State Policy

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 23, 2015 - Numerous states are facing likely budget shortfalls, but some of those facing the most serious problems are hamstrung in crafting solutions by political leaders opposed to new taxes and by regressive tax systems that rely on struggling working-class families.

January 15, 2015 - The Bible instructs us to "love the stranger," but migrants probably won't be feeling much love this year in Mississippi. Gov. Phil Bryant is up for re-election, and he has built his political career in part on demonizing undocumented migrant workers.

January 14, 2015 - With Duke Energy under pressure to move toxic coal ash away from waterways, it's planning to send it to abandoned clay mines in two North Carolina counties. But could scores of mines elsewhere in the state end up being targeted for coal ash dumping, too?

January 8, 2015 - With help from an environmental law firm, a conservation group and a landowner are challenging the constitutionality of the North Carolina commission formed to regulate the controversial gas drilling technique. But fracking's challenges in the state are not only legal -- they're also economic.

December 11, 2014 - Environmental advocates announced they discovered a coal ash leak into North Carolina's Yadkin River from a Duke Energy power plant just days before 60 Minutes aired a report in which the CEO said her company was "operating safely." Will the EPA finally take tough action to stop the ongoing coal ash disaster in that state and others -- or will that job continue to fall to private watchdogs?