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JOBS

JOBS POLICIES, ANALYSIS, AND RESOURCES

The Jobs and Infrastructure domain tracks and reports on policies that deal with job creation and employment, unemployment insurance and job retraining, and policies that support investments in infrastructure. This domain tracks policies emanating from the White House, the US Congress, the US Department of Labor, the US Department of Transportation, and state policies that respond to policies at the Federal level. Our Principal Analyst is Vaibhav Kumar who can be reached at vaibhav@usresistnews.org.

Latest Jobs Posts

 

UAW Strike Ends, but at What Cost?

Brief #58 – Economic Policy Brief
by Arvind Salem

A week before the strike ended, an analysis found that the strike cost the economy $9.3 billion, meaning that by the time it ended its cost to the U.S. economy was likely well over $10 billion.

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The Civilian Climate Corps Unveiled to Combat Climate Change

The Civilian Climate Corps Unveiled to Combat Climate Change


The Civilian Climate Corps Unveiled to Combat Climate Change

Environmental Policy Brief #161 | By: Carlos Avalos | September 27, 2023

Photo taken from: insideclimatenews.org

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On 9/20/23 The Civilian Climate Corps has been unveiled by President Joe Biden but has been in the works since January 27, 2021, when he handed down Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. In SEC 215 of the Executive Order the Civilian Climate Corps Initiative was created. The Civilian Climate Corps is an interagency partnership between AmeriCorps, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Departments of Labor, Interior, Agriculture, and Energy. The aim of the Civilian Climate Corps as stated in the Executive order is to mobilize the next generation of conservationists and maximize the creation of accessible training opportunities and good jobs. “The initiative shall aim to conserve and restore public lands and waters, bolster community resilience, and increase reforestation.” Its aim is to also increase carbon sequestration in the agricultural sector, protect biodiversity, improve access to recreation, and address the changing climate.”

Analysis

It is estimated that this new climate jobs training program could put up to 20,000 people to work in the first year. This initiative is modeled after the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was a New Deal program created by Franklin D. Roosevelt that put millions of young men to work during the Great Depression. The aim of the Civilian Conservation Corps was to restore public lands and building out national parks. President Biden’s Climate Policy advisor Ali Zaidi stated, “this initiative not only is addressing climate change, one of the most pressing issues that the world faces today, but it’s paving the way for good paying careers, and making our communities more fair, more sustainable, and more resilient.” The Civilian Climate Corps will pay people and most of the positions will not require previous experience. After someone completes the Civilian Climate Corps President Joe Biden is advocating for new regulations aimed at making it easier for participants to enter the federal public service.

In comparison to the Civilian Conservation Corps which ran for a decade and employed millions of people; The Civilian Climate Corps is on a much smaller scale, at least for now. Another glaring key difference is that the Civilian Conservation Corps employed young White men. While the Civilian Climate Corps is designed to attract participants from disadvantaged communities disproportionately impacted by the changing climate.

One of the first major partnerships under President Biden’s Civilian Climate Corps are between AmeriCorps and the US Forest Service to establish the new AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps. AmeriCorps is the federal agency for national service and volunteerism. AmeriCorps provides opportunities for Civilians of all backgrounds to serve their country, address the nation’s most pressing challenges, and improve lives and communities. The six key areas of the Americorps are disaster services, education, healthy futures, Veterans and military families, environmental stewardship, and economic opportunity. This is a five-year, $15 million interagency agreement, with the first cohort of 80 members to begin service in the summer of 2024. The AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps will deploy across America to conserve national forests and grasslands, mitigate risks of wildfires in high-risk regions, and support reforestation efforts and wildfire crisis response. AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps members will receive a compensation package equivalent to $15 an hour that includes lodging, transportation, clothing, a living allowance, health benefits, and more.

It appears that President Biden and his administration are throwing everything from legislation, executive orders, money, and man power through the Civilian Climate Corps at the pressing global issue of climate change. Time will tell if President Biden and his administrations lofty efforts will create or push for meaningful change on the issue of climate change.

“Republicans have denounced the program as a boondoggle that would create eco-vigilantes who, as one lawmaker recently warned, will “report who is watering their lawn, or whose fireplace is smoking.” A major obstacle is in the implementation of the Civilian Climate Corps and how to actually design the Civilian Climate Corps. Senior House Democrats have challenged that the plan, arguing billions of dollars should not be rushed out the door to an agency that would be saddled overnight with recruiting and training thousands of workers in clean energy and climate projects.

Engagement Resources:

Leds May Signal Brighter Times Ahead

Leds May Signal Brighter Times Ahead


Leds May Signal Brighter Times Ahead

Environmental Policy Brief #160 | By: Todd J. Broadman | September 27, 2023

Photo taken from: hilclare.com

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The Energy Department has set a new rule or minimum standard for light bulbs: a minimum standard of 45 lumens per watt.  The target of the new rule are incandescent light bulbs; those bulbs only provide 15 watts per lumen and so to not meet the 45 lumens per watt standard.  Incandescent bulbs have had a long run; they trace their origin to an 1880 Thomas Edison patent. Congress granted the Energy Department authority to regulate the energy efficiency of consumer products in the Energy Policy and Conservation Act.

Advances in LED technology have largely driven the change. LED stands for “light emitting diode,” a semiconductor device that converts electricity directly into light. Even without the rule, U.S. household adoption of LED bulbs between 2015 and 2020 jumped more than tenfold — from 4 percent to 47 percent. Another driver is the global Net Zero Emissions by 2050standard policy. This rule change is one of the few energy segments on track to meet that goal. According to the International Energy Agency, “although some advanced markets have introduced new regulations mandating the exclusive sale of high-efficacy LED lamps, progress in this area must be sustained to ensure that all countries sell predominantly LED technology by 2025, and with increasing efficiency to 2030, to align with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario.”

