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USAction and USAction Education Fund are promoting a sensible new plan to rebuild our economy and encourage investment in America's most precious resource-our people. We must make responsible investments in health care, education, infrastructure and clean energy to ensure real security for everyone and long-term, sustainable economic growth for our nation. We must also ensure that public initiatives benefit everyone, with an aim to reduce economic disparity in our country and the disabling consequences associated with it.
A faltering economy, collapsing financial institutions, declining living standards, skyrocketing health care costs, scores of millions of Americans uninsured and underinsured, inequality in the education system with soaring fees for college education, a costly and misguided war, increased economic pressure due to global competition, an unhealthy environment, and energy dependence-these are the most urgent and pressing problems of our time. The Next New Deal effectively tackles these issues, turning critical dilemmas into positive rewards for America. Our current economic system relies on "bubble" markets that eventually "burst," causing recession and fueling further insecurity. The Next New Deal will provide durable, lasting economic gains for families, businesses and the nation as a whole by restructuring our financial sector, making health care and education more affordable, creating a new clean energy economy, and ultimately strengthening our workforce.
The Next New Deal focuses on the changes American families and businesses need:
- Stabilizing and democratizing our financial institutions,
- Guaranteeing quality, affordable health care for everyone,
- Granting all children access to high quality education from early childhood through college,
- Developing a clean energy economy and independence from oil,
- Strengthening our nation's physical and digital infrastructure, and
- Advancing economic justice by strengthening employee rights and reducing poverty.
The public investments proposed in The Next New Deal will pay off. Democratizing the financial sector to increase transparency and public accountability will limit taxpayer burdens, remove fear from the markets and provide a solid foundation for banks and other financial institutions to stand on. Federal support for health care will ease the financial weight on employers, providing greater capacity for businesses to generate new jobs and provide better benefits for existing workers. Investing in preventive health care will result in a healthier, more productive workforce, expanding America's human capital. Public investments in education will enable all of America's young people the opportunity to become formidable global competitors. Greater outlays in education will also cut crime rates, reduce the public burden of an exhausted prison system, and generate new revenue from higher salaries, resulting in lasting economic benefits. Investments in clean, renewable energy sources will not only effectively address the climate change crisis, but they will also give American businesses the chance to once again lead the world in fresh and innovative technologies and spawn millions of new jobs. Investing in clean energy will also increase our exports, stabilize growth and energy costs, and reduce our dependency on oil and other natural resources.
Rather than spending billions of dollars on a war overseas or on tax cuts for millionaires and big corporations, this plan invests in our own families and in our own children. The plan addresses the budget deficit-which makes public investments seem unfeasible-by rooting out waste from private contracting, eliminating unfair tax cuts for millionaires, closing corporate tax loopholes and saving billions of dollars by ending the war in Iraq. These policy changes address our financial crisis and revitalize our economy in the short term while the public investments create a robust and sustainable economy that ensures a healthy, competitive, and clean America for decades to come.
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The Next New Deal - Finance Reform
STABILIZATION, CONSUMER PROTECTION AND PUBLIC TRUSTEESHIP
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The Next New Deal - Invest in Health Care
QUALITY, AFFORDABLE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
The Next New Deal will revamp the ailing health care system to make it work for everyone. All of us benefit from healthy communities in which we all have access to affordable, quality health care from a provider of our choice, at the time we need it, at a cost we can afford. Our mutual goal is affordable, quality health care for everyone.
To achieve that goal, a uniquely American solution to secure our families' health and a healthy economy is what we need. All of us-individuals, employers and government-have a shared responsibility to realize comprehensive reforms in our health care system. Individuals must use health care services responsibly, pay a reasonable share of expenses and focus on prevention, wellness, and disease management as best they can. Employers must provide a fair percentage of health care costs for employee coverage. Our government's responsibility is to guarantee quality, affordable health care for everyone in America and it must play a central role in regulating, financing, and providing health coverage. We can no longer wait for insurance companies and HMOs to provide us with the quality, affordable health care that Americans need and deserve.
In The Next New Deal, people can keep the insurance they have and everyone will have the choice between private insurance and public insurance, with standard, comprehensive benefits that meet our needs and are paid for on a sliding scale based on income.
Public investments in quality, affordable health care benefit our economy:
Public investment in health care would ease the coverage burden that plagues the private sector. In addition, big corporations as well as small businesses would become stronger competitors in global and local markets. The high cost of health care in America is a major reason why we have trouble competing with other countries (e.g. the American automobile industry spends more on health care than steel). An effective and efficient health care system will pay for itself over time through reduced administrative costs and healthier people who require less expensive care. The expansion of a healthy workforce would greatly benefit our economy due to higher production and increased revenue.
- Comprehensive reform will drive down administrative costs. A recent study estimated that the American health insurance industry spends 30 percent of insurance premiums ($230 billion annually) on administration and marketing costs, compared with Medicare's two percent overhead costs.
