ALEC Speaks - but is no longer heard

Oh, my - - - - - - -

They just can’t keep their mouths shut and they honestly think that people are just going to take ALEC’s word for everything.

Not so much anymore – now that we know they have a tendency to lie.

Sometimes – we just read and accept 

– and with ALEC propaganda 

– we need to learn to read and critique.

From the New Jersey newspaper a response

by the venerable David Frizzell National Chair of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

ALEC speaks

The Star-Ledger remains captivated by the extremist groups’ attack on the American Legislative Exchange Council (“Johnson & Johnson right to pull out of ALEC,” editorial, June 16).

Contrary to what’s conveyed in The Star-Ledger’s editorials, op-eds and reporting, ALEC’s focus is in promoting policies that grow the economy, create jobs and limit the size and scope of the federal government.

Earlier this year, ALEC completed its 2012 version of “Rich States, Poor States,” an analysis of how state policies affect their economies. The states that embrace free markets, limited government and support for job creators were at the top of the heap. These include economic powerhouses such as Texas, Virginia, Utah and North Dakota.

Take a guess at the states still at the bottom: New Jersey, Illinois, New York and Connecticut. This is because many of their lawmakers refuse to acknowledge their governments are too intrusive, taxes too high and unions too strong.

If The Star-Ledger could get past its ALEC fascination and report on policies that would help boost the New Jersey economy, your readers would be better served.

Indiana state Rep. Dave Frizzell,

ALEC national chairman

"ALEC’s focus is in promoting policies that grow the economy, create jobs and limit the size and scope of the federal government."
Where's the free market crapola????????
Free market not doing so good lately for ALEC???????????


And about the Rich States, Poor States stuff - a couple of  people -  or more -  would NOT agree with you, Mr. Frizzell.
In the past no one would question ALEC on this quasi-report - but that was the past.
Not so much anymore or in the future.
Future not looking so good for ALEC right now??????????????????

A few snips about how others see Rich States, Poor States:
Unfortunately for Mr. Frizzell - not so good.

Laffer mixes state and local taxes and misuses technical terms to create rankings for every state.

Some of this economics stuff just doesn’t add up

Shawn Vestal The Spokesman-Review

  ….  these economics.

 It’s like quantum physics – don’t even try to understand it. Just listen to the experts.

In this case, one of those experts is ALEC  … 

Does this suggest that ALEC’s formula – low taxes equal economic prosperity – is somehow incorrect? Does it suggest that, even by its own measure, low taxes alone do not magically produce booming economies? That low-tax wonderlands like Idaho, Wyoming and Utah – where incomes are as low, relatively, as the taxes – are not universal models of economic health? That the pat anti-tax phrases – the eminently repeatable lines – are not actually supported by even the cherry-picked facts in the report?

Is that what you think? Perhaps you just don’t understand.

READ THE WHOLE THING >>>>>HERE<<<<.


Or you have these snips from Progressive States Network (my emphasis)

While national attention has recently focused on ALEC’s non-economic initiatives such as “shoot first” and voter suppression bills, the ideological bent of their yearly state economic rankings should come as little surprise. As the group pursues an announced “refocus” on economic issues under increasing pressure, and as more becomes apparent about the ways in which corporations wield influence in statehouses, the results of ALEC’s annual Rich State, Poor States rankings should not just be taken with a grain of salt by observers – they should be explored to reveal the depths of the misguided and economically destructive priorities they promote.

And these snips about the richest states according to ALEC:

For the fifth edition of their annual Rich States, Poor States report,

Yet one look at some of the criteria used to generate this survey reveals that ALEC largely values the “well-being” not of families or state economies, but of the very same corporate interests that fund ALEC.

For instance:

    Despite study after study showing that increasing the minimum wage provides an economic boost to state economies, ALEC and Laffer rank   …   States with no minimum wage laws at all share the number 1 spot.

    …   legislatures   …   were rewarded by ALEC if those policies succeeded in decreasing the number of public sector jobs per capita.

    Indiana  -  Once these newly enacted fiscally irresponsible, anti-worker policies are accounted for, Indiana is expected to “recover from its steep drop” this year – and be deemed “richer” for it by ALEC in 2013’s report.

READ THE WHOLE THING  >>>>>HERE<<<<<

ALEC’s “Rich States, Poor States” report is riddled with inconsistencies and methodological errors. For example:

•ALEC lionizes Texas’ economic policies, encouraging states to “be more like Texas.” The report fails to note that from 2007-2011, 100% of Texas' job growth was in the public sector, with the private sector shrinking. This evidence contradicts ALEC’s claim that Texas’ economic policies are spurring private sector growth.

•ALEC’s measures are contradictory. “Rich States, Poor States” celebrates Nevada’s population growth and attributes it to a low income tax and right-to-work status. However, according to the Bureau for Labor Statistics, Nevada had the country’s highest unemployment rate in 2011.

•In a massive methodological oversight, ALEC emphasizes population growth as an indication of economic success while failing to control for factors that affect migration patterns, including weather and cost of living, making any corollaries drawn between population growth and economic policies useless.

•“Rich States, Poor States” makes no effort to evaluate the quality of a state’s public services. While good schools, adequate police protection, and an efficient transportation network are universally acknowledged as key factors in determining a desirable place to live, none of these items is considered to make a state more or less competitive according to ALEC.

And there's more - anti ALEC reports are everywhere - they are everywhere.
Hallelujah!  Thank god and praise every deity, eveyrwhere.

It's a new world out there Mr. Frizzell and the American Legislative Exchange Council.
A world that now knows about the secretive workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council.

For almost 40 years you spoke and people listened - because they did not know.
Life has changed.
The people have changed.

ALEC Speaks - but is no longer heard.