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8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
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8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
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2009 DIggINg ourselVes out
This January, President Obama stepped into oce to ace a nearly
overwhelming array o challenges: a plummeting economy that threw
millions o Americans out o workand let them unable to nd
new jobs; an unrepentant nancial industry, eager to return to the
era o risky bets and astronomical compensation even as they reliedon taxpayer largesse to avoid a wholesale collapse; an increasingly
unaordable health care system that threatened to bankrupt the
public purse while leaving millions without coverage; the threat o
global climate change, capable o devastating the world i we dont
rapidly and dramatically reduce emissions; crashing home values and
retirement savings; workplace abuses; consumer scams; rights denied
to undocumented immigrants and to homosexual citizens; mediocre
schools; ever more costly colleges; overstued prisons; crumbling
inrastructure
And thats just on the domestic ront.
Backing up the new president: a numerically strong but internally
ractured Democratic majority, still too much under the sway o
powerul industries and cautious ideologies to take the bold actions
necessary to conront the nations problems.
On the other side: a radical minority uninterested in progress or
compromise, ready to stir upand all orthe wildest conspiracies.
(Death panels, anyone?)
It made or a tumultuous year.
We saw progress: the stimulus legislation may well have kept the
nation rom complete economic collapse, the EPA moved to regulate
greenhouse gas emissions, and Congress curtailed credit card abuses.
But it was less than we hoped orand, rankly, less than we needed.
At the same time, lax gun laws, harsh immigration enorcement, and
political insiders cozy relationship with Wall Street threatened to
move the nation backward. The quality o health care reorm, perhaps
the single domestic policy that will most dene 2009 when the historybooks are written, remained uncertain as this report went to press.
In this Year in Review, the Drum Major Institute or Public Policy
oers a rst look back at 2009 through the best and worst o the years
public policy, a mayors eye view o recovery eorts in six American
cities, a recommended reading list or progressives, and the 2009 DMI
Injustice Index.
DMI Year in Review 2009
Introduction
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
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The Best&Worst
o Public Policy
T
hisTi
meIts
Not
aHoax
Cas
hfo
rKid
s
Wage
Watc
hers
ontheL
ookout
Studen
tLoan
sMake
theGr
ade
MakingPlasticPlayFair
Halting
aBuildin
gM
enace
DeceptiveFin
ancialP
racti
cesA
reToast
Rightto
Re
nt
Trading
Up
WhataP
ublicOpti
onCanD
o
Pre
empti
ve
Strik
e
PavingPar
adise
Govs
Pla
ySc
roog
etot
heUne
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oyed
Bankr
olle
rof
Am
eric
aTaxB
ackw
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Sho
otin
gWil
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Ever
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ecti
on
Death
Panels?!
Sleeping
Whil
eHom
eless
FedstoCops:Nabthe
Nannies
Sackin
gtheTr
uth
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
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Student LoansMake the GradeStudent lenders had a pretty sweet deal:
i the students paid o their college debts,
the lenders got the interest. I the students
deaulted, taxpayers picked up the tab. Not
sweet enough? The eds gave banks cash
to make the student loans in the rst place.
The boondoggle amounted to $87 billion
over ten years. And while the money was
considered higher education unding, it
wasnt doing students or their schools a
lick o good. Luckily, the House passed the
Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility
Act in September, terminating the sop to
lenders and redirecting the money toward
educational priorities. Henceorth, theederal government would make student
loans directly. And the redirected unds
would allow low-income students to qualiy
or larger Pell Grants, student borrowers
to pay lower interest rates, and community
colleges to get new resources, and would
even improve unding or early childhood
programs. Introduced by Representative
George Miller, the legislation was
championed by President Obama, but still
had not come to a vote in the Senate as
we went to print. For replacing a wasteul
subsidy with genuine investments in
education, the Student Aid and Fiscal
Responsibility Act gets high marksand
a spot on our best policies o 2009 list.
Wage Watcherson the LookoutIts illegal to pay less than minimum
wage, steal employees tips, or orce your
sta to work o the clockbut whos
checking? Studies have uncovered rampant
workplace violations, yet ederal and state
departments o labor are under-resourced
and overburdened. As a result, employees
get cheated and law-abiding employers
are orced into unair competition with
businesses that underpay their workers.
Enter New York State Wage Watch,
described as a one-o-a-kind grassroots
tool in the ght against illegal labor
practices. The program, launched
in February 2009, empowers local
community groups to educate employees
and businesses about workplace laws. The
groups can also reer serious violations
to the Department o Labor or urther
investigation. The community-based
organizations each work in a particular
geographic zone, reaching out intensively
to workers and businesses that might
not necessarily come orward on their
own. Wage Watch is the brainchild o
New York Labor Commissioner M.
Patricia Smith, who based the program on
Neighborhood Watch programs aimed atghting street crime. As Smith heads o
to a high-ranking position in the ederal
Department o Labor, she may have the
opportunity to take the Wage Watch
national. For innovation in on-the-ground
education and enorcement o workplace
laws, New York Wage Watch earns a place
among the best policies o 2009.
Making PlasticPlay FairOne late payment and your interest rate
tripleswith no advance notice. Add that
to the arbitrary rate hikes, outrageous
hidden ees, deceptive ne print, and
interest charges applied to debts youve
already paid o and youve got enough
credit card rip-os to trip up even the most
conscientious borrower. With Americans
shelling out $15 billion worth o creditcard penalty ees a year, the plastic booby
traps are a disaster or consumers as
well as a cash cow or credit card issuers.
In May, President Obama acted to curb
the hard-charging industry by signing
the Credit Card Accountability,
Responsibility, and Disclosure Act
into law. The new law curtails the most
insidious practices o the credit card
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industryincluding those described
aboveand protects consumers rom
policies that can keep them mired in debt
despite their best eorts to dig themselves
out. But even this consumer victory comes
with some ne print: most provisions o
the bill dont go into eect until February
2010, meaning cardholders remained
vulnerable to unair practices through
months o economic decline when many
turned to credit cards to make ends meet.
Despite this shortcoming, well give credit
where its due and add the Credit CARD
Act to our list o the years best policies.
