CAMPAIGNS for a better world
I like to help coordinate legislative campaigns around incremental improvements to our laws. This is a chance for elected officials and regular citizens to spread the word, take the idea and the language of the bill and run with it.
I appreciate our fellow citizens who serve as legislators and hope these bills help make their job to improve peoples' lives a little bit easier.
Feedback and partnerships always welcome.
I appreciate our fellow citizens who serve as legislators and hope these bills help make their job to improve peoples' lives a little bit easier.
Feedback and partnerships always welcome.
PHASE OUT CORPORATE WELFARE
State legislators around the country are working to free their people from the prisoners' dilemma of buying jobs from the wealthiest corporations on the planet.
When faced with the threat or promise of specific jobs on the line in exchange for a huge pile of taxpayer money, it is legitimately difficult for local elected officials to say no to the company. That's why the European Union have abolished company-specific subsidies from states in order to create a level playing field.
We can do the same in the United States via an agreement among the states to phase out corporate welfare.
Legislators in New York, Arizona, Illinois, West Virginia and Missouri filed language in 2019 to get this national conversation started. This 2019 version is filed in the Arizona Senate , Illinois Senate, West Virginia Senate, New York Senate and the New York Assembly.
Now these and many other state legislators are collaborating to fashion a 2020 version that will create a legally binding agreement among the states to tackle this problem. The agreement would
(a) end the practice of poaching businesses in other states with promises of taxpayer money - each state that signs up agrees not to poach businesses located in any other state that is a member of the agreement
(b) establish a national board open to appointees from all states to meet and publish suggested improvements to this agreement for a mechanism to build consensus on the next stages of phasing out corporate welfare
(c) serve as the basis for regional agreements among a few states that share borders of the same economy that can also over time build to a national agreement.
The draft text of the legislation is below
When faced with the threat or promise of specific jobs on the line in exchange for a huge pile of taxpayer money, it is legitimately difficult for local elected officials to say no to the company. That's why the European Union have abolished company-specific subsidies from states in order to create a level playing field.
We can do the same in the United States via an agreement among the states to phase out corporate welfare.
Legislators in New York, Arizona, Illinois, West Virginia and Missouri filed language in 2019 to get this national conversation started. This 2019 version is filed in the Arizona Senate , Illinois Senate, West Virginia Senate, New York Senate and the New York Assembly.
Now these and many other state legislators are collaborating to fashion a 2020 version that will create a legally binding agreement among the states to tackle this problem. The agreement would
(a) end the practice of poaching businesses in other states with promises of taxpayer money - each state that signs up agrees not to poach businesses located in any other state that is a member of the agreement
(b) establish a national board open to appointees from all states to meet and publish suggested improvements to this agreement for a mechanism to build consensus on the next stages of phasing out corporate welfare
(c) serve as the basis for regional agreements among a few states that share borders of the same economy that can also over time build to a national agreement.
The draft text of the legislation is below
| agreement_to_phase_out_corporate_welfare_090519_draft.pdf |