Whereas the average annual operating cost of a 60-watt incandescent bulb is $8.74, the operating cost of an equivalent 13-watt CFL is $1.89.  Expected utility bill savings may tally to nearly $3 billion per year. Only roughly 5 percent of the energy used by an incandescent bulb produces light; the remaining 95 percent or so is lost as heat. LED generate almost no heat and use up to 90 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs while lasting up to 25 times longer, according to the Energy Department.

The change to LEDs can be traced back to the George Bush administration of 2007 and the passage of the Energy Independence and Security Act which required bulbs in the 40 and 100 watt range be more energy efficient. The further restrictions placed on incandescent bulbs by the Obama administration were removed by Donald Trump who remarked with typical insensitivity for environmental concerns, “They took away our light bulb … I want an incandescent light. I want to look better, OK? I want to pay less money to look better. Does that make sense? You pay much less money, and you look much better.”

Analysis

The light bulb has been with us for almost two centuries. In 1835, the first constant electric light was demonstrated in Britain. Thomas Edison’s contribution was to improve the filament — first testing carbon, then platinum, before finally returning to a carbon filament. By October 1879, Edison’s team had produced a light bulb with a carbonized filament of uncoated cotton thread that could last for 14.5 hours. They continued to experiment with the filament until settling on one made from bamboo that gave Edison’s lamps a lifetime of up to 1,200 hours — this filament became the standard for the Edison bulb for the next 10 years.

There are those in Congress and others who would disregard these advances. The Republican National Committee said the move was emblematic of “Biden’s unhealthy obsession.” Another Republican Party official criticized that, “The Biden administration’s government overreach continues.” Other critics side with Trump’s sense of aesthetics, like writer Joseph Massey, “I often stay up late at my desk, and the warm glow of the lamp is like company as I read and write. Ugh. There are people in power who are dedicated to sucking all joy out of the world.” Paul McLellan has been in the bulb business as a retailer for over five decades and had a more pragmatic perspective: “The move was better for the environment but kind of bad for sales. We’ve been trying to get the word out there, and nobody is talking about it.” He claims his 15 call-center employees have become lighting therapists for distressed callers overnight.

LEDs emit a brighter, bluer light in shorter wavelengths. They also rapidly flicker on and off, which is referred to as temporal light modulation. For most people, this flickering is not consciously perceptible. But our brains notice it, which can result in headaches, eye strain, eye fatigue and decreased visual performance — without even realizing that these symptoms could be connected to the LED light near us. Some research suggests that exposure to the blue light found in LEDs is phototoxic and can induce damage in retinal cells, which can lead to vision problems, speed up aging of our eyes and lead to macular degeneration.

The bigger headache will and has come from the wasted energy, most of it in the form of carbon, in maintaining highly inefficient incandescent bulbs. With such a magnitude of convincing data on the LED, that it has taken the federal government over fifteen years to legislate its adoption, is yet another clear sign that the U.S. electorate lacks the willpower to make tangible lifestyle shifts towards a sustainable future.

Engagement Resources:

  • https://www.feslighting.com is a leading national Lighting as a Service (LaaS) provider on a mission to make it easy for businesses to make smart energy choices.
  • https://www.axios.com/ delivers news that gets you smarter, faster on what matters.
  • https://www.environmentalleader.com/ is a woman-owned B2B media company on a mission to empower business leaders and executives with the knowledge and insights they need to drive progress and make a positive impact on the world.
What Are Trump’s Indictments and How Much Prison Time Would He Serve?

What Are Trump’s Indictments and How Much Prison Time Would He Serve?


What Are Trump’s Indictments and How Much Prison Time Would He Serve?

Elections & Politics Policy Brief #98 | By: Arvind Salem | September 25, 2023
Photo taken from: ndtv.com

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Former President Donald Trump has been faced with a number of criminal prosecutions, each accompanied by a whole host of indictments. All told, Donald Trump faces 91 felony counts across 4 cases, which will likely embroil him in legal battles for the near future. It also exposes to serving  581.5 years of prison time.This Brief will explain what each charge means (if it’s not self-explanatory) and what criminal action corresponds to the charge. As such, it assumes that the reader has a general knowledge of the facts of each of the four cases (if you need a refresher or want to learn the facts and issues for the first time see my briefs on the Georgia election interference case, the January 6th case, the classified documents case, and the hush money case).

In the most recent case brought against him by the state of Georgia Donald Trump faces 13 felony counts. Here’s what they all mean:

  1. Violation of the George RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act- The prosecution has characterized Trump and his network of allies working to overturn the 2020 election as a criminal organization engaged and conspiring to engage in criminal enterprise, which is why this statute, normally associated with organized crime, is used in this case.
  2. Solicitation of Violation of Oath By Public Officer (Thrice)- This refers to Trump’s attempts to persuade many officials to violate their oaths of office, including his infamous call with Georgia’s Secretary of State pressuring him to find more votes.
  3. Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer- This refers to Trump’s plans to assemble a state of fake electors to give Georgia’s electoral votes to Trump.
  4. Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree- This is related to his fake elector scheme, in which he would’ve meant he would’ve had to forge a fake slate with the intent to defraud.
  5. Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings (Twice)- This refers to Trump’s fake elector scheme and his claims of voter fraud, and statements and writings that he planned to make related to those efforts. For this charge, the prosecution will have to prove that Trump knew he was lying.
  6. False Statements and Writings (Twice)- The false statement charge applies to anyone who “knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact; makes a false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or makes or uses any false writing or document”  despite knowing the statement is false, which Trump allegedly did in the fake elector scheme and call with the Georgia Secretary of State.
  7. Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents and Filing False Documents ( Two separate charges, but related to the same event)- The prosecution argues that Trump filed a false document when he signed a court filing that alleged there was widespread voter fraud in Georgia, even though he allegedly knew there wasn’t. He was also conspiring to file false documents as part of the fake elector scheme.
  8. Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree- This makes it a crime to conspire to write or alter writing, intending to defraud, which Trump allegedly did as part of the fake elector scheme.