Halting a
Building MenaceThe New York City skyline is the most
beautiul in the world. But behind the
aesthetic magnicence o the Flatiron,
Chrysler, and GE buildings lurk a menace:
greenhouse gas emissions. Although it
is one o the most energy-ecient cities
per person, New York City is still a major
polluter. A whopping 80 percent o this
greenhouse gas ootprint is caused by
emissions rom buildings. But MayorBloomberg and City Council Speaker
Christine Quinn have seen past the citys
good looks and have devised a plan to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 5
percent while creating 19,000 green jobs
and saving $750 million in energy costs.
New Yorks Greener, Greater Buildings
Plan is a six-point strategy to slayor
at least beat backthe greenhouse gas
menace. The plan would update the energy
code to ensure that the most ecienttechnologies, especially lighting systems,
are deployed when buildings are renovated.
Annual reviews o energy consumption
would inorm building owners and
prospective buyers about a structures
energy eciency and a periodic energy
audit would require owners to make energy
improvements in cases where the upgrades
quickly pay or themselves in savings on
energy costs. Training or new green jobs
and nancing or retrots round out the
comprehensive strategy. For demonstrating
how we can save the earth one skyscraper
at a time, the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan
makes our list o the best policies o 2009.
Deceptive FinancialPractices Are ToastWhen a deective brand o toasters is ound
to cause res that can burn down a home,
the Consumer Product Saety Commission
pulls them o the market. But what
happens when deective mortgage loans
cause millions o amilies to be thrown out
o their homes? Even ater obvious signs
that predatory and subprime loans were
precipitating a nationwide oreclosure
crisis, no agency stepped in to protect
homeowners. Without a single government
body charged with saeguarding the publics
interest in airly designed and honestly
marketed nancial products and services,
scams and traps have prolierated in the
market or home mortgages, student loans,
credit cards, and other nancial products.
Banks, mortgage brokers and servicers,and other rms enriched themselves
at the expense o ordinary Americans.
Legislation creating a Consumer
Financial Protection Agency, which
was being debated in Congress as the Year
in Review went to press, would ensure that
nancial institutions no longer take unair
advantage o ordinary consumers. Under
the best legislative proposals, the CFPA
would regulate consumer nancial products
and services to promote transparency,simplicity, airness, and access and to
prevent raud and abuse. Importantly, the
agencys regulations would not undermine
strong state consumer nancial protection
laws that have proven eective in the
past. For protecting the nancial health
o Americans as much as their physical
health, the CFPA earns a place as one o
our best policies o 2009.
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Right to RentWhen it comes to stopping the oreclosure
crisis, Congress hasnt done much good.
More than 1.5 million American amilies
lost their homes in the rst hal o 2009,
and one in every ten U.S. homeowners
is currently behind on their mortgage.Asking banks to voluntarily restructure
loans hasnt worked, and bills that would
require lenders to act have repeatedly
ailed to pass Congress. Isnt there a better
way to keep amilies rom being uprooted
and prevent the upheaval o communities
nationwide? Dean Baker o the Center or
Economic Policy Research has a simple
idea: give oreclosed homeowners
the right to continue living intheir homes as renters or several
years. Not only would households and
neighborhoods become more stable, but
homeowners would gain new leverage
to avoid oreclosure in the rst place.
Since banks generally dont want to be
landlords, they are more likely to modiy
mortgages i they know that struggling
borrowers are entitled to become tenants.
As Baker notes, Right to Rent is simple,
it can take eect immediately, it requiresno taxpayer dollars, and it creates no new
bureaucracy. For its potential to empower
homeowners, penalize reckless lenders,
and stabilize communities battered by
oreclosure, we give Right to Rent a secure
home on our best o 2009 list.
Trading UpTrade has been a cornerstone o our
growth and global development. But we
will not be able to sustain this growth i it
avors the ew, and not the many. Together,
we must orge trade that truly rewards the
work that creates wealth, with meaningul
protections or our people and our planet.
So proclaimed candidate Obama during his
swing through Europe last year. This year,
Obama had the opportunity to make that
vision o robust air trade a reality with
the Trade Reorm, Accountability,
Development and Employment
(TRADE) Act. The bill, sponsored by
Representative Mike Michaud, sets criteria
or reevaluating NAFTA, the WTO, and
other trade pacts in the light o urgent
national concerns about ood and product
saety, environmental protection, labor
standards, national security, and other
issues impacted by trade. For example, the
bill mandates that all ood imported into
the U.S. meet the nations saety standards
and would prohibit trade partners rom
weakening their own environmental laws
to attract international business. The
bill calls or renegotiating existing trade
agreements beore agreeing to new ones
and expands congressional oversight otrade. At press time, the bill had more than
a hundred co-sponsors but never made it
out o committee. A nudge rom President
Obama would have helped! For setting
orth a positive vision o globalization that
avors the many, we ratiy the TRADE
Act as one o the best policies o 2009.
What a Public
Option Can DoThe nal shape o health care reorm
legislation remained uncertain as this
report went to press, but we can say this
much: one o the best health care ideas to
reach a vote in Congress this year was the
proposal or a robust, national public
health insurance option. Senator John
Rockeellers plan or a Consumers Health
Care Act, although soundly voted down
as an amendment to the Senate FinanceCommittees health bill, would have done
the most to hold down health care costs.
Rockeellers proposal would have allowed
individuals and businesses buying coverage
through newly established health insurance
exchanges to choose a public health plan
similar to Medicare. Not only would the
public plan be an aordable option or
consumers, but by using the low rates and
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market power o Medicare, it could push
private insurers to negotiate costs more
aggressively with health care providers,
reducing health care spending across the
board. Reormers have suggested that the
plan should oer slightly higher rates to
primary care physicians to encourage the
vital preventive care these doctors provide.
With polls indicating that as many as 76
percent o Americans support some orm
o government health plan, Congressional
support or a public option should be a no-
brainer. For their potential to keep private
insurance companies honest, proposals or
a public health plan nd a healthy spot on
our Best o 2009 list.
Preemptive StrikeIn 2002 and 2003 state governments in
New Mexico, Georgia, New Jersey, and
elsewhere tried to restrict the predatory
mortgage lending practices that ueled
the national oreclosure crisis. But it was
not to be. Federal agencies swooped in to
block the state laws, insisting that the eds
had the mortgage industry under control.
