tax loopholes to their reported income subject to the CNI. The result is that 73% of corporations that do business in Pennsylvania… Continue reading
Yes, the U.S. Constitution could be improved. The process in this Pa. House resolution isn’t a path forward
Originally published by the PA Capital-Star on December 18, 2019. On Monday, the House State Government Committee passed a resolution asking Congress to call a constitutional convention, pursuant to Article V of the U.S. Constitution. It’s not hard to understand the temptation to support this resolution. We live at a time of political division in Pennsylvania and in our country as a whole. We are all tempted to think about whether some change in our constitution might help us resolve our difficulties. It’s useful to start thinking about these issues. However, as a political scientist who has thought long and hard about our constitution, my own ideas on the matter are not terribly fixed, simply because the question is so difficult and the considerations that should weigh on us in examining changes in a constitution that has served us so well require the time for serious thought and substantial debate. But… Continue reading