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Cap-and-trade policy being crafted in Congress to respond to global climate change does include features to protect households budgets. Good policy will assure direct relief to low-income households and not rely on utilities to deliver the benefits.
Backgrounder (PDF, 2 pg) 6/25/09
News release (PDF, 2 pg) Consumers deserve a more accurate and more complete discussion of the elements of the legislation on the table than they're getting from utility executives. Independent analysts at the Congressional Budget Office and Environmental Protection Agency illustrate how relief provisions can help consumers.
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Electricity rates can be better structured to encourage conservation while at the same time help low-income Iowans more easily afford their home energy bills.
Full report (PDF, 8 pg) 6/17/09
Executive summary (PDF, 3 pg)
News release (PDF, 2 pg) HTML
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Iowa’s unemployment rate reached an almost 22-year high at 5.8 percent in May, while nonfarm jobs fell to their lowest point in almost four years.
News release (PDF, 1 pg) 6/19/09
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• Unemployment Rate: May 5.8 percent. (5.1 percent in April, 4.0 percent May 2008)
• Nonfarm Job Change: Down 3,400 from April, 43,100 from May 2008.
• Biggest Changes: Manufacturing down 5,100, Prof./business services up 1,600.
• Notable Trend: Nonfarm jobs have dropped in eight of the last nine months.
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Increasing health-coverage access by expanding Medicaid eligibility can expand workers’ options for employment while improving income and long-term economic opportunity for low-income families.
Full report (PDF, 23 pg) 6/10/09
Executive summary (PDF, 4 pg)
News release (PDF, 1 pg) HTML | |
Iowa could boost its economy and budget, help low-income workers and better prepare for the future if the state were to invest more in workforce education. 5/28/09
Full report (PDF, 31 pg)
Executive summary (PDF, 4 pg)
News release (PDF, 2 pg)
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SPOTLIGHT TOPIC |
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Count IPP work in
"What's going right"
IPP's honor for co-founder Mark Smith earned a "Homer" in a weekly editorial feature in the Cedar Rapids Gazette
See Iowa Policy Points for Christine Ralston's blog post on IPP's open house
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Iowa stands to gain about $170 million in energy-related funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, with big boosts for weatherization and other energy-efficiency strategies. How best to use it?
Full report (PDF, 11 pg) Revised 5/21/09
Executive summary (PDF, 2 pg) Revised
News release (PDF)
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Debate over Philadelphia's lavish tax abatement program for economic development caught the attention of The Wall Street Journal, which included IPP Research Director Peter Fisher in the discussion. See the story. 5/18/09
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| Even in the wake of the 2009 legislative session, misinformation remains about the tax-reform plan that recently failed to reach a floor debate in the Iowa General Assembly. Despite claims of the big-business lobby and anti-tax lobby, the vast majority of all Iowa taxpayers particularly at low and moderate incomes, and the vast majority of small-business owners in Iowa, would pay less or see no tax change if the plan were adopted. See several Iowa Fiscal Partnership analysis pieces on facets of the legislation.
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Right before Iowans’ eyes, green-power generation already has reached levels only dreamed about 10 years ago, thanks to the growing use of wind power. Estimates by the Iowa Utilities Board now indicate wind fuels about 15 percent of the electricity generated in Iowa — up from the 5 percent level estimated in 2006. Full Report (4 pg). (PDF) News Release. (PDF) 4/13/09
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