Were living with the results today. This
case o ederal preemption is no isolated
incident: during the Bush years, it was
standard operating procedure to preempt
strong state and local regulations on
health, saety, the environment, and
consumer protection in avor o weaker
ederal standards. Rogue companies
celebrated as they were shielded rom
state lawsuits that might hold them
accountable or their own harmul
business practices. But Obama stoppedthe party. In a May 20 memorandum to
the heads o executive departments and
agencies, the President acknowledged
states constitutional role in providing
independent saeguards or the public
and called or ederal regulations to
stop preempting state and local laws
without clear legal justication. Whats
more, Obama required agencies to retract
unwarranted cases o preemption by the
Bush Administration. For restoring states
and cities to their role as laboratories o
democracy, Obamas preemption memo
stands as one o 2009s best policies.
This TimeIts Not a HoaxIt is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated
on the American people, Senator
James Inhoe o Oklahoma harangued.
Unortunately, he was not reerring to the
Balloon Boy. Over the last several years,
climate-change denying politicians have
used unscientic statements like Senator
Inhoes to throw sand in the wheels o
serious eorts to halt human-caused
global warming. Congress has ailed
to pass legislation creating a cap-and-
trade system to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions and President Bush ignored his
own Environmental Protection Agencys
nding that global warming poses a threat
to public welare. But everything changed
earlier this year when President Obamas
EPA proposed a rule to regulate
greenhouse gas emissions underthe Clean Air Act. The regulation is
tailored to large power plants, reneries,
and industrial complexes that release
over 25,000 tons o greenhouse gases a
year, accounting or 70 percent o U.S.
emissions rom stationary sources. Under
the regulation, big polluters must install
the best available technology to reduce
emissions. Although legislation regulating
all sources o greenhouse gas emissions
is essential to combating climate change,the EPAs rule will give Congress a reason
to stop letting climate change deniers like
Inhoe block the way towards their own
agreement. For giving Congress a kick in
the pants while halting climate change, the
EPAs proposed rule regulating greenhouse
gases is one o the best public policies
o 2009.
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Paving ParadiseIn summer 2009, more than 300,000
Florida housing units stood vacant. Real
estate values statewide had plummeted.
Hundreds o thousands o additional
homes and commercial buildings were in
the pipeline. And the state began to losepopulation. So Governor Charlie Christ
decided that what Florida needed was
yet more real estate development. And he
weakened the states already lax planning
laws to get it. The so-called Community
Renewal Act, signed by the Governor
on June 1, eliminated state oversight o
regional development and let developers
o the hook or unding transportation
improvements when their projectsincrease the strain on inrastructure. A
number o Florida cities and counties
sued, contending that the bill violated the
state constitution and would clog roads,
increase sprawl, and shit development
costs to local governments and taxpayers.
The law also poses environmental threats,
promoting new development in sparsely
populated, environmentally sensitive
areas. Thats especially disappointing
coming rom Crist, now a candidate orU.S. Senate, who had previously taken
positive steps on environmental issues. For
promoting unsustainable overdevelopment
in a state already suering rom a real
estate glut, Floridas misnamed Community
Renewal Act arrives on our list o the worst
policies o 2009.
Govs Play Scroogeto the UnemployedIn the end, they all took the money. Despite
the noisy denunciations o government
spending by a handul o U.S. governors,
all ty states ultimately accepted the
lions share o ederal stimulus unds.
But a ew obstinate governors still reject
a small portion o the unding aimed
squarely at those most hurt by the
recession: cash specically intended to
help people thrown out o work. Thats a
big mistake. Unemployment benets are
among the most eective ways to stimulate
economic growth. By targeting and quickly
delivering money to amilies that have
lost a paycheck, they provide as much as
$1.64 in economic benets or every public
dollar spent. Thats why the stimulus law
provided incentives or states to update
their unemployment systems, ensuring tha
the hundreds o thousands o low-wage
and part-time workers who have lost their
jobs can qualiy or help. But governors like
Louisianas Bobby Jindal and Rick Perry
o Texas wouldnt be swayed. They argued
that improving their systems today might
mean raising taxes on businesses in theuture, so its better to reuse millions
in ederal stimulus unds and leave
many o their states unemployed
citizens without support. When states
reject the money their hardest hit workers
need, we reject their policyand send it to
our list o the years worst.
Feds to Cops:
Nab the NanniesIn these days o strained public budgets,
local police departments have their
hands ull trying to combat real criminal
activity. So why are enorcement agencies
across the country squandering scarce
resources in hot pursuit o drivers with
broken taillights, workers waiting at
day labor sites, and children caught
shing without a license? Worse yet,
why is the ederal Department oHomeland Security encouraging these
misplaced priorities? Its all part o the
Immigration and Customs Enorcements
287(g) program, which makes local
police departments responsible
or enorcing civil immigration
lawswith little training or oversight
and no extra resources. While the program
aims to identiy and remove dangerous
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criminal aliens, in practice it has led to a
food o low-level misdemeanor arrests that
switly turn into deportation proceedings.
Accusations o racial proling and civil
rights violations are growing, while
police chies express concern that 287(g)
undermines community saety by making
immigrants araid to talk to police.
Given the programs ineectiveness,
civil rights and community groups hoped
that President Obama would quickly
discontinue it. Instead, his administration
expanded it, adding 11 new jurisdictions
to the 287(g) program in July. For putting
the apprehension o undocumented
immigrants beore public saety, the
expansion o 287(g) gets caught on our list
o the worst policies o 2009.
TaxBackwardsHows this or a air proposal? First,
dramatically reduce state taxes on the top
5 percent o residents. Then, impose new
taxes on things like ood, rent, child care,
and doctor visits that even your neediest
citizens have to purchase. The result? A$5 billion tax shit rom the wealthy to
low-income and middle-class amilies. In
a nutshell, thats the ludicrously named
Fair Tax that passed the Missouri
House o Representatives in April.
The bill eliminates the states most
progressive revenue-generators
income taxes on individuals and
corporationsand replaces them with
an across-the-board sales tax that
applies to goods and services never beoresubject to taxation. Families earning an
average o $37,000 a year would see an
average tax increase o $2,036, according
to the Institute on Taxation and Economic
Policy, while households raking in more
than a million would enjoy an average
$22,864 tax cut. Thankully, Missouris
deeply unair tax bill died in the State
Senate. But other states might not be so
lucky: Grover Norquist and his right wing
allies continue to push the proposal across
the country. For regressively shiting taxes
rom the rich to the rest, Missouris air
tax is one o 2009s worst.
Shooting Wildlyin Every DirectionGun lovers may have eared a crackdown
on rearms under the Obama
Administration, but 2009 brought exactly
the opposite: a parade o legislative
bulls-eyes or the gun lobby. Feel like
bringing a loaded, concealed weapon
into a national park? Itll be legal in
February due to a provision Congress
inserted into an unrelated bill this May.