The maximum possible prison sentence for this case is 76.5 years: the RICO charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years, 3 years for each count of solicitation (9 years total), 2.5 years for conspiracy to impersonate a public official, 7.5 years for each count of conspiracy to commit forgery (15 years total), five years for false statements (10 years total), 2.5 years for conspiracy to commit false statements (5 years total), 10 years for filing false documents, and five years for conspiracy to file false documents.

The case immediately before that was a federal case against Trump brought by special prosecutor Jack Smith related to the same core issue: Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, but this time concerning the events of January 6th. In this case, Trump faces 4 felony charges. Here’s the breakdown:

  1. Conspiracy to Defraud the United States- This refers to Trump spreading lies that the election was stolen, while allegedly knowing it wasn’t true, and for attempting to discount votes in an effort to win the 2020 election.
  2. Conspiracy to Obstruct an Official Proceeding- This refers to Trump’s alleged plan to obstruct the certification of electoral votes, an official proceeding.
  3. Obstruction of and Attempt to Obstruct an Official Proceeding- This refers to all the attempts that Trump and his allies made to obstruct the official certification of the votes in Congress from Election Day to January 6th.
  4. Conspiracy Against Rights- This refers to Trump and the co-conspirator’s attempts to disenfranchise people by threatening, oppressing, and intimidating them.

This case carries a maximum possible prison sentence of 55 years : 5 years for conspiracy to defraud, 20 years for each obstruction charge (40 total), and 10 for conspiracy against rights.

Before the January 6th indictment, Jack Smith indicted President Trump for alleged illegal mishandling of classified documents. Trump faces 40 felony counts based on the following actions:

  1. Violation of the Espionage Act: President Trump allegedly willfully retained classified documents that he was no longer entitled to have after the end of his presidency and refused to return them. The prosecution charged him with this violation for 32 documents, with each violation being one count.
  2. Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice: President Trump devised a conspiracy to ensure that the documents wouldn’t be available to a grand jury, which is an official proceeding, which means that devising this conspiracy constitutes a conspiracy to obstruct justice.
  3. Witholding a Document or Record: This refers to Trump attempting to persuade his lawyer to hide the documents from federal investigators and moving the documents so that his lawyer could not find the documents and present them to the grand jury.
  4. Corruptly Concealing a Document or Record: This refers to the same offense discussing in the previous charge, but the difference is that the previous charge penalizes the lie while this charge penalizes Trump for the fact that the documents could not presented to a grand jury (as a result of the duplicity that was discussed in the previous charge).
  5. Concealing a Document in a Federal Investigation: This refers to Trump repeatedly covering up his continued possession of the documents from the FBI.
  6. Scheme to Conceal: This refers to the scheme for the corresponding crime covered in the previous charge (scheming to conceal the document from the FBI).
  7. False Statements and Representations: By lying to his lawyers about where the documents were, Trump caused his lawyers to submit false statements to the grand jury while under oath, and the lawyers had no way of knowing that the statements were false.
  8. Altering, Destroying, Mutilating, or Concealing an Object: This charge was added on the superseding indictment relating to the new accusation that Trump ordered one of his employees to delete footage from Mar-a-Lago that was subpoenaed by a grand jury.

This case carries a theoretical maximum prison sentence of 450 years (if Trump was convicted of all counts and given the maximum sentence for each): the willful retention charges carry 10 years each (320 total and item 1 on the list), the obstruction charges carry 20 years (120 total, items 2-5 and 8 on the list) and false statement charges carry 5 years each (10 total, items 6 and 7 on the list).

Finally, there’s Trump’s first indictment related to hush money payments to Stormy Daniels during the 2016 election. He is charged on 34 felony counts in this case. All of them stem from the charge of falsifying business records in the first degree: referring to Trump falsely entering business records to cover up payments to Stormy Daniels. The prosecution identified 34 instances of this that they want to sentence Trump for, leading to 34 felony counts based on one charge. Each felony count carries a maximum sentence of 4 years, leading to a 136 Years Maximum sentence.

Engagement Resources:

Winred allows people to donate money to Republican candidates to support their campaign. Readers interested in supporting President Trump or other members of the Republican party may find that this is a useful way to convey their support and help the Republican cause.

The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law School is an organization that promotes reforms to the American democracy and argues against many practices today such as gerrymandering and mass incarceration. Readers who are concerned about the health of democracy in light of this indictment may wish to support the Brennan Center and help it advance its proposed reforms.

Act for America is an organization that seeks to educate and mobilize Americans against foreign and domestic threats, and advocates for bills to achieve these aims. Those who feel that this indictment constitutes a breakdown of justice may wish to support this organization.

ActBlue allows people to donate to a host of Democratic organizations, candidates, and causes. Readers are likely to find organizations that are supporting the Trump indictment on this site and may wish to donate money to further that cause.

 

Elections to Monitor in November 2023

Elections to Monitor in November 2023


Elections to Monitor in November 2023

Elections & Politics Policy Brief #97 | By: Ian Milden | September 25, 2023
Photo taken from: fivethirtyeight.com

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Off-year elections generally don’t get much attention. When they do, it is usually one of the three governor’s races that I have previously written about (Kentucky, Mississippi, and Louisiana). In this brief, I will discuss a few more races that are on the ballot this November that deserve some degree of attention.

