Economy

February 10, 2023 - A growing number of states have adopted policies promoted by the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council punishing financial companies that halt investments in oil, gas, and coal. But they also punish taxpayers by reducing competition among municipal bond underwriters, thus raising interest rates.

January 27, 2023 - The North Carolina Utilities Commission's newly adopted plan to limit Duke Energy's climate-disrupting pollution calls for new gas-burning plants — even though they leak methane, a greenhouse gas that in the short term is even more potent than carbon. Forty-five scientists recently called Duke's planned gas expansion "entirely indefensible from a climate and public health perspective," and advocates vowed to fight the proposed plants.

January 11, 2023 - Over 100 corporations said they'd reconsider their political giving after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, but most continued donating to members of Congress who voted against certifying President Biden's 2020 election. Among them are Fortune 500 firms with headquarters in the South, including AT&T, Delta Air Lines, and Walmart.

January 11, 2023 - The U.S. dollar store industry is booming, but its workers struggle with low pay and dangerous working conditions. In New Orleans, they're organizing with help from Step Up Louisiana, a community-based organization that builds power to win economic justice.

December 14, 2022 - Workers who handle customer service for Medicare and the Affordable Care Act marketplace are fighting to improve their lot at a call center in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, operated by Maximus, a Virginia-based government services contractor. Documentarian Jason Kerzinski recently visited with the workers to collect some of their stories.

December 13, 2022 - Georgia Power is currently asking for huge rate increases while trying to block rooftop and community solar from taking root in the state. On Dec. 20, Georgia's Public Service Commission has a chance to steer the company in another direction, but commissioners will do so only if enough Georgians speak out.

November 30, 2022 - A new book co-edited by economist William "Sandy" Darity Jr. and his colleagues at Duke University explores how the coronavirus pandemic worsened racial inequality. Facing South recently spoke with Darity, a leading scholar of reparations for slavery, about policies to address the racial wealth gap.