Rather haul your gun by train? You may
also be in luck, as the Senate voted to
make support or Amtrak contingent on
the rail systems allowing handguns in
checked baggage. Maybe packing heat in
a drinking establishment is more to your
liking? I you patronize bars in Arizona
or Tennessee, an unprecedented mix o
inebriation and repower becomes possible
this year, due to new state laws. And whati you just dont think those pesky ederal
gun laws should apply to you at all? Then
Montana and Tennessee are the places to
goboth passed legislation insisting that
rearms and ammunition manuactured
and sold within state borders are not
subject to ederal law. (Those rules about
convicted elons not buying assault rifes
were annoying anyway.) For disregarding
the tragedy o gun violence to orce
weapons into still more areas o Americanlie, the nations lax new gun laws hit a
spot on our worst o 2009 list.
Death Panels?!Were all going to die. I were acing a
terminal i llness, the question is whether
we want to receive every possible medical
intervention to prolong our lives or would
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preer to avoid invasive and traumatic
procedures and instead get care aimed
at making us comortable during our
last days. Its an intensely personal
choice, best made with medical guidance.
Unortunately, many Americans
may never have the opportunity to
discuss critical end-o-lie decisions
with their doctors. Thats because
Medicare doesnt reimburse doctors
or these optional consultationsand
it remains an open question whether
it ever willthanks to an outrageous
series o widely publicized lies about
mandatory ederal death panels bent on
euthanizing beloved grandparents. The
act that these alsehoods ever received
media attention is a ailure o Americanjournalism. But the entire political system
reached shameul depths when senior
elected ocials, including Senator Charles
Grassley and ormer Alaska Governor
Sarah Palin, urther spread ears they
knew to be baseless. The distortions
were primarily aimed at eroding support
or health care reorm as a whole, but
terminally ill patients seeking counseling
were the decisive losers when Medicare
reimbursements were yanked rom
preliminary versions o the health care
bill. By limiting options or dying people,
endangering health care reorm, and
degrading our political debate, the death
panel lies and their political consequences
represent the worst o public policy.
Sleeping While
HomelessThe bad economy has hit some
unortunate Americans with particular
orce. First, they are thrown out o work
and out o their homes through no ault
o their own. Now, a growing number o
cities are also throwing them in the back o
a police cruiser. Santa Monica, Caliornia,
a town with a generally liberal reputation,
is a particularly distressing case in point.
Beds are available to just 20 percent o
the towns 915 or so homeless individuals,
so its no surprise that many, including
mentally ill and addicted residents, must
take to the streets or respite. But recently
the Santa Monica Police Department
began to arrest and intimidate the
chronically homeless, particularly those
who are disabled, or sitting or sleeping
in public places. The ACLU calls the
citys actions a deportation programto
eliminate the homeless, not homelessness.
But the crackdown is not limited to Santa
Monica: the ACLU has also led suits in
nearby Laguna Beach and Santa Barbara.
The National Coalition or the Homeless
nds that the number o laws banning
loitering and public camping has risennationwide. Imposing and enorcing harsh
anti-homeless laws at a time o growing
poverty and economic desperation is cruel
and shortsighted. For harassing, rather
than protecting, the most vulnerable, the
criminalization o homelessness in
Santa Monica and nationwide is one o the
worst policies o 2009.
Bankrollero AmericaYou might have thought the shame o
missing Bernie Mados $65 bill ion Ponzi
scheme would be enough to whip ederal
regulators into shape. Unortunately, the
evidence suggests that the Securities and
Exchange Commission, the regulatory
body charged with protecting investors, is
still stuck in its old, sot-on-raud waysat
least when it comes to big banks. Considerthe case o Bank o America. At the end o
2008, B o A paid $50 billion to purchase
ailing investment rm Merrill Lynch,
using billions in ederal unds rom the
Troubled Asset Relie Program to do so.
Shareholders approved the acquisition.
But B o A never inormed them o how
bad Merrills nancial condition was,
amounting to $26.7 billion in total losses
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in 2008. Shareholders also didnt know
about the $5.8 billion in bonuses that had
been authorized to Merrills top employees
despite the rms appalling perormance.
Enter the SEC: although the agency
ound signicant evidence o shareholder
deception by B o A executives and/or
their legal advisors, they settled with Bank
o America or little more than a slap on
the wrist. A judge who later threw out the
settlement called it a breach o justice and
morality. For giving a pass to a powerul
nancial company at the expense o
taxpayers and shareholders, the S.E.C.s
settlement with Bank o America is
one o the worst policies o 2009.
Sacking the TruthAn innocent may have been put to death
in Texas, and Governor Rick Perry
doesnt want to know any more about it.
The case o Cameron Todd Willingham
is tragic. His three daughters were killed
in a 1991 house re and Willingham was
later convicted and sentenced to death
or arson. But subsequent research has
ound that his conviction was based on
a slipshod investigation, junk science,
and discredited theories about how
arson works. Governor Perry neglected
to entertain this expert opinion prior to
signing o on Willinghams execution in
2004. And this year, just two days beore
the Texas Forensic Science Commission
was to hear another report corroborating
the improbability o arson, Perry sacked
its chairman and two other commission
members. His substitute appointment,one o the most hardline prosecutors
in the state, promptly canceled the
hearing, eectively halting any urther
revelation o investigative blunders in
the Willingham investigation. Ater his
ring, the chairman revealed that Perrys
administration had been pressuring the
commission, calling its investigation o
the Willingham case a waste o money.
The commissions review comes much
too late to save Willingham, but there are
signicant lessons to learn rom the case to
help prevent uture wrongul convictions.
For playing ast and loose with the
death penalty and then stiing the
investigation, Governor Perrys ring o
his orensic science commissioner is one o
the worst policies o 2009.