Virginia State Legislature

In Virginia, the state legislature is having its mid-term elections. Currently, Democrats have a narrow majority in the state senate and Republicans have a narrow majority in the state house. All state legislative seats will be on the ballot in November. Governor Glenn Youngkin (R-VA) and his allies are investing millions of dollars to help Republican candidates. If Republicans gain the majority in both chambers, they will be able to change state laws on a partisan basis. Virginia is also the closest state to a swing state holding significant regular elections this year, so voting trends in this year’s elections may provide some insight on next year’s elections.

New Jersey State Legislature

Much like Virginia, New Jersey is also holding mid-term elections for its state legislature this year. While Republicans are unlikely to take over the state legislature, it will be interesting to monitor southern New Jersey to see if Republicans continue making significant progress there. Republicans managed to unseat several Democrats including then-state senate President Stephen Sweeney in the previous election cycle. George Norcross, an insurance executive who had significant influence in southern New Jersey politics, said that he is stepping back from his involvement with state politics. Norcross was heavily involved in recruiting candidates and fundraising for them, so this is the first chance for New Jersey Democrats to evaluate their candidate recruitment and support strategies since Norcross withdrew from politics.

If Democrats perform poorly statewide again, that could be another sign of trouble for Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), who is up for reelection in 2024. Menendez’s popularity with voters has been poor due to a corruption scandal which led to him being indicted in 2017, but the case ended in a mistrial.

Rhode Island Congressional Special Election

Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) resigned on June 1st to take a job with a nonprofit in Rhode Island. The special election to fill his seat will be held on November 7th. Fifteen Democrats filed to run for the seat. Gabe Amo, a former policy staff member in the Obama and Biden Administrations, won the Democratic nomination for the seat. While Amo should win this race, the margin will be worth keeping an eye on since trends in special elections can indicate what voters might do in the next general election.

Pennsylvania State Supreme Court Special Election

This seat is open due to the death of Chief Justice Max Baer in October of 2022. Justices run in partisan elections for ten-year terms, though Pennsylvania has a mandatory retirement age of 75. In the May primary, Democrats nominated Daniel McCaffrey and Republicans nominated Carolyn Carluccio. McCaffrey is the former assistant district attorney in Philadelphia and has served as a judge in a court of common pleas. McCaffrey is currently a state judge on the superior court. Carluccio is a judge in Montgomery County. While this race will not determine the partisan balance of the court, this was a seat that the Democrats held. If Democrats lose this seat, they would only have a one-seat majority on the state supreme court.

Engagement Resources:

Not-Prosecuting Children as Adults is a Favorite Tool of Those Seeking to Prosecute Prosecutors

Not-Prosecuting Children as Adults is a Favorite Tool of Those Seeking to Prosecute Prosecutors


Not-Prosecuting Children as Adults is a Favorite Tool of Those Seeking to Prosecute Prosecutors

Elections & Politics Policy Brief #96 | By: Mindy Spatt | September 25, 2023
Photo taken from: aclufl.org

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In the shadow of the high-profile ballot initiative that bounced Chesa Boudin from his position as San Francisco District Attorney two and a half years after he was elected, Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is staring down a recall based on some of the same concerns Boudin faced.  Price, the first African American to hold the position, made her name as a defense lawyer and ran on a progressive agenda.  A movement to recall her began barely six months after she took office.  Several other prosecutors across the country are also threatened with recall.

Policy Analysis

At a recent forum held by the Wellstone Democratic Renewal Club, a left-leaning group in Alameda County, Boudin, Price and Christine Soto DeBerry of the Progressive Prosecutors Alliance talked about the myth that prosecutors have a role in preventing crime, a cornerstone of both recall campaigns, which is not supported by any data.  Boudin noted that crime in San Francisco had not decreased since his successor, Brooke Jenkins, who was spokesperson for the recall campaign, took office.

Price defended her progressive policies to the friendly audience, some of which are mandated by state law; others she said were mandated by the wide margin with which she was elected.  Price won 43% of the vote in her June 2022 race against her more conservative opponent Terry Wiley, who only received 27% of the vote despite a large fundraising advantage.  She pledged to never charge children as adults, to expand the use of restorative justice programs and to stop using the office’s influence to prevent people from receiving parole.

Price has labeled the campaign against her as election deniers, led by supporters of Wiley who, she says, won’t accept the will of the voters.  She was adamant on not charging juveniles as adults.  “Charge juveniles as adults?” she commented, “That is not where this community is.”

The juvenile issue is a favorite of recall forces, who often put crime victims front and center in their campaigns.  A website for a recall effort against Los Angeles Attorney General George Gascon that failed to qualify for the ballot screams “George Gascon’s pro-criminal agenda has turned Los Angeles into a NIGHTMARE. Criminals feel emboldened, residents unsafe, and victims abandoned.   Gascon REFUSES to prosecute juveniles as adults under any circumstances, even rape, murder or other heinous crimes, even if days shy of turning 18.”

Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida cited state attorney Monique Worrell’s treatment of juveniles when he suspended her in August.  He also claimed Worrell avoided mandatory minimums for serious crimes including drug trafficking.  Worrell is the only black woman in Florida elected to a state attorney position.

“This is absolutely disgusting,” Democratic Rep. Anna Eskamani commented to the Associated Press.  “Her removal is a complete slap in the face to Orange and Osceola County residents and another example of Governor DeSantis eroding our local control and democracy. This politically motivated action by the Governor in a predominantly democratic part of the state should alarm everyone.  Elected officials are being taken out of office for political purposes, and that should never be a thing,” she said.

