A new report from Good Jobs First shows how state and local governments waste billions of dollars in subsidies used to lure business across state lines while businesses use job creation “blackmail” to demand greater rewards. The result is a shrinking tax base for states, reducing needed resources for education, infrastructure development, and job development as well as unfair job redistribution. After examining the states where these practices are most common and harmful, the authors recommend policies that reduce interstate job competition.Ultimately, the authors call on the federal government to use incentives to curtail these practices.
Reviewing scientific literature, this World Bank report warns that greenhouse gas emissions will lead us to a four degree Celsius global warming in this century. The report outlines a range of risks that a four degree increase could provoke including extreme heat waves, severe droughts and floods, a decline of global food stocks, and a loss of ecosystems and biodiversity — all of which would disproportionately affect the world’s poorest regions and undermine development efforts. The authors contend, however, that a warmer world can be avoided and advocate for mitigation, adaptation, inclusive green growth, and climate-smart development policies.
