Welcome To The Carrots and Sticks Project
The Carrots and Sticks Project is a grassroots DC-based action tank committed to rebuilding America's physical, economic and democratic infrastructure. As an action tank, we enable policy professionals and political activists to work together toward equitable and sustainable prosperity.
Carrots and Sticks delivered a letter to more than twenty Senators on Wednesday, December 16th expressing our position on the impending jobs bill. The letter's text is as follows:
As the nation's official unemployment rate continues to hover around 10%, with the de facto measure (U-6) closer to 17%, it is clear that America's jobs picture remains grim. Furthermore, it is increasingly likely that absent additional job creation measures, a period of high unemployment, stagnant growth, and persistent budget woes will persist over a number of years. The Carrots and Sticks Project strongly supports the jobs package now working its way through the legislative process. We believe substantial, direct and fast-moving action to get folks back to work is the correct policy and perhaps the only way out of our current economic morass.While most of the parameters currently under discussion for the jobs bill are laudable, we wish to note some potential problems and areas for improvement:
1) Do not interfere with the timeline to enact key transportation policy reforms;
Carrots and Sticks has been fighting for a full reauthorization of SAFETEA-LU, focused on comprehensive policy reorientation, as soon as possible. This reauthorization should boost needed investments in America's infrastructure, and at the same time lay the groundwork for a sustainable, multi-modal transportation paradigm. While infrastructure investment is an important piece of the job creation puzzle, it should not replace any existing funding formulas or serve as an extension of current surface transportation policy under SAFETEA-LU.2) Devote a substantial portion of the funding pool to fiscal relief for state and local governments and public transit agencies
While the federal government has the luxury of running an operating deficit in tough times, state and local governments have no such advantage. Therefore, governments across the country have enacted drastic budget cuts and tax increases harming vulnerable residents, and the problem is expected to only worsen through FY2011. Direct aid to these entities, as well as public transit systems that have faced dramatic cutbacks, is one of the fastest-acting and most cost-effective ways to create or save a large number of jobs.3) Help jump start the New Green Economy by investing in energy efficiency and smart grid deployment through a Green Bank
Energy efficiency projects, particularly those that involve the creation of a comprehensive Smart Grid, are expected to be tremendous returns on investment and will create good-paying "green collar" jobs that cannot be outsourced. By investing in energy efficiency initiatives that the private sector is unable to fund, we can rebuild America's economy in a way that also reduces our dependence on fossil fuels and lowers our overall carbon emissions.
Featured Presentation
Here is a recent presentation by Carrots and Sticks Executive Director Jeremy Koulish.