In Georgia, there are rumblings of the most blatantly political recall of all, one targeting Fani Willis, a Fulton County District Attorney who isn’t soft on crime.  The rumblings started after she indicted Donald Trump and 18 others for conspiracy to interfere with Georgia’s presidential election.  Georgia’s republican-dominated legislature passed a law allowing top elected officials to investigate and remove local district attorneys, and republican Governor Brian Kemp signed it in May. Although Willis may not have been the impetus for the law, which follows the trend of prosecutor recalls around the country, she could become its first casualty.

Engagement Resources:

  •  Prosecutors Alliance Of California, An organization committed to reforming California’s criminal justice system through smart, safe, modern solutions that advance, not just public safety, but human dignity and community well-being.

https://prosecutorsalliance.org

  • Fair and Just Prosecution, Promoting Justice Through Leadership and Innovation

https://fairandjustprosecution.org/news/fjp-releases/

Can Congress Keep It Together?

Can Congress Keep It Together?


Can Congress Keep It Together?

Elections & Politics Policy Brief #95 | By: William Bourque | September 22, 2023
Photo taken from: cnn.com

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Speaker Kevin McCarthy is on the brink of losing the speakership.  Reports from the GOP conference have indicated a fractured party with no end in sight. Infamous and outspoken Freedom Caucus member Matt Gaetz made a public nod to McCarthy, calling him a “sad and pathetic man” on MSNBC.  Individuals within the GOP tell U.S. Resist News that McCarthy is in such fear that he will be removed as Speaker that he often jokes with staff to not get too comfortable in their Chamber-side office.  Capitol Hill reporters found a copy of a motion to vacate the speakership—all it was missing was a signature from Gaetz. Sources in the GOP conference say that Gaetz and McCarthy have had to be separated after shouting matches during meetings, oftentimes causing Gaetz to storm out of the room altogether.

Fellow Freedom Caucus members Lauren Boebert and Marjorie Taylor-Greene have also been vocally against McCarthy, but neither have pulled the trigger on making a motion yet.  Many rank-and-file members seem fed up with the Freedom caucus and their demands and it wouldn’t be a shock to see a more vocal push against these outspoken members as debt ceiling talks ramp up. Sources say that the debt ceiling fight will keep the House in session through the weekend, signaling how eager McCarthy is to broker a deal.

A budget deal hinges on a number of factors, mainly whether or not McCarthy can keep everyone in line long enough to get the votes.  With a razor-thin majority, McCarthy needs almost every GOP member to vote with him, and it’s seeming less likely by the hour.  A deal will include many of the items agreed upon by McCarthy and President Biden in June, which includes limited spending on social programs and the war in Ukraine. The most likely deal at this stage is called a continuing resolution, which funds the government at the previous level for an agreed-upon amount of time. If a deal isn’t brokered, the government will shut down at the end of the month. A House GOP deal will likely be defeated in the Democrat-controlled Senate, so this will be a space to watch.

On the Senate side, the GOP is backing 81-year-old Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to serve the rest of his term, despite several high-profile freezes in front of reporters.  Republicans say that McConnell is still fit to serve, as per Capitol Physician Brian Monahan. Monahan attributed the freezes to continued concussion recovery, and per Axios, says that “occasional lightheadedness is not uncommon in concussion recovery and can also be expected as a result of dehydration.” Democrats have been largely supportive of McConnell, albeit expressing more concern than McConnell’s GOP colleagues.  When informed of McConnell’s second freeze at a press conference, President Biden called McConnell a “dear friend” and said that he hoped all was well.

In other Senate news, Republicans are fuming after Majority Leader Chuck Schumer tweaked the dress code to allow Senator Fetterman onto the floor in his favored attire, a hoodie and gym shorts.  Senator Susan Collins said mockingly that she might show up in a bikini, while Senator Roger Marshall of Kansas called it “A sad day for the Senate.”  While the Senate never had an official rule on the books, the Sergeant-at-arms often reprimanded members for not wearing a tie.  Senate staff will still be held to a stricter dress code, being asked to wear formal clothing whenever they enter the floor.  Most Senators wear business casual clothing on Monday’s and Friday’s when they are departing for or returning from their home states.

The Week That Was: Global News In Review

The Week That Was: Global News In Review


The Week That Was: Global News in Review

Foreign Policy Brief #91 | By: Ibrahim Castro | September 21, 2023

Photo taken from: npr.org

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G77 Summit

Last week in Havana Cuba, The Group of 77 (G77) met to discuss the most pressing issues facing developing nations around the world. The group stands as the largest intergovernmental organization of developing nations within the United Nations. Established in 1964 it serves as a platform for Southern countries to voice and advance their collective economic interests, increase joint negotiation capabilities on international economic matters, and promote collaboration among nations of the global south for development purposes. The bloc has expanded from its original 77 members to 134 nations and now represents 80% of the world’s population. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also attended the summit and said that developing countries are “trapped in a tangle of global crises,” pointing to international instability, climate change, and foreign debt. China, though not formally a member, maintains that it supports the organization and agendas, also attended the meeting. The summit ended with a call for a special UN meeting to tackle the issues raised by member states. The final 46-point declaration iterates demands for a more equitable international economic and social order which it states is impossible without ending the monopoly on economic and technological advances by developed countries.