- Our economy loses billions in economic output due to reduced productivity and preventable illness. According to a study by the Institute of Medicine, public investment in preventive medicine would save up to $146 billion, annually.
- With net spending on covering the uninsured estimated at $50-$80 billion annually, the net economic gains after covering the uninsured could be anywhere from $66-$96 billion every year.
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The Next New Deal - Invest in Education
EARLY CHILDHOOD THROUGH COLLEGE
The Next New Deal makes education a key long-term investment to guarantee lasting, sustainable economic growth. America needs to support early childhood education programs, improve the quality of public schools and make college education accessible, so that all kids have a real opportunity to achieve the American dream. Success in the competitive global economy of the 21st Century requires the creativity and talent of every young person in America. Our communities need a public education system that provides all children the opportunity to succeed, including in early childhood and after school education. Public schools must graduate more high school students with the education and skills necessary to prepare them for college and the job market. No student should be priced out of the college or advanced technical training they need to prosper in our society, as a college diploma has become necessary, in many instances, to obtain even an entry-level position. In the 19th century, primary school education became a right for every American. In the 20th century, secondary school education became a right for every American. Now in the 21st century, higher education must become a right for every American.
Public investments in education benefit our economy
Federal support for education must not be viewed as a drain on our budget, but instead as an investment that gives back. Educators and economists agree that investing in education provides a positive economic rate of return not just for the individual, but for the entire nation as well. Initial public investments in education to modernize schools and hire more teachers will create new jobs. Providing a quality education to all will lead to an educated workforce, a higher per capita income and greater tax revenue. Ensuring access to good child care and afterschool programs will give working parents the support they need.
- Research indicates that quality early childhood education provides a positive rate of return for all children, and that the rate is much higher for youth from low-income households. Nobel Laureate James Heckman finds that extending early education programs to the four million children under age five who are currently living under the poverty line would yield an estimated public net benefit of $409.2 billion. Another recent study concluded that for every dollar invested in early childhood education for disadvantaged youth, a return of at least $7 is expected. Most of the return is directed at taxpayers in the form of decreased special education expenditures, crime costs, and welfare payments.
- Each high school graduate yields a public benefit of $209,000 in higher government revenue and lower government spending for an overall investment of $82,000-a net gain of $127,000 per student and a benefit 2.5 times greater than the costs.
- A college graduate working full-time will pay 134 percent more in federal taxes than a high school graduate working full-time.
- Increases in educational attainment directly resulted in at least 23 percent of overall growth in productivity in the 20th century.
The mass expansion of an educated workforce in the 1900's created an education gap between the United States and the rest of the world, allowing our economy to grow rapidly while other countries remained stagnant. Expanding access to quality and affordable early childhood, K-12, and university education is important not just for ensuring equality in our education system, but also to compete in the global economy.
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The Next New Deal - Invest in Clean Energy
A NEW ECONOMY FOR A NEW WORLD
The Next New Deal will take advantage of the incredible and unique opportunity before us today. By investing in a clean energy economy, we can produce innovative new technologies, create millions of new jobs and generate billions in public revenue while at the same time becoming energy independent and effectively tackling the climate change crisis. Today, the U.S. gets less than two percent of its energy from clean, renewable sources, like wind, solar, geothermal, and co-generative biomass.
A commitment to clean energy and reducing our oil dependence requires a significant expansion of the use of renewable sources of energy, increased gas mileage in our cars and trucks, and broad public investments in energy-efficient retrofits, green buildings, and advanced technologies to create good jobs and support sustainable economic growth. Our government must also regulate harmful emissions to curb greenhouse gas pollution and generate new revenue streams.
Public investments in clean and renewable energy benefit our economy
- The Congressional Budget Office estimates that an effective cap and trade system that becomes stricter over time will generate $50-$300 billion in annual revenue that can be used to invest in clean energy technology and cover tax breaks for clean energy companies.
- A 40 mpg fuel standard for cars, SUVs, and other light trucks would sharply cut long-term fuel costs. Consumers would save $50 billion nationally by 2015. Over the next 10 years, America would save more oil than we import from the Persian Gulf and could expect to get from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, combined.
- A 40 mpg fuel efficiency standard for new cars and trucks could create more than 40,000 jobs in the automotive sector alone, raising national wages and salaries by $8.6 billion.
- A recent study from the Apollo Alliance showed that an initial investment of $300 billion in a clean energy economy will:
- Add more than 3.3 million new, high-wage jobs to the economy.
- Stimulate $1.4 trillion in new Gross Domestic Product.
- Stimulate the economy through adding $953 billion in personal income and $323.9 billion in retail sales.
- Offer a 22.3 percent annual rate of return when the effects of the project development and the ongoing stimulus of the project are calculated.
- Produce $284 billion in net energy cost savings.
- Generate, over 10 years, $306.8 billion in new federal tax revenue from increased earnings, with additional, sizable ongoing fiscal benefits thereafter. This will effectively repay the $300 billion initial cost of the investment in clean and renewable energy.
