Exploring the policies and politics that help or stand in the way of job creation.
The U.S. Senate is slated to vote on an equal pay bill today. As The Boston Globe explains, the Paycheck Fairness Act would address the persistent wage gap between men and women by “requiring employers of companies with pay discrepancies to provide a reason for the gap.” Moreover, it would “bar employers from retaliating against […]
Earlier this week, Micron-owned Transform Solar, a maker of high-tech solar cells, announced it’s closing and laying-off at least 250 people over the next three months. We first reported Transform has been reimbursed for just over $1 million of its $3.6 million workforce development training grant from the state of Idaho. That was using data […]
The people of Rockland, Idaho pay a lot to support their school. As StateImpact reported yesterday, they pay the highest levy rate in the state, despite having some of Idaho’s lowest property values. Let’s unpack that a little more. What exactly does that mean? Relying on the most recent statewide data, from 2010, taxpayers in […]
Idaho Center for Fiscal Policy director Mike Ferguson picked up national press this week. He’s featured in a Q&A with The Nation. The Nation writer Sasha Abramsky asked Ferguson about his recent report on the decline in state funding for education, the shrinking role of government, and the shift in Idaho politics Ferguson noted during […]
The weak economy has exposed shortcomings in a little-known program of the U.S. State Department. Each year, tens of thousands of refugees arrive in the U.S. Most take out federally-funded loans to cover the cost of travel. But in this economy that has left so many without work, refugee advocates and refugees themselves say the […]
Tomorrow, we’ll air a broadcast story on a program you’ve probably never heard of. It’s called the International Organization for Migration U.S. Refugee Travel Loan Program. What is it? In short, it covers the cost of transportation for nearly all refugees resettled in the United States. (For this year, that could be as many as […]
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter has declared this week Public Employee Recognition Week. He’s designated today as State Employee Recognition Day. The official proclamation says: WHEREAS, public employees at the federal, state, county and city levels dedicate their careers to public service by contributing to professional industries such as health care, education, public safety, conservation, and […]
Thirty-one companies in Idaho have been granted nearly $20 million in workforce training grants. The Idaho Department of Labor reports the active grants range from about $10,000 up to nearly $6 million. Businesses typically have two years to use the grant money, but Labor Department spokesman Bob Fick says contracts are often extended. Here’s a […]
A recent report from Pew Center on the States lists Idaho among 26 states ‘trailing behind’ when it comes to evaluating tax incentives. That is, having a mechanism in place to take a closer look at the state-specific incentives and exemptions on a regular basis, and to evaluate if they’re doing what they were intended […]
Good Jobs First is a non-partisan, non-profit government transparency advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1998 by Greg LeRoy, who is now executive director. LeRoy has been studying tax incentive transparency for more than two decades. We recently spoke with him to learn more about what he considers ‘transparent enough,’ and […]
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives.
Learn More »