Cash or KidsThe year o cash or clunkers was also
the year o cash or kids. But what at
rst appears to be a straightorward
and appallingstory o kickbacks and
corruption is really a lesson about the
dangers oprivatization schemes thatprioritize proft over accountability
and the public good. A series o
legal actions this year revealed that a
northeastern Pennsylvania judge rst
plotted to turn control o the countys
juvenile detention system over to private
contractors in exchange or more than
$2.6 million, then made certain that the
private detention centers, which were paid
according to the number o detainees held,
were always lled. He routinely denied
juveniles access to lawyers. He imposed
harsh sentences or minor inractions,
rushing juvenile oenders o to
residential centers ater proceedings that
lasted an average o two minutes. Because
the detention acilities were privately run,
there was less accountability. Without the
oversight o a public authority, state audits
were suppressed and suspicious county
ocials had little power. For enablingcrooked judges to put prot beore justice
and to do irrevocable damage to the lives
o thousands o youths, the privatization
o the Luzerne County juvenile detention
system gets locked up on our list o the
worst public policies o 2009.
DMI Year in Review 2009
WorstoPublicPolicy
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
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StimCity:
A MayorsEye View oEconomicRecovery
Mayor Mick Cornett of Oklahoma City, OK
Mayor John Hickenlooper of Denver, CO
Mayor Dannel Malloy of Stamford, CT
Mayor Douglas Palmer of Trenton, NJ
Mayor Pat McCrory of Charlotte, NC
Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis, MN
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
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StimCity
Mayor Mick Cornetto Oklahoma City,Oklahoma [R]A mistake was made putting so much o
the stimulus money through the states.
What the governors did was address their
inventory needs. Well, their inventory
needs are largely in rural areas where
people do not live. As a result, cities
where the majority o people do live in2009got less than their share o ederal
stimulus money. It also created a larger
bureaucracy. I the money had been
distributed straight to the cities, it would
have more ecient and more helpul and
could have been implemented more quickly.
Its either going to be a governors stimulus
package or a mayors stimulus package and
this is a governors stimulus package.
Mayor Douglas Palmero Trenton,New Jersey [D]Ive been to the White House three times
since February which is three more
than I had the last eight years. They
communicate with us on a regular basis.
There has been an interaction and a
sharing o dialogue. It seems that they
are listening to mayors about how wecan go about getting stimulus money
more directly to cities and how we can
reduce bureaucracy.
DMI Year in Review 2009
About80percentofAmericansliveinurbanareas,andtheeconomichealthand
socialvitalityofoururbancommunitiesarecriticallyimportanttotheprosperityand
qualityoflifeforAmericans.Vibrantcitiesspawninnovation,economicgrowth,and
culturalenrichmentthroughthebusinesses,universities,andcivic,cultural,religious,
andnonprofitinstitutionstheyattract.Forward-lookingpoliciesthatencouragewise
investmentanddevelopmentinoururbanareaswillcreateemploymentandhousing
opportunitiesandmakeourcountrymorecompetitive,prosperous,andstrong.
President Barack Obama, Executive Order on the Establishment
of the White House Ofce of Urban Affairs, February 19, 2009.
Just two days beore President Obama armed the pivotal importance
o Americas cities, he signed the nations $787 billion economic recovery
plan into law. The proximity o those two events was tting. The crippling
recession, together with the governments attempts to blunt its impact, has
dened lie in the nations cities in 2009. So how is recovery really playing ou
in the American metropolis? When decisions are made about inrastructure to
x and services to und, are cities regarded with the critical importance the
President says they deserve? DMI spoke to the ultimate urban experts,
Democratic and Republican mayors o six diverse American cities,
to begin to answer these questions.
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StimCity
DMI Year in Review 2009
Mayor DannelMalloy o Stamord,Connecticut [D]I think mayors were listened to. I just
think we were then ignored and I dont
think we were necessarily ignored bythe President. I think we were ignored
by the Congress. Congress really just
missed a very large opportunity to work
directly with larger local governments.
As a result, I think ar ewer people are
working today with stimulus dollars. Lets
be very clear: the Obama administration
is a vast improvement over the Bush
administration. The real question is, will
the Obama administration have a better
and broader view o cities and the role they
play than the Clinton administration? The
Clinton administration was absolutely the
high mark since Roosevelt o interaction
between a ederal administration and local
governments. The Obama administration
should want to claim that title. Its an open
question whether they will. I think its
been a rough start.
Mayor JohnHickenlooper oDenver, Colorado [D]In the short term, obviously, the
administration needed to get the stimulus
money out, so most o it went through the
states, the transportation money anyway,
which is not as eective or ecient in
helping metropolitan areas. But its still
creating jobs. Its moving our economy inthe right direction. I think uture ederal
investments will make a greater eort to
ocus on what the most immediate needs
are in our metropolitan areas.
Mayor Pat McCroryo Charlotte,North Carolina [R]So much o the money is being directed
through the states, which tend to
shortchange major metropolitan areas.Charlotte got a total o $4 million or
road money. A total o $4 million dollars
out o $300 million or North Carolina!
Were the largest city between Atlanta and
Washington D.C. Were buying hammers
or something.
Mayor R.T. Rybako Minneapolis,Minnesota [D]I do believe that an opportunity was
missed in the stimulus to create more
jobs by putting more o it directly into
cities. But i the bottom line question is
whether the stimulus is having an impact
on Minneapolis, the answer is absolutely.
Anyone who asks whether the stimulus
is having an impact should talk to the
hundred construction workers working on
the Shubert Theater, the ve hundred kids
working in the city this summer, the orty
cops on the street, the scores o businesses
and homes that are going to be able to
save money through energy eciency.
It is easy to stand on the sidelines and
say that one single ederal action has not
reversed the worst economic decline since
the Depression. But the reality is that i
it had not happened, we would be in a
horrendous mess right now.
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Injustice Index 2009
DMIs Quantication of Whats Just Not Right.