Solar, wind, biomass, and other clean energy technologies have the potential to be robust industries in the 21st century, with the ability to drive our economy the way steel, automobile, manufacturing and IT industries did in the 20th century. The healthy mix of public investments, tax incentives and government regulations put forth in The Next New Deal will propel American corporations into the forefront of these new industries while dramatically reducing our harmful environmental footprint.
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The Next New Deal - Invest in Reliable Infrastructure
21ST CENTURY TRANSPORTATION AND ACCESS TO BROADBAND FOR ALL
Instead of deferring critical infrastructure projects to future generations, The Next New Deal takes on the responsibility of strengthening our nation's infrastructure in a way that is both fiscally responsible and economically viable. The Next New Deal will ensure that our nation's physical infrastructure returns to full strength as quickly as possible through investments that will effectively stimulate our economy. The plan calls for a shift in our transportation philosophy, placing more attention toward expanding public transportation and building a high speed rail system to connect our nation's vibrant cities. The Next New Deal will also make broadband more accessible for the millions of low income and rural Americans still waiting to join the information and communications revolution.
Public investments in infrastructure benefit our economy
Investments in infrastructure will provide a crucial shot in the arm for the economy in the short term while ensuring safety, convenience, long term stability, and steady economic growth for years to come.
- The Federal Highway Administration estimates that for every $1 billion spent on transportation infrastructure, 47,000 jobs are created and up to $6 billion is added to the GDP, a 6 to 1 rate of return on investment.
- An immediate public investment of $10 billion in emergency infrastructure projects will put over 700,000 people to work within 3 months. Further allocations toward infrastructure maintenance will prevent future catastrophes and costly repairs while providing thousands of Americans construction jobs for years to come.
- Public transportation is estimated to save consumers $24.2 billion annually and saves the economy as a whole $60.1 billion. An expansion of public transportation will continue to provide consumers billions in savings every year.
- A state/federal/private partnership to invest in high speed rail will create construction and high tech engineering jobs, spur regional growth, reduce harmful emissions, and provide consumers with efficient and cost-competitive options for traveling to other cities.
- Experts predict that $1 trillion could be lost over the next decade, should present constraints on broadband development remain.
- A study from the Brookings Institution found that the widespread adoption of basic broadband could add $500 billion to the U.S. economy and create 1.2 million new jobs per year.
- For every one percentage point increase in broadband penetration in a state, employment is projected to increase by 0.2 to 0.3 percent per year.
- Expanding broadband use among seniors and persons with disabilities would generate $927 billion in benefits by 2030 by lowering health care costs, postponing the need for institutional care, and increasing workforce participation.
- Increased access to high speed internet will also reduce more than 1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the next 10 years, due to telecommuting, e-commerce, reduction in paper products, and an overall reduction in emissions due to less transport and production.
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The Next New Deal for Economic Policy
FAIRNESS, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Next New Deal will shift the paradigm of our fiscal policy from one that is founded on unstable bubble markets to a strategy for building a durable and sound economy. Substantial investments are required to bring about the lasting economic benefits that The Next New Deal guarantees. Instead of calling for unchecked spending and irresponsible tax breaks which could inflate the $10.5 trillion national debt, the plan promotes fairness and reform that will help pay for initial spending, balance the budget in the short term, provide long-term economic security, and make our government and corporations more accountable.
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The Next New Deal for Economic Justice
TACKLE POVERTY AND STRENGTHEN EMPLOYEE RIGHTS
The Next New Deal takes a comprehensive approach to address poverty, making sound, strategic and targeted investments in many critical areas while promoting worker rights to ensure gainful employment. We understand that Americans do not want giveaways, but would rather have access to the same opportunities that most Americans take for granted. Each piece of The Next New Deal addresses poverty in its own way, which when examining its potential as a whole, will provide major improvements. The two-fold strategy of the plan focuses on making sure people don't succumb to poverty while working to lift up those currently struggling to make ends meet.
Employee rights and living wages
The Next New Deal aims to reduce economic disparity in our country and the disabling consequences associated with it. Along with public investments in health care, education, clean energy and infrastructure and strategies to create sound fiscal and finance policies, real living wages must be provided to grant everyone in the country the opportunity to live a decent life. In 2007, a full-time worker making the minimum wage earned $10,712. The Next New Deal supports the innovative Half in Ten Campaign, which aims to cut poverty in half in ten years, and their call for the minimum wage to be indexed to half of the wage of the average American worker. This guideline, enacted during the1950's and 60's, will benefit over 13 million low-income workers, while lifting 1.7 million people out of poverty.
The most powerful way to ensure real living wages for American workers is through a great expansion of unionization. Workers in unions earn 30 percent higher wages and are 59 percent more likely to have employer-provided health insurance. Understanding that workers rights are a key to help break the chains of poverty and rebuild the middle class, The Next New Deal supports the Employee Free Choice Act, comprehensive legislation that gives workers the necessary rights to organize a union, free from the bullying and intimidation so common in today's workplace.
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