Earthquakes in Morocco

On September 8, 2023, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit Morocco’s Atlas Mountains region. The earthquake became the country’s deadliest in more than 60 years, killing at least 2,497 people and leaving at least another 5,000 injured. The high atlas mountain region just south of the popular city of Marrakech that was hardest hit by the magnitude 6.8 quake. Both Moroccan and international rescue teams have been working to save those trapped under rubble and provide aid to affected areas. Up to now residents in most places have been provided with basic necessities, food and water, and most of the giant boulders blocking mountain roads have been removed. However long term worries remain about shelter and recovery efforts in impoverished mountain regions that were hardest hit.

Libyan floods

In Libya emergency rescue teams are currently working to find survivors and retrieve bodies after massive floods hit the country’s northeast region last week. The floods have killed at least 11,000 people so far and left another 10,000 missing making it the countries worst natural disaster to date. Entire neighborhoods in the city of Derna were swept away when storm Daniel caused two dams to collapse, unleashing tons of water onto cities that have struggled through years of the Libyan civil war. Experts have said the disaster, could have been prevented were it not for mismanagement of the dams that failed to hold back the water. More than 30,000 people have been displaced, according to the United Nations’ International Organization for Migration (IOM). Libya is particularly vulnerable to the impact of natural disasters as it has no unified government, but instead two rival administrations that are locked in a political standoff following a civil war that began in 2014. The country has been in chaos since a 2011 NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Analysts have said that the politically fragmented situation in Libya only complicates rescue missions and international aid delivery. Countries willing to help have to decide whether they will send aid to the UN recognized capital, or to General Haftar’s rival administration in Benghazi. Most countries have so far sent their aid to Benghazi, as it is the closest major city to Derna and its surrounding towns.

The Teacher Shortage is Bad. Education Culture Wars are Making it Worse

The Teacher Shortage is Bad. Education Culture Wars are Making it Worse


The Teacher Shortage is Bad. Education Culture Wars are Making it Worse

Education Policy Brief #87 | By: Rudolph Lurz | September 21, 2023

Photo taken from: richmond.com

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This fall, schools around the country opened their doors. Parents took pictures of their smiling children on the first day of school. When these kids arrived for their first day, many were greeted by a substitute teacher. Dozens of districts began the school year with unfilled teaching positions. DeKalb County in the metropolitan Atlanta area had over 200 unfilled positions as the school year began. Neighboring Cobb County had a similar number of vacancies before a hiring blitz of over 500 new teachers in the last month of summer vacation allowed them to begin the year fully-staffed. Broward County in Florida had over 800 vacancies a week before the school year began, and held a last-minute job fair in a desperate attempt to fill them. Travis County in Texas also held a hastily-planned job fair just before the start of the school year in an attempt to fill over 500 vacancies.

These are not aberrations, but rather the norm. In town after town, district after district, students are starting school with either a substitute or a brand-new teacher hired days beforehand without prep time for the upcoming year. School administrators simply cannot fill the open positions. Special education teachers, along with qualified math and science instructors, are in especially short supply. Given the fact that schools are legally obligated to provide instruction for students with individualized education plans (IEPs), this shortage is especially stressful for district administrators and building principals. Even when districts find qualified candidates, nearly 50% of new teachers leave the profession within five years. That means that for the lucky districts that are able to fill their positions, they will spend thousands of dollars helping new teachers with onboarding, licensing assistance, and professional development, just to do it all again in a very short time span.

In this climate of labor shortage, many GOP-run states are exacerbating the issue by pursuing culture wars against educators. Powerful advocacy coalitions such as Moms for Liberty, a group recently labeled as an extremist organization by the Southern Poverty Law Center, are pushing a radical education agenda that includes pulling nearly 2500 books from school libraries and stifling classroom instruction on painful topics such as slavery and segregation. Policy actors have proposed stiff penalties such as revoking licensure and even felony charges for teachers who do not adhere to these measures. This has resulted in a chilling effect on anything that could be considered even remotely controversial in the classroom. In such a toxic atmosphere, it is no surprise that teachers are leaving the profession and applications have slowed to a trickle on district job boards.

Analysis

When I served as a legislative intern in the Pennsylvania State Senate in 2014, the concern among GOP lawmakers was that there were too many Pennsylvanians graduating with education degrees and not enough positions available for them. There was a big push to guide these students into STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) majors which conceivably had better job prospects after graduation. At the time, each job posted in most Pennsylvania districts would have dozens of applicants, resulting in a ton of work for district HR departments to try to sort through them all. With an average teacher salary of over $70,000 per year, Pennsylvania ranks just outside the top ten in the nation for teacher pay. Lawmakers were upset, perhaps understandably, that Pennsylvania was putting in the resources to train new teachers that were leaving the state after graduation to go to Maryland, New York, Ohio, or Virginia.

Teaching was difficult in the 2010s. I have been in the profession since I graduated from the University of Florida with my Master’s degree in 2007. The challenges, however, were predictable. Attacks on teachers were normally centered on student performance on standardized assessments. The common charge was that public schools were failing their students and parents should be able to take their kid’s allotted per-pupil funds and use that as a voucher towards the tuition of the private school of their choice, or, at the very least, be given the freedom to choose a different public school in the district.

I can talk with other educators and parents about school choice and vouchers. That’s a different dialect of the same common language of education. I can talk about incentivization of teacher pay and whether or not high-stakes testing accurately represents student learning. These conversations make sense to me because one can argue logically in support of them. I can respect opposing viewpoints, even if I disagree with them. I was annoyed at times in the 2000s and 2010s, but I never considered leaving the profession because of what policy actors and/or parents said about education.

The atmosphere is different now. The question is no longer whether or not teachers are failing students. Now it is whether or not teachers are corrupting students. The rhetoric of organizations such as Moms for Liberty insinuates that educators are somehow brainwashing children into embracing the LGBTQ+/CRT/so-called “woke” agenda.

