South By North Strategies, Ltd.

SBN In The News – Feb. 3

• The News & Observer: “Thousands of state jobs might be cut balance budget”
• The News & Observer: “Layoff savings would be modest in first year”
• The Charlotte Observer: “State workers fear layoffs as legislators fill budget gap”
• The Charlotte Observer: “Job-cut savings would be modest, especially in the first year”
• The Winston-Salem Journal: “Jobless numbers mixed in region”
• The High Point Enterprise: “Unemployment rate dips but remains high”
• The News & Observer: “Triangle joblessness slips a bit”
• The Charlotte Observer: “Region’s jobless rate falls slightly”

Around The Dial – Feb. 2

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• The Economic Policy Institute argues against a federal budget freeze.
• Rortybomb looks at the “plight of older workers.”
• Rep. Brad Miller of N.C. sets revisits basic facts about the financial crisis.
• Beat the Press doesn’t buy claims about structural unemployment.
• David Leonhardt plumbs “the paradox of corporate taxes.”

Improving Grant Aid At Community Colleges

A new report from Demos lays out a case for strengthening grant programs that assist students attending community colleges.

As this brief highlights, low-income students receive less grant aid at community colleges than at four-year public universities. Community colleges are often the best and only choice for students and low-income students should not be penalized for attending these institutions. In addition,grant dollars should be used in ways that have the most impact on student success—grant aid has a larger impact on the retention and completion rates of low-income students than on high performing students. The Pell Grant, for example, is associated with reducing the likelihood a student will drop out of college. Research has also found that grant aid can be used to influence students’ performance.

A Discussion of NC’s Labor Market

John Quinterno of South by North Strategies recently appeared on the syndicated radio program News & Views. Quinterno and the program’s host, Chris Fitzsimon, discussed the state of North Carolina’s labor market in 2010 and looked at key issues for 2011. Click below to listen to the conversation.

Click here to listen.

Around The Dial – Feb. 1

Economic policy reports, blog postings, and media stories of interest:

• Jeffrey Sachs despairs over “America’s ungovernable budget.”
• Paul Krugman pushes back against calls for raising interest rates.
• Naked Capitalism critiques the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s report.
• Free Exchange points out that the homeownership rate is at the 1998 level.
• Off the Charts debunks some myths about state debts.