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
16/25DMI Year in Review 2009
9-21-2009
10-06-2009
4-14-2005
3 in 5
46.3 million
3 million
29
76
Date on which Tom DeLay rst appeared to do the Cha Chaon Dancing with the Stars:
Date on which DeLay described himself as insane orstupid and withdrew himself from the show due to a
medical injury:
Date on which then House Majority Leader Tom DeLaybrought legislation to the oor which would make it harder
for insolvent households to declare bankruptcy:
Proportion of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. that can betraced to medical causes:
Number of uninsured Americans in 2008, the most recentyear for which data are available:
Number of Americans who lost employer-sponsored healthcoverage between 2007 and 2008, but remained insured due
to public programs:
Total percentage of Americans relying on governmenthealth coverage in 2008:
Percentage of Americans who supported a federal orstate-based public health insurance option, according to
an October Washington Post poll:
Percentage who wanted a public option even if it meantCongressional health care reform legislation would not
have bipartisan support:
Proportion of Americans who believed proposed healthcare legislation would create government death panels
as of August:
Percentage of Fox News viewers who believed this:
Number of guns a protester brought to a town hallmeeting on health care in Jackson, Michigan:
Injustice Index 2009
51
1 in 3
45
3
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
17/25DMI Year in Review 2009
1/5
2.5 million
Approximate proportion of U.S. voters who believe Obamais ruthlessly advancing a secret agenda to bankrupt
the United States and dramatically expand governmentcontrol according to Democracy Corps:
Additional jobs that would be lost by the end of 2010 if the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had not passed,according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Ofce:
Minimum number of Americans the American Recoveryand Reinvestment Act prevented from falling below
the poverty line in 2009:
Total number of Americans unemployed or under-employed in October 2009:
Proportion of voters who say someone intheir household was laid off in 2009:
Ratio of job seekers to job openings:
Total stimulus spending in the AmericanRecovery and Reinvestment Act:
Minimum number of states that have implementedbudgets cuts restricting low-income families eligibility
for health insurance or reducing access to health careservices in spite of the federal stimulus funding:
Minimum number of states cutting aid to K-12 schools andearly education programs:
Amount of federal stimulus money earmarked for educationand public safety in South Carolina that Governor Mark Sanford
attempted to reject before the state legislature, enforced by a
court order, compelled him to accept the funds:
Date on which Sanfords aides announced that the governor,who had mysteriously disappeared the week before, was
hiking the Appalachian trail:
Date on which a record 10.6 million viewers tuned in to theepisode of reality series Jon & Kate Plus 8, in which the
prolic parents announced that they were splitting up:
Injustice Index 2009
27.4 million
1 in 4
6:1
$787 billion
27
6.2 million
25
$700 million
6-22-2009
6-22-2009
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
18/25DMI Year in Review 2009
Minimum number of major U.S. corporations, including Appleand PG&E, that split from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce due
to its opposition to climate change legislation:
Date on which the Chamber of Commerce
announced it would consider a different approachin addressing climate change:
Estimated support offered by the federal government tobanks and other nancial institutions since 2007:
Year in which Goldman Sachs paid its highest bonuses ever:
Year in which Goldman Sachs is expected to break this record:
Proportion of homes where owners currently owe more ontheir mortgages than their homes are worth:
Total estimated drop in property values nationwide in 2009due to foreclosures on nearby homes:
Date on which Elizabeth M. Jacobson, former Wells Fargo salesmanager, testied about techniques used by the company to
deceive loan applicants into taking out subprime loans with highinterest rates even if they qualied for lower interest prime loans:
Proportion of subprime loans projected to result inforeclosure, even before the housing crash:
Date on which a federal judge refused to dismiss the Cityof Baltimores lawsuit against Wells Fargo for targeting
the citys African American neighborhoods for predatory
subprime mortgages:
Minimum federal funds provided to Wells Fargoto keep it out of bankruptcy:
Date that President Obama launched his foreclosureprevention plan, which pays mortgage servicers to
voluntarily modify loans that homeowners can no longer pay:
Injustice Index 2009
7
11-3-2009
$23.7 trillion
2007
2009
Nearly 1 in 5
$502 billion
4-20-2009
1 in 5
7-2-2009
$25 billion
2-18-2009
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19/25
11-11-2009
9-30-2009
DMI Year in Review 2009
Injustice Index 2009
Percentage of eligible loans that had been voluntarilymodied by banks and servicers, as of September:
Number of Senators who voted not to let judges require
banks to modify mortgages for homeowners who havebeen driven into bankruptcy:
Age Michael Jackson would have been this year:
Number of Senators who voted not to conrm Judge SoniaSotomayor to the Supreme Court:
Minimum number of online campaigns devoted to pressuringCNN to drop Lou Dobbs, who called Sonia Sotomayor a racistand described her nomination as pandering to the Hispanics:
Date that CNN host Lou Dobbs cast doubt on the legitimacyof President Obamas birth certicate, insisting that there
are real questions here that need to be answered:
Percentage of voters in Virginia who believe PresidentObama was not born in the U.S., or are not sure:
Date that Dobbs announced that he was leaving CNN:
Date on which Fox News commentator Glenn Beck suggestedthat the H1N1 swine u vaccine could turn out to be deadly
and advised Id do the exact opposite of what HomelandSecurity says:
Percentage of parents who say they would be unlikelyto give permission for their kids to be vaccinated for the
H1N1 u virus at school:
Minimum number of American children whose deathswere associated with the H1N1 u virus between January
and October 2009:
16
51
51
31
4
7-15-2009
48
38
114
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RecommendedReading 2009
The Death of Why?:The Decline of Questioning
and the Future of Democracy
The Anatomy of a Murder:
Who Killed Americas Economy?
Green Metropolis:What the City Can Teach the
Country about True Sustainability
Broken Laws,Unprotected Workers:
Violations of Employment andLabor Laws in Americas Cities
Young Lives on Hold:The College Dreams of
Undocumented Students
Invisible Hands:The Making of the Conservative
Movement from the New Deal to Reagan
Race, Place, and EnvironmentalJustice after Hurricane Katrina:
Struggles to Reclaim, Rebuild, andRevitalize New Orleans and the Gulf Coast
The Cost Conundrum:What a Texas Town Can
Teach Us about Health Care
One in 31:The Long Reach of
American Corrections
Animal Spirits:How Human Psychology
Drives the Economy, and Why ItMatters for Global Capitalism
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
21/25
ReadThis
The Death o Why?:th Dcin f Qininnd h F f DmccyBk by and Bi schin
Democracy needs citizens who can
inquire, argues DMI Executive Director
Andrea Batista Schlesinger. Yet rom
canned political debates that provide little
opportunity or genuine dialogue to bank-
driven nancial literacy courses that teach
young people to navigate the nancial
marketplacebut not to consider why
its structured the way it isour culture
is increasingly addicted to easy answers.
Rather than peddling a simple solution,
this incisive book takes to the road to
explore institutions that continue to osterinquiry, rom the Hampton, Virginia
Youth Commission to New York Citys
School or Democracy and Leadership. In a
world lled with glib answers The Death
o Why inspires us to ask questions with
the power to disrupt the status quo.