In my career, I taught students who supported President Bush, President Obama, Senator Kerry, Senator McCain, then-Governor Romney, President Trump, President Biden, and numerous third party candidates. I was able to communicate with parents of wildly different viewpoints because my classroom was not a politically-charged battlefield. I also maintained a position of political neutrality as an instructor, because I felt it was inappropriate for me to preach my own views from my role as an authority figure. I served as an impartial moderator and created a classroom climate that emphasized respect and civility, while also making arguments and defending them with evidence.

Nowadays, declaring neutrality does not necessarily protect teachers. If students even have the perception of bias or feel uncomfortable during a class discussion, and tell their parents about it, then suddenly I can find myself in trouble with the state.

All it takes is the perception of controversy to ignite a firestorm. A teacher in Brooksville, Florida found herself under investigation because she played a Disney movie in her classroom that included an LGBTQ+ character. A student told his mother about it and the controversy eventually found its way to the national news. The school board meeting to discuss the topic lasted several hours. The teacher was reprimanded and advised not to show film clips without explicit administrative approval, but was allowed to keep her job.

That small vignette demonstrates the chilling effect I previously discussed. If a single student or parent can spark a firestorm that threatens my entire career, what is the logical recourse for educators? 

Avoid anything with even a hint of controversy. Create a classroom that is so bland and vanilla that no one’s feelings could ever be hurt.

The creation of such a classroom environment results in an education that is not only boring, but also bad. 

This does not promote critical thought. This does not promote innovation. Good teaching in fields like social studies and literature will take students to potentially uncomfortable topics. The world is an uncomfortable place. If schools just train students to memorize useless trivia and regurgitate it on state-mandated exams, then graduates will not produce the innovation needed to drive the 21st century economy.

88% of teachers in a recent survey noted that education was becoming too politicized, with 82% stating that educators were becoming targets of political attacks.

How can districts attract and retain quality teachers in such a climate?

How can graduates learn the necessary skills to drive economic growth in a chilled classroom environment that does not teach them how to think critically? Or how to debate opposing viewpoints in a civil manner? 

If this culture war continues, the result will be an exacerbated teacher shortage and negative educational outcomes for students.

If educational excellence is the goal, then it’s time for a peace conference to end the culture war. If teacher recruitment and retention is the goal, perhaps policy actors should let teachers teach.

Engagement Resouces:

 

Do Students and Educators Benefit from Bringing Yoga to Schools?

Do Students and Educators Benefit from Bringing Yoga to Schools?


Do Students and Educators Benefit from Bringing Yoga to Schools?

Education Policy Brief #86 | By: Yelena Korshunov | September 20, 2023

Photo taken from: yogabasics.com

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According to recent findings, 45% of students in high school admit to being stressed almost every day in school, and 61% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17 feel stress over obtaining satisfactory grades. According to the American Institute of Stress, 80% of college students experience stress in their daily lives. 44% of K-12 teachers reported that they are burned out. What can the education programs do to reduce our children’s stress and educator’s burnout? Maybe yoga breathing and relaxation practices in schools could bring relief?

The nationwide concern over childhood stress, especially during the pandemic, promoted an increase in the number of researches that have come out within the last decade exploring the benefits of yoga and mindfulness for children and youth. Multiple studies continue to bring evidence that yoga, including relaxation skills and breathing practices, help cultivate both students’ and educators’ social, emotional, and physical health, as well as academic success and a positive school climate.

The Feasibility and Preliminary Outcomes of a School-based Mindfulness Intervention for Urban Youth study arranged a trial of 97 fourth- and fifth-graders assigning some students to participate in a mindful yoga program that met four days per week for 45 minutes. Compared to attending school as usual, 12 weeks of mindful yoga led to significant reductions in students’ problematic responses to stress, such as experiencing repetitive negative thoughts and strong, intrusive emotions. The Effectiveness of a School-Based Yoga Program on Adolescent Mental Health, Stress Coping Strategies, and Attitudes Toward Violence: Findings From a High-Risk Sample study tasked 49 urban high school students to participate in a semester-long yoga and mindfulness program several days per week. By the end of the term all students reported significant reductions in their anxiety. The Promoting Stress Management and Wellbeing in Educators: Feasibility and Efficacy of a School-Based Yoga and Mindfulness Intervention research published in 2015 suggests that providing educators with training in yoga- and mindfulness-based skills may have beneficial effects for educators, including increases in calmness, mindfulness, well-being, positive mood, improvements in classroom management, emotional reactivity, physical symptoms including blood pressure and cortisol awakening response, and decreases in mind and body stress. The research confirms that providing teachers with skills and practices to enhance their own self-care is a crucial step toward improving classroom climate, teacher effectiveness, and student outcomes.

In the near future New York City is planning to bring breathing practices to all public schools for students from pre-K to 12th grade. Schools will soon be required to facilitate daily two to five minutes of mindful breathing. The aim of this initiative is to increase students’ physical and mental health, enhance social-emotional learning, and overall improve actively criticized public schools’ culture. In March 2023, the NYC Department of Education began to roll out a professional development program to train educators and other school staff in the implementation of mindfulness breathing practices and tools that can be used in the classroom. Undoubtedly, 2 to 5 minutes of breathing practice is better than nothing, however New York City should’ve taken in consideration the experience of the other schools that found a chance to dedicate longer time for daily breathing exercises.

