Institute Index

February 27, 2015 - Communities in West Virginia and Alabama are among those that have experienced fiery disasters when trains hauling crude oil derailed, and the government expects more incidents like these due to the oil shale drilling boom. So why are industry interests blocking new regulations that aim to protect the public?

February 18, 2015 - With state and federal policies taking a heavy financial toll on historically black colleges and universities, one public HBCU in South Carolina is facing the threat of closure -- and its supporters are fighting back with a federal race-discrimination lawsuit.

February 6, 2015 - This week marked the first anniversary of a massive coal ash spill into the Dan River from a retired Duke Energy power plant in North Carolina. How much safer are the public and the environment today?

January 30, 2015 - With income inequality getting renewed attention from the public and policymakers, a new report by the Economic Analysis and Research Network takes a state-by-state look at the problem -- and finds that Southern states are among those where the income gap has grown most dramatically.

January 23, 2015 - A new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy finds that the tax systems in all 50 states worsen economic inequality by taxing the wealthy at a lower rate than working families -- and several of the states with the most regressive tax systems are in the South.

January 16, 2015 - With the fifth anniversary of the Supreme Court decision lifting political spending restrictions coming up on Jan. 21, the Brennan Center for Justice released a report this week looking at outside spending and dark money in last year's U.S. Senate races -- and it paints a frightening for democracy.

January 9, 2015 - The utility giant plans to move toxic coal ash from existing high-risk disposal sites to abandoned clay mines in two North Carolina counties -- but the counties are taking a stand against those plans.