Reports Archive

Voters Across the South Are Concerned About Climate Change, Support Robust Investments in Health Care and Community Services

In September 2021, Data for Progress, in collaboration with the Southern Economic Advancement Project and Groundwork Collaborative, surveyed 2,222 registered voters in the Southern states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. We find that voters in these 12 states broadly support investments in health …

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Pandemic To Prosperity South (4th Edition)

A civic ecosystem has been burgeoning for decades in the South, and it now offers an opportunity to turn the tragedy of this pandemic into an opportunity to build prosperity and progress for all. Data and civic engagement will be critical. In 2019, Stacey Abrams founded the Southern Economic Advancement Project (SEAP) to lift up …

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The Impending Calamity of State FPUC Withdrawals

Policymakers in 15 states have chosen to stop American workers from receiving federal pandemic unemployment compensation supplements as early as June 12. The most recent available weekly unemployment continued claims figures show that the majority of the workers impacted – 297,000 of the 482,000 – reside in six Southern states. Terminating state participation in federal …

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Pandemic To Prosperity: South (2nd Edition)

A civic ecosystem has been burgeoning for decades in the South, and it now offers an opportunity to turn the tragedy of this pandemic into an opportunity to build prosperity and progress for all. Data and civic engagement will be critical as we chart the path forward. In 2019, Stacey Abrams founded the Southern Economic …

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Equity & Voice In Local Government Budgeting

Budgets are about priorities, and the voices at the table set those priorities. Many groups ask for change—and the budget is one of the most important pathways. A past president of the National League of Cities asserted: “We believe that every elected official would say that the budget is the single most important policy document …

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Building States’ Labor Infrastructure

Like the initial rounds of stimulus payments during the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) signed into law by President Joe Biden on March 11, 2021, provides a federal supplement to the weekly unemployment insurance benefits for millions of Americans. However, since the historic number of unemployment insurance claims began last April, the underlying …

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Health Policy Opportunities in the Southern States

Many of the nation’s most persistent health policy challenges are not only present but magnified in the Southern states. As a region, the South has the highest uninsured rate in the nation and a higher burden of chronic disease than other parts of the country. Rural hospital closures and health care workforce shortages in rural …

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Pandemic to Prosperity: South (1st edition)

History has shown that large-scale crises accelerate pre-existing trends, exacerbate inequities, and permanently change societies and civic life. Large scale disasters produce an enormous break in the status quo followed by continuous change. Recovery from the pandemic and deep economic crisis will vary across communities, and different populations will face various barriers to achieving shared …

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The Delta Regional Authority: A Black Belt Perspective

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) was created to address generational inequity and underdevelopment within the Mississippi Delta region. The region’s history of enslavement, persistent poverty and marginalization has resulted in a present need for intentional strategies to correct centuries of neglect and inaction. The Southern region, with the Mississippi Delta within, also includes a cluster …

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Community-Centered Model of Equitable and Just Employment

Low wages and limited worker protections have produced rising inequality and economic insecurity in the South and throughout the United States. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the failures of the current employment model and has created an opportunity to reimagine a more equitable and just system. This brief introduces the Community-Centered Employment (CCE) model …

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