The Anatomyo a Murder:Wh Kid amicecnmy?aic by Jph e. siiz,pbihd in Ciic rviw
To x the economic crisis, and prevent the
next one, we need a clear understanding
o the causes o our predicament: the
whodunit in our economic murder
mystery. In this lucid and readable essay,
Nobel Prize winning economist Joseph
Stiglitz careully makes the case against theguilty parties (banks were supposed to be
experts in risk management. They not only
didnt manage risk; they created it.) and
their accomplices including rating agencies,
mortgage brokers, sluggish regulators,
deregulating politicians, and economists
who should have known better. The
surprise behind-the-scenes culprit? The
American political systems dependence
on campaign contributions, which Stiglitz
argues distorted economic policymaking
and enorcement. He is pessimistic about
the potential or genuine reorm.
Green Metropolis:Wh h Ciy Cn tchh Cny b tsinbiiyBk by Dvid own
Which is better or the environment: living
close to nature in the unspoiled rural
hinterland or making your home in the
heart o the nations largest and busiest
city? In his hotly debated book, David
Owen makes a vigorous case or the latter.
New Yorkers, individually, drive, pollute,consume, and throw away much less than
do the average residents o the surrounding
suburbs, exurbs, small towns, and arms,
because the tightly circumscribed space
in which they live creates eciencies
and reduces the possibilities or reckless
consumption, he argues. Taking aim at
such sacred cows as hybrid cars, green
building standards, and the movement
toward locally-produced oods, Owen
raises provocative questions about what it
will really take to save our planet.
Broken Laws,Unprotected Workers:Viin f empymn ndlb lw in amic Ciirp by ann Bnhd . fm huniviy f Iini Chic, h univiyf Cifni l an, nd h Ninempymn lw Pjc
One in our low-wage workers made less
than minimum wage last week. When they
worked late, three quarters didnt get paid
overtime. And when they got hurt on the
job, most aced illegal employer reactions
aimed at stopping them rom ling or
workers compensation. These violations
o the nations most undamental
workplace protections occurred not
DMI Year in Review 2009
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ReadThis
in some sparsely-populated backwater
but in the nations three largest cities,
according to this rigorous, in-depth survey
o thousands o working Americans.
This study is the rst to systematically
document the prevalence o workplace
violations in major U.S. cities. Researchers
conclude the situation has likely become
even worse since the research was
conducted in 2008.
Young Lives on Hold:th C Dm fundcmnd sdnrp by rb g. gnzz pbihdby h C Bd
Every year, 65,000 students who havegrown up in the U.S. graduate rom high
school with little opportunity to participate
in, or contribute to, American society. These
young people are undocumented immigrants
who moved to the U.S. as children, and
although they may not even remember
the countries where they were born, they
ace numerous obstacles to education and
employment in the land where they live.
This report rom the College Board brings
together statistics, studies and personal
stories to make the case or the DREAM
Act, which would oer legal status and a
brighter uture to immigrants who arrived
as children. Their well-being, Gonzalez
argues persuasively, is closely linked to the
interests o the nation as a whole.
Invisible Hands:th Mkin f hCnviv Mvmn fmh Nw D rnBk by Kim Phiip-Fin
The conventional wisdom traces the rise
o the contemporary American right to the
cultural backlash o the 1960s. But thats
only part o the story. With this accessible
and engaging book, Phillips-Fein lls in
the blanks, recounting the history o the
conservative businessmen who initially
ought against the New Deal and then
worked over more than a generation to
roll it back. Business leaders dreamed or
decades o using the combined nancial
and political strength o business to reshape
American politics, dismantling the welare
state, weakening government regulation,
cutting taxes, and destroying labor
unions. Among the keys to their success?
Establishing right-wing think tanks like
the Heritage Foundation and American
Enterprise Institute, which provided the
intellectual inrastructure to turn radical
right-wing rhetoric into political reality.
Race, Place, andEnvironmentalJustice aterHurricane Katrina:s rcim,rbid, nd rviizNw on nd h gfBk did by rb D. Bdnd Bvy Wih
The idea that race and place can impact
how you live has long been a central
insight o the environmental justice
movement, and theres no more vivid
illustration than Hurricane Katrinas
disproportionate devastation o
communities o color. Co-edited by Robert
Bullard, the ather o environmental
justice, this powerul collection o essays
explores the eects o race and class on
New Orleans beore the storm and in its
atermath, delving into issues as varied aspublic health disparities, unequal access
to transportation, and survivors diering
abilities to nd temporary housing or
obtain loans to rebuild small businesses.
The book also oers suggestions or moving
orward with the equitable and sustainable
growth that is still urgently needed more
than our years ater the storm.
DMI Year in Review 2009
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
23/25
ReadThis
The Cost Conundrum:Wh tx twn Cntch u b Hh Caic by a gwnd pbihdin h Nw Yk
No wonder this article became obligatory
reading in the White House this summer:it inorms the nations continuing eorts
to cut health care costs with a compelling
diagnosis o the problem and prescribes a
cure. McAllen, TX has some o the most
expensive health care in the country,
twice as costly as a nearby county with
similar population, demographics, income,
liestyles, and health outcomes. The
reason? Many doctors in McAllen, and
increasingly throughout the U.S., see
their practice primarily as a revenue
stream and so practice medicine in
ways that maximize their own income.
They over-utilize care, avoring the most
expensive (and oten invasive) treatments.
The result is more costly health care
without better health. The good news:
other American cities deliver better care
or less by changing physician incentives.
One in 31:th ln rch famicn Ccinrp fm h Pw Cn n h s
As states and cities across the nation
grapple with scal crises, ast-growing
corrections budgets are a ready target
or cuts. But simply slashing services to
inmates would be short-sighted: this report
points out that intelligent probation and
parole policies can improve public saety
at a raction o the cost o incarceration.
By redirecting a portion o the dollars
currently spent on imprisoning low-risk
inmates, we could signicantly increase
the intensity and quality o supervision
and services directed at the same type
o oenders in the community. Prison
costs would go down, while innovations
in treatment and re-entry programs would
reduce recidivism. Both public saety and
public budgets would reap the benets.
Animal Spirits:Hw Hmn Pychy
Div h ecnmy, ndWhy I M f gbCpiimBk by g a. akf nd rb J. shi
Human beings arent always completely
rational. Its an obvious statement unless
you happen to be a macroeconomist. In
that case, your work probably relies on
models that assume individuals always
act with perect rationality in their own
economic sel-interest. The result o thisindividual activity is supposed to be a
sel-regulating market that requires no
government intererence. Unortunately,
reality requently doesnt cooperate:
bubbles and crashes leave ree market
economists scratching their heads while
the ideology built on their assumptions
rolls on heedlessly. In this book, prominent
mainstream economists attempt to bring
the insights o behavioral economics
(i.e. how people actually behave in the
marketplace) to macroeconomic theory.
