June 4, 2008
For those of you working with, advocating for, or just plain concerned about low-income families, there is a new issue on the horizon that requires your immediate attention…climate-change.
And I don’t just mean worrying about how changes in the climate are impacting low-income communities, but how responses to climate-change will impact these families. At both the regional and federal level, policymakers are considering proposals that will place a cap on greenhouse-gas emissions. Which is great…there is an urgent need to fight global warming.
However, capping greenhouse gas emissions will inevitably impact the cost of energy, transportation, food, and other goods and services. And that will hit low-income families particularly hard since these items make up a larger share of their budget, and they have less flexibility to adapt to the changes in price. A national analysis found that a 15 percent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions could cost the poorest fifth of Americans (those making about $13,000 a year) an average of $750 per household.
Don’t be discouraged - we can fight global warming without pushing low-income families deeper into poverty. But that means implementing a “cap-and-trade” system that auctions off greenhouse-gas allowances to utility companies in order to raise public revenues that can be used to offset impacts on low-income communities.
But that may not happen unless you get involved in this debate…immediately.
There is a lot happening right now. At the federal level, the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008 is being considered in the U.S. Senate. And Minnesota has joined several other states in our region to set up the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord, which expects to propose a cap-and-trade agreement by this November.
We’ll continue to keep you informed on this issue (I’ve blogged on this before), but it is important for those who are concerned about low-income folks to start talking to state and federal policymakers (as well as their friends in environmental communities) to ensure that any cap-and-trade system…
- auctions off allowances in order to raise public funds.
- uses a portion of the public funds raised to offset the impact of climate-change legislation on low-income families.
- uses mechanisms specifically designed to reach low-income families.
If we sit on the sidelines and wait to be asked, chances are the agreements will be made and the money will be distributed without carefully considering the unique challenges climate-change legislation will present to low-income families.
-Christina Wessel
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Environment | Tagged: climate-change, low-income | 
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Posted by Christina Wessel
April 23, 2008
Minnesota has a strong backbone of nonprofit research and advocacy organizations that do a tremendous amount of important work. Many have published helpful information on the budget proposals from the Governor, House and Senate. Here are a couple that I know about –
- Conservation Minnesota (formerly the League of Conservation Voters Minnesota) just published an analysis of the Governor’s proposals that effect Minnesota’s lakes, rivers and land. Also check out their series of end of session analyses, going to back to 2003.
- Affirmative Options, an anti-poverty coalition, has a short & sweet background on health and human services spending trends. This is essential reading in order to understand the current debate over issues like the Health Care Access Fund dollars (there’s a link to ”Budget reality vs rhetoric” on the right-hand side of their homepage).
This is not a comprehensive list! Please use the comment function of this blog to post other analyses that you know of. And, of course, the Minnesota Budget Project will soon release its own analysis, comparing the Governor-House-Senate proposals on E-12 education, economic development, health and human services, taxes, and other issue areas.
Happy reading!
-Katherine Blauvelt
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Environment, General Information, Health Care | 
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Posted by Katherine Blauvelt
March 12, 2008
Low-income families in Minnesota face all kinds of financial challenges - paying for food, housing, transportation, child care, health care and the list goes on. And now a very substantial new challenge looms on the horizon: increasing energy-related costs. Discussions are underway at both the state and national level to institute a carbon cap to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. And those interested in low-income issues must start paying attention.
The goal of improving the quality of our air by curbing pollution is one we certainly support. But an unavoidable consequence will be rising energy costs - not just utility bills, but also higher costs for transportation and other consumer goods. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the poorest 20% of the population would see an increase in energy-related costs of $750 to $950 per year with a 15% reduction in emissions. That is a significant chunk of change for someone making an average of $13,000 a year.
Fortunately, we can both accomplish both goals of cleaning up our environment and helping families move out of poverty. I’m not going to get into all the details here, but basically, if the cap and trade system auctions off pollution allowances, then there will be resources available to hold low-income families harmless. If we give those allowances away for free, then families will still pay increased energy-related costs, and we will have no additional public resources to help them.
An auction could potentially raise a significant amount of money and there are lots of ideas for how that money should be used. Our goal is to ensure that as this process unfolds, low-income families are held harmless from rising energy-related costs they cannot possibly afford - and that any relief is distributed using mechanisms that will actually reach these families.
This is an issue the Minnesota Budget Project is just starting to get engaged in. But you can get more information on how climate change policies will impact low-income families from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. And you can read my testimony from last week on a cap and trade bill that is moving through the House and Senate.
-Christina Wessel
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Environment | Tagged: cap and trade, Environment | 
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Posted by Christina Wessel
