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Election '08: A Pro-Civil Justice Presidential Platform

January 1, 2008

Many Presidential candidates claim they stand "for the little guy," but do they have a proactive policy for strengthening our civil justice system so that it works for those whom it was meant to protect? Well, we have some ideas. The Drum Major Institute's latest report, Election '08: A Pro-Civil Justice Presidential Platform, lays out common-sense policy proposals that would turn the balance of power back to regular Americans.

DMI on the 2008 State of the Union

January 1, 2008

The American people want change. Every Presidential candidate, Democrat and Republican, has made this a mantra. But the State of the Union Address reveals no alteration from President Bush. This year the President labored to keep breathing life into the same worn out ideology that has repeatedly failed America's current and aspiring middle class. In his final State of the Union, President Bush failed the middle class again. The Drum Major Institute's 2008 State of the Union analysis looks at how Bush's proposed domestic policies will affect the current and aspiring middle class.

Turning the Big Ship: DMI's Review of the Year in Politics and Policy

December 1, 2007

In 2007, we've seen the government sell out consumer safety while cities got smarter about sustainability and sick leave. Progressive think tanks pushed to end the foreclosure crisis while conservative think tanks claimed global warming was a lie. All this and more inside the 2007 Year In Review!

Lessons From The Marketplace: Four Proven Progressive Policies from DMI's Marketplace of Ideas

May 1, 2007

In Maine, moderate-income residents buy prescription drugs for as little as half the retail price. In San Francisco, some violent criminals are 82 percent less likely to commit new crimes after their release from prison. In Minnesota, the public can reclaim subsidies when economic development incentives don't produce the promised results. In Oklahoma, 92 percent of four-year-olds attend a high-quality public preschool. Ideologues of the right like to claim that progressive policies will kill jobs, squander tax dollars, suppress innovation and let axe-wielding criminals run free. But the successful progressive policies described above have done none of those things. Instead, they've worked as intended to make people's lives better. And they can be replicated in New York and across the nation. The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy's Marketplace of Ideas showcases each of these policies - and many others. DMI brings policymakers from around the country to New York City to speak about their policy success, its impact, and their on-the-ground experience getting the policy enacted. Here they engage with an expert panel of New Yorkers, including city and state legislators, advocates, business representatives, religious leaders, and academics, to further discuss the policy and its implications for New York City and State. Lessons from the Marketplace presents the fruits of DMI's Marketplace of Ideas discussions, describing four policies from Maine, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and San Francisco in detail and examining how each addresses a real and pressing problem in New York State.

Marketplace of Ideas: Combating Global Warming through Congestion Pricing with London Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron

May 1, 2007

This is a transcript from DMI's 'Marketplace of Ideas' series, which highlights policymakers who successfully put progressive values into practice. This event features London Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron. On the morning of Friday, May 18 over 200 people turned out to hear London Deputy Mayor Nicky Gavron and distinguished panelists and guests discuss the most hotly debated part of Mayor Bloomberg's recently revealed plan for a greener New York - an $8 congestion fee for driving into Manhattan's Central Business district during peak hours.

Saving Our Middle Class: A Survey of New York's Leaders By the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy

April 1, 2007

In the wake of troubling findings by the Brookings Institution about New York City's disappearing middle-income neighborhoods, the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy conducted a survey of New York City's leaders to find ways to strengthen and expand the city's middle class. The following results offer the next steps New York must take to make our city more livable and affordable for the current middle class, and put a middle-class standard of living within the reach of more New Yorkers.

Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2007 Edition

March 1, 2007

The Drum Major Institute for Public Policy contends that any debate over immigration policy must be connected to the larger conversation about America's squeezed middle class and those striving to attain a middle-class standard of living. Accordingly, DMI offers a lens through which to evaluate immigration policy that operates from the basic principle that immigration policy is sound only if it also helps to strengthen and expand America's middle class. With that premise as our starting point, we wrote "Principles for an Immigration Policy to Strengthen and Expand the American Middle Class: 2007 Edition." First published in December 2005, "Principles" is now updated to reflect recent legislative proposals and a discussion of issues that have emerged as important. It is intended to serve as a guide for those who wish to advance a progressive immigration agenda that reflects the best interests of America's current and aspiring middle class.

Making Prescription Drugs More Affordable with Senator Sharon Treat of Maine

December 1, 2006

Senator Treat established Maine's 2003 Rx Plus prescription drug program, which reduces the price of pharmaceuticals by as much as half for low- and middle-income Maine residents. This is a transcript from DMI's "Marketplace of Ideas" series, which highlights policymakers who successfully put progressive values into practice. This event features Senator Sharon Treat of Maine. The program uses the buying power of the state's Medicaid program to penalize drug companies that refuse to offer discounts to Rx Plus participants. The law went into effect in 2004 after surviving a legal challenge from the pharmaceutical industry. Nine states, from Hawaii to Michigan have passed legislation similar to Maine's. After serving 14 years in the Maine State Legislature, Sharon Treat became Executive Director of the National Legislative Association on Prescription Drug Prices, a nonpartisan organization of state legislators working to reduce prescription drug prices and expand access.

Marketplace of Ideas: The Power of Restorative Justice with San Francisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey

May 1, 2005

This is a transcript from DMI's 'Marketplace of Ideas' series, which highlights policymakers who successfully put progressive values into practice. This event features City of San Fransisco Sheriff Michael Hennessey. As Sheriff for 25 years, Hennessey has won widespread recognition for his innovative in-custody treatment programs, including Resolve to Stop the Violence (RSVP), which offers treatment for male offenders with violent histories, services to victims of violence and restitution to the community. The program received the 2004 Innovations in Government from the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University.