They undermine a large chunk
o conservative ree market ideology
in the process.
DMI Year in Review 2009
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24/25
staFF
William B. Wachtel
Founder
Deborah Sagner
Board Chair
Rev. Dr. James Forbes, Jr.
Vice Chairman
Morris PearlTreasurer
Stuart Appelbaum
John Catsimatidis
Bruce Charash
Cecilia Clarke
Sandra Cuneo
Jennifer Cunningham
Rosanna M. Durruthy
Matthew Goldstein
Ken Grossinger
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Martin Luther King, III
Tom Watson
Randi Weingarten
Andrew Young, III
BoarD oF DIreCtors
Andrea Batista
Schlesinger Executive Director
RESEARCH
Amy M. Traub
Director o Research
John Petro
Policy Analyst,Urban Aairs
Harry Moroz
Research Associate
Afton Branche
Research Assistant
Cristina Jimenez
Immigration Policy
Consultant
COMMUNICATIONS
Dan Morris
Director o Communications
Karin Dryhurst
Communications Assistant
STRATEGIC RELATIONS
Tsedey Betru
Director o DMI Scholars
OPERATIONS
Lauren Su
Chie Operations Ofcer
Travis Craw
Intern
WHo Is tHeDruM MaJor INstItuteFor PuBlIC PolICY?
The Drum Major Institute or Public Policy (DMI) is a nonpartisan, nonprot think tank ounded during the
civil rights movement to put the best arguments and most eective tools into the hands o those advocating onthe rontlines or progressive economic and social change. From the middle-class squeeze to comprehensive
immigration reorm to the economic potential o Americas cities, DMIs research, analysis, media, and
communications eorts shape how major policy debates are waged and won by elected ocials, advocates,
grassroots leaders, and concerned citizens at the local, state, and ederal level. Always ocused on winning the
long-term battle o ideas, DMI trains talented young people rom underrepresented communities to become
the next generation o leaders who can advance progressive public policy. The organization changes the oten
insular conversation about policymaking by empowering diverse voices to drive it in new directions.
F m infmin, p vii www.dmmjini.
DMIs 2009 Year in Review was written by Amy Traub and Harry Moroz
Design by Randi Hazan / Hazan & Company
Photos: Images are rom istock.com. The credits listed are usernames.
Pages 26: Liliboas / Pages 2, 610: princessdla / Pages 1113: deliormanli / Page 14: JimSchemel /
Pages: 1518: Davidcalicchio / Pages 1922: Feverpitched
8/6/2019 Drum Major Institute: 2009 Year in Review
25/25
From Disaster to Diversity: Whats Next For NeW york Citys eCoNomy
December 2009 / This wide-ranging collection o essays is the result o an intellectual organizing eort,
convening a diverse group o people whose ideas and arguments, proposals and prescriptions, are brought
together here or the rst time. All are equally concerned about how to make New York City stronger
and healthier than ever. A blueprint or post-recession governance, the book contains ambitious but
workable plans or advancing policies to strengthen vital areas and sectors, assets and drivers, o the
local economy. Big themes include: how supporting anchor industries and new businesses may not bemutual ly exclusive; how ensuring responsible development, growth, and stimulus is cost-eective; how
promoting better education practices expands economic opportunity; how investing in inrastructure
and the built environment yields lasting returns; and how strengthening vulnerable communities helps
improve lie or all.
PriNCiPles For aN immigratioN PoliCy to streNgtheN
aND exPaND the ameriCaN miDDle Class: 2009 eDitioN
September 2009 / Building on DMIs earlier immigration work, this report argues that immigration policy
must be driven by the needs o American workers striving to stay afoat through the economic crisis. We nd
that the current and aspiring American middle class relies on the economic contributions o immigrants, but
that the exploitation o undocumented immigrant workers threatens to undermine us all. We conclude that
Congress must reorm immigration policy to maximize immigrants economic contributions and strengthen
their workplace rights. An earned legalization program or undocumented immigrants is a critical part o
this reorm. The report includes talking points and act sheets or use by advocates.
the Next eCoNomiC imPerative: UNDoCUmeNteD immigraNts iN the 2010 CeNsUs
July 2009 / The United States cannot aord to exclude undocumented immigrants rom the 2010 Census.
Failing to gather accurate inormation about an estimated 12 million undocumented residents will make it too
dicult or the country to recover rom the worst recession in decades. This is the rst major policy research
paper to analyze the latest data and evidence showing how all Americans will benet rom the inclusion o
undocumented immigrants in the 2010 Census. It explains why a demographic prole o this population must
become the next economic imperative and reutes common misconceptions about the census.
No more Delay: ProveN PoliCy solUtioN For NeW york City
July 2009 / Prior to New York City elections in the Fall o 2009 it is important to examine the citys
record on critical issues that aect all New York City residents. This report ocuses on six pressing
areas o policy: economic opportunity, housing aordability, criminal justice, workplace standards,
environmental sustainability, and health care. In each area, it shows how New York City has ailed
to address signicant challenges acing New Yorkers, oers a proven solution rom another city, and
explains why that policy prescription is appropriate or New York.
No eCoNomiC reCovery WithoUt Cities: the UrgeNCy oF a NeW FeDeral UrbaN PoliCy
June 2009 / President Obamas newly created White House Oce o Urban Aairs presents a new
opportunity or ederal urban policy. The urban policies o previous administrations have viewed cities as
problems or have held that the ederal government could do best or cities by doing least. In contrast, theOce o Urban Aairs provides an opportunity to maximize the economic potential o cities through well-
coordinated, productive relationships with the ederal government. These relationships are particularly
important to the success o the economic stimulus package and to economic recovery. DMI oers a number
o policy principles to guide the Oces eorts to develop a strategy or metropolitan America.
miDDleClass.org 2008 CoNgressioNal sCoreCarD
March 2009 / Who stood up or the middle class? We examine the good and bad decisions Congress made in
2008rom the February stimulus bil l to the Senate libusters that killed legislation to address the home
mortgage crisis and to assist the struggling auto industry. We look at how the middle class gained rom the
also FroM DruM MaJor INstItute