Change for the Good

The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law on DATETK, 2021, makes historic investments in evidence-based policy solutions to some of the nation’s most pressing policy challenges.

As states start to allocate funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), enacted in March, many policymakers are using some of the new resources to fund broadband expansion, by increasing funding for existing programs or establishing new ones.

The recently signed $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill sets aside $65 billion to expand broadband access and equity across the nation, a once-in-a-generation investment that acknowledges how critical high-speed Internet is to quality of life and opportunity in America.

Hawaii just enacted significant legislation to reform the state’s small-dollar loan market and prohibit balloon-payment payday loans. House Bill 1192 garnered unanimous support in the State Legislature, and Gov. David Ige (D) signed it into law June 16.

Several recent developments have raised the possibility of banks and credit unions offering small installment loans and lines of credit—which would provide a far better option for Americans, who currently spend more than $30 billion annually to borrow small amounts of money from payday, auto title, pawn, rent-to-own, and other small-dollar lenders outside the banking system. Consumers use these high-cost loans to pay bills; cope with income volatility; and avoid outcomes such as eviction or foreclosure, having utilities disconnected, seeing their cars repossessed, or going without necessities. Many of these loans end up harming consumers because of their unaffordable payments and extremely high prices; in the payday and auto title loan markets, for example, most borrowers pay more in fees than they originally received in credit.

In a letter dated Oct. 18, The Pew Charitable Trusts warned that these so-called rent-a-bank partnerships—which enable payday lenders to effectively lease a bank’s charter and use it to originate high-cost loans that would otherwise violate state usury laws—put the whole banking system at risk.

There has been no shortage of devastating and costly flooding across the U.S. this year. Relentless rains inundated communities in California with more than a foot of water in January; record deluges struck Arkansas in early June; storm surges and torrential downpours plagued much of the Gulf Coast and Eastern Seaboard during August and September; and an atmospheric river of moisture drenched the Pacific Northwest in November.

The Pew Charitable Trusts applauds key provisions of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that aim to make the nation more flood-ready. The bipartisan legislation, which the U.S. House of Representatives passed today, would provide states and communities with new resources and guidance to help them better prepare for increasingly frequent and intense natural disasters.

Stronger storms. Heavier rainfall. Deadlier and more destructive flooding. This is our new reality, and one that’s here to stay — not only along our coasts but across the U.S., where flooding is by far the most costly natural disaster, causing $900 billion in damage since 2000.

Fiscal Impact: Virginia’s Retirement Savings Deficiencies

Workers in the United States accumulate the vast majority of their retirement savings through employer-based plans, but large gaps in coverage exist. Virginia is no exception, with at least 1 in 3 workers lacking access to a workplace plan.

After all the hard work and child rearing, do Americans get to finally relax and retire with some financial stability? Research shows the golden age of retirement doesn’t always shine.

As more states enact retirement savings programs for private sector workers who can’t save through their jobs, policymakers and analysts have speculated about the potential impact on employers: Would these state programs “crowd out” the private market for plans such that businesses would not adopt their own 401(k)s or comparable alternatives?

Officials in Philadelphia and elsewhere have long grappled with the issue of “tangled titles” for homes—situations in which the deed to a property bears the name of someone other than the apparent owner.

More than 10,000 Philadelphia households are unable to access over $1.1 billion in housing wealth because of problems associated with “tangled titles”—a situation in which the apparent owners of a property do not have their name on the deed.

Housing prices and rents in Philadelphia have long been lower than in many other big cities. But over the past decade, as Philadelphia has shifted from a shrinking city to a growing one with an increased demand for housing, officials and advocates have expressed mounting concern about the degree to which the city remains affordable—and for whom. To assess the situation, The Pew Charitable Trusts conducted a detailed examination of housing data from Philadelphia and put the findings in the context of other large cities throughout the country, both the 10 largest high-poverty cities and the 10 most populous.

On Jan. 4, 2021, Michigan lawmakers adopted a package of 20 jail reform bills—a historic slate of changes affecting every aspect of local criminal justice systems.

For some people, a traffic ticket is just a nuisance: pay the ticket and move on. But for many Americans, the inability to pay a ticket or fine, often for a minor infraction, can kick off a harmful chain of events. Starting with having their driver’s license suspended, drivers are then faced with a tough choice to stop driving — and lose access to work and necessities — or keep driving with a suspended license and risk more costly fees, arrest, and even jail time.

This chartbook covers the rising cost of jail operations, and makes the case that jurisdictions should safely reduce the jail population to conserve taxpayer dollars and protect public health in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this episode, Crystal Hayling, executive director of The Libra Foundation, and Sonal Shah, founding president of The Asian American Foundation, discuss their organizations’ work toward transforming the way race is discussed in America and how to improve understanding about racial concerns to lead to a more inclusive society.

In our first episode on race and research, we explore the diverse story of America. William Frey, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an internationally regarded demographer, highlights the latest census findings and what they say about the nation today.

The latest U.S. census data shows the nation is rapidly evolving, with 4 in 10 Americans now identifying with a race other than White.

At the top of Australia, a new marine park has won approval—the first in the Northern Territory in more than 30 years—at Limmen Bight.

Australia’s Northern Territory has incredibly healthy tropical coasts and seas—a dazzling mosaic of seagrass meadows, coral reefs, mangrove forests, estuaries and vast intertidal flats that sustain an array of wildlife along with Indigenous and other communities.

North Carolina’s coastal ecosystems, wildlife, and communities got a big boost Nov. 19 when the state’s Marine Fisheries Commission approved an update to its Coastal Habitat Protection Plan (CHPP).

Connecticut today successfully concluded a decades-long quest when the U.S. Department of Commerce, on the recommendation of the National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), designated the country’s 30th National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) within the state’s borders.

Coastal wetlands, including salt marshes, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows, are among the most productive—and threatened—ecosystems on the planet.

In a move that will benefit a range of wildlife, including salmon and brown bears, along with commercial fishing fleets, Indigenous Alaskans, tourism operators, and others in the state, the U.S. Department of Agriculture in late November proposed restoring long-standing protections across 9 million acres of Tongass National Forest in southeast Alaska.

Photographer and conservationist Melissa Farlow grew up in landlocked Indiana, making her time on assignment in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest—surrounded by massive old-growth trees, glaciers, roadless areas, and snowcapped mountains—“truly an adventure,” she says.