Our weekly Top Five feature offers big stories or views from the past week with policy and legislative implications. You might find these to be interesting:
Utah’s lieutenant governor says his heart has changed, KSL TV, June 14, 2016
In the wake of the Orlando shootings, policymakers — particularly GOP policymakers — might want to read the full remarks of what the Republican lieutenant governor of Utah said at a vigil this week. An excerpt:
“So now we find ourselves at a crossroads. A crossroads of hate and terror. How do we respond? How do you respond? Do we lash out with anger, hate and mistrust. Or do we, as Lincoln begged, appeal to the “better angels of our nature?” Usually when tragedy occurs, we see our nation come together. I was saddened, yesterday to see far too many retreating to their over-worn policy corners and demagoguery.”
N.C. considers bill to cap income tax, The (Raleigh, N.C.) News and Observer, June 14, 2016
State Republicans in the N.C. legislature are pushing a bill that would allow voters to decide whether to cap income tax rates, a move that criticis suggest is tantamount to legislators abrogating responsibilities to make tough, informed decisions on money matters. Others criticize the move as a way that illustrates how lobbying groups are influencing public policy in ways to cripple state government.
The color of justice: Report on racial and ethnic disparities in state prisons, The Sentencing Project, June 2016
This new report highlights how blacks are five times more likely to be incarcerated than whites in state prisons across the country. In South Carolina, like 11 other states, African Americans comprise more than half of the state’s prison population, even though blacks make up far less of a percentage of the overall population. This report has major policy and social implications for the Palmetto State.
Study shows high housing costs are barrier to economic development, International City/County Management Association, May 2016
“Driven in part by rising costs associated with high demand, and in part by slow or stagnant wage growth, the need to develop affordable housing options is quickly becoming a higher priority for many communities.” The study highlights four key findings.
Some fear school desegregation ruling will fail in Mississippi town, The New York Times, June 6, 2016
In Cleveland, Miss., one high school is about split evenly between black and white students; the other is almost all black. Under a recent federal judge’s ruling, the schools may be combined, but some fear that may have an effect on the community that is worse than the status quo — resegregation or some people just moving away.
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We Can Do Better, South Carolina!