At a number of schools all over the country, from San Francisco to DC, yoga in the classroom has already been implemented for years reporting significant positive effects on students’ learning and well-being. Edmunds Elementary, an urban school in Des Moines, Iowa, proudly reports that yoga is on their daily schedule. They believe that morning breathing practice, yoga-based movement, and mindful meditation help students bring their attention to the present moment and prepare them for learning activities throughout the day. As a morning routine, every classroom in the school begins the day with a “Be Well” discussion about topics such as gratitude, good citizenship, being a peacemaker, and getting enough sleep. After lunch, the lights are dimmed and soft music plays as students return from recess for 10 minutes of quiet mindfulness and reflection activities, such as journaling, coloring, or listening to a guided relaxation story. According to the school reports, since they implemented this practice, the test scores increased by more than 18% while the number of students being sent to the office decreased by more than 66% over two years. The school’s principal notes that since they adopted this routine everyone is feeling a greater sense of community, connectedness, and engagement in school.

Based on multiple research findings and practical implementation of yoga and mindful breathing in school, the children’s ability to relax has a significant impact on their cognitive development and health. By engaging in relaxation techniques, young people improve their mental state which, in turn, enables them to cope with stress in a healthy manner, strengthening their mental and physical state. It wouldn’t be out of reach to assume that this practice is anticipated to cause a sustained global effect on the nation’s health and well-being as children and youth will bring these relaxation strategies into their adulthood as a life-long healthy habit and stress relief.

Can the 14th Amendment’s Birthright Citizenship Rule be Overturned?

Can the 14th Amendment’s Birthright Citizenship Rule be Overturned?


Can the 14th Amendment’s Birthright Citizenship Rule be Overturned?

Civil Rights Policy Brief #212 | By: Rodney A. Maggay | September 18, 2023

Photo taken from: teachingamericanhistory.org

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Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”

In 1898, the United States Supreme Court decided the case United States v. Wong Kim Ark. In a 6 – 2 decision that examined the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, the Court held that a person born within the geographic boundaries of the United States acquires U.S. citizenship even if the person’s parents are foreign nationals of another country. (There are limited exceptions for children born within the U.S. whose parents are diplomats working in the U.S.). The case concerned the birth of Wong Kim Ark, who was born in San Francisco to Chinese parents who were not U.S. citizens. Wong Kim Ark grew up in San Francisco and then traveled back and forth numerous times between San Francisco and China. On a return trip to San Francisco, Wong Kim Ark was denied re-entry to the United States on the grounds that he was not a U.S. citizen. A lawsuit was brought which eventually was appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The Court’s decision decided that Wong Kim Ark acquired U.S. citizenship when he was born in San Francisco and established the precedent that persons born in the United States automatically acquire U.S. citizenship. This has been the current rule of birthright citizenship in the U.S. for more than a century.

On September 8, 2023, United States GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy declared that he would deport children born in the United States of parents who are illegal aliens because of his disagreement with the Fourteenth Amendment’s birthright citizenship rules under the Citizenship Clause. Other GOP presidential candidates have taken a similar position. Former President Trump announced in May 2023 that he would end birthright citizenship by executive order on his first day back in office. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has pledged, as part of his immigration plan, to end birthright citizenship. And Florida Representative Matt Gaetz in April introduced a bill in the House that would end birthright citizenship if passed. LEARN MORE

Policy Analysis: The issue of birthright citizenship and whether it should still be a current rule of American citizenship has been under debate for a number of years. Historically, some states tried to revive the issue and introduce a bill in the state legislature to curtail or eliminate birthright citizenship but none have been successful. The reason the idea has become popular with GOP candidates is because immigration has become an attractive issue for the GOP’s base and by offering a solution, GOP candidates can expect to attract more voters to their campaign.

However, there is one problem with the way the GOP has approached the issue of birthright citizenship. Former President Trump and others have pledged to eliminate the rule with an executive order if they are elected. But this is quite simply impossible to do. The Wong Kim Ark Supreme Court case in 1898 definitively addressed and ruled on the issue. A President or a candidate to claim that they can end or overturn a Supreme Court ruling with only an executive order must not have an understanding of how legal precedents work and the hierarchy built into legal rulings, especially from the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land. If any President could simply overturn any decision at the stroke of a pen, it would cause legal chaos and allow a President to nullify any Supreme Court ruling at his or her whim, which is not what the Founding Fathers intended with the Constitution. What is likely going on is that these GOP candidates are looking for a way to appeal to and attract more voters and they are doing this by focusing on immigration, even if their proposals to end birthright citizenship with an executive order cannot legally be done.

However, the bill introduced by Representative Matt Gaetz is a little more problematic. If the rule laid down by the Supreme Court in the Wong Kim Ark case can be overturned, a vote by Congress is one way it could happen. An amendment to the Constitution was floated but the requirements to amend the Constitution are extremely high so that course is nearly impossible. (A constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds vote for the amendment in both houses of Congress and then approval by three – fourths of the states). However, Congress has sometimes voted to overturn a Supreme Court ruling, which it has the power to do, by enacting new legislation that is contrary to the Supreme Court decision. It does not happen often but does occasionally, usually if there is bipartisan support to vote to overturn the ruling. (The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 was passed in response to and to overturn the Court’s 1990 decision Employment Decision v. Smith). The sharp divisions in Congress now make it unlikely that Rep. Gaetz’s bill will be passed but it still should be noted that the issue of birthright citizenship is still a significant issue with the GOP. Whether their proposals are legally silly (elimination through executive order) or pursued through proper channels, birthright citizenship will likely be a talking point in the run up to the 2024 election. LEARN MORE

Engagement Resources: 

  • History – popular channel’s article on the history of birthright citizenship.
  • Smithsonian Magazine – historical article on birthright citizenship with more personal details on the Wong Kim Ark case.

This brief was compiled by Rod Maggay. If you have comments or want to add the name of your organization to this brief, please contact rodwood@email.com.

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