The statistics say the recession is over, but to every American still struggling to support their family, those statistics are a lie. That’s why Democratic leaders in states all across America keep fighting for new legislation to attract good-paying jobs. But a few of those efforts stand out:

• Iowa led the way with an historic government efficiency plan expected to save at least $270 million, all of which is now being used to create jobs through clean energy projects, low-cost loans and financial training for small businesses, and dozens of other new job-creation plans.
  
  

• Wisconsin lawmakers passed at least 50 separate bills this year to boost job growth, including everything from new development incentives and job training programs to tax credits for cornerstone Wisconsin industries like dairy production.
  
  

• Washington State passed a bill to use tax credits to attract high-tech jobs in computer and data management. Each new project could mean thousands of construction jobs in the short term and even more high-paying technology jobs for years to come.
  
  

• Connecticut is adding a temporary small business hiring tax credit, to help convince local businesses that now is the time to start hiring new employees.

This is just a tiny sample of the Democratic-led effort to make sure Main Street families get to share the economic recovery. And this is one fight Democrats in all 50 states are determined to support.

Sadly, much of the opposition to bills like these (where there was any opposition at all) came from Republicans. And many of the best ideas for creating jobs never even come to a vote in states where Republicans control the legislature.

There are no silver bullets that will fix the entire economy overnight. But even the smallest idea can make a huge difference for a family on the brink of losing everything.

All fifty states are dealing with a tough economy and tough budget choices. But when award-winning teachers are getting laid off in the middle of Teacher Appreciation Week, as they are in Indiana, that’s a pretty unmistakable sign that state budget cuts have gone too far:

Honorees at a Statehouse ceremony recognizing Indiana teachers Thursday included two who face losing their jobs following $300 million in state education spending cuts. (…)

[Jackie] Macal, 24, an English teacher at Batchelor Middle School, was one of six people recognized by state Superintendent Tony Bennett as part of Teacher Appreciation Week. The honor was a high point but comes at a troubling time for Macal, whose job at the middle school was her first full-time teaching position.

Gaylene Hayden, one of 150 teachers who received layoff notices from Tippecanoe school district in Lafayette, sat at the ceremony with her husband, Jason, who also lost his job with an automated payroll company last week.

Indiana was the site of one of the messier budget battles in the country, as the Democratic-controlled State House (led by Speaker and DLCC Board Member Pat Bauer) fought to save as much of Indiana’s public school system as possible from budget cuts demanded by the Republican Governor and State Senate.

Even with the narrow Democratic advantage in the State House to keep the Republicans in check, the Indiana State Teachers Association predicts that 5,000 to 7,000 teachers and support staff will be laid off statewide because of the cuts. Had the Republicans had free-rein to pass whatever budget they wanted, the situation would be much, much worse.

Sadly, the Republican strategy of cutting education will do long-term damage to our economy and society. Good schools are one of the most important keys to long-term business development and job creation. And of course, a good education is a key determinant of every individual child’s future.

Sometimes it’s important to find humor in everyday life, but we don’t think too many of Republican State Rep. Eddie Fields’ constituents are laughing about a recent poll on his website asking if they care more about “the economy,” “stray squirrels,” or “not enough toilet paper:”

[Hat Tip thelostogle.com]

In normal times, this might have been acceptable -- but not with over 117,000 Oklahomans still unemployed.

As best we can tell, Fields hasn’t issued any sort of apology, but he was clearly ashamed enough to take down the poll and replace it with one that, while not exactly offensive, is still puzzling. It asks if, among other things, “job growth,” “the economy,” or “Oklahoma Economics” are people’s top issue.

Democrat Dale Christenson, Jr. is seeking the nomination to face Rep. Fields for an open State Senate seat.

With hiring only now beginning to pick up across the country, it’s worth looking back at the American unemployment insurance system to figure out how it can be more effective in the future. Seventeen mostly Democratic states have turned to a more proactive approach – one that uses unemployment dollars to keep people employed:

Called work sharing, or short-time compensation, the program has helped thousands of companies avoid layoffs in New York and 16 other states. This year, lawmakers in seven more states are considering bills that would authorize the widely praised approach to saving jobs.

Here’s how it works. When a business enters a slump and needs to cut payroll, it can seek state approval for a plan to reduce employees’ hours instead of cutting jobs. For example, a 20 percent reduction in the workforce could translate to a 20 percent reduction in hours, or a four-day workweek. To help employees stay afloat, the state would pay workers about half of their lost wages through the federal-state unemployment insurance program, which temporarily provides laid-off workers with a portion of their paychecks.

“Every day, workers tell me they’d rather work at least part of their regular week instead of face a layoff,” says New York Labor Commissioner Colleen Gardner. At no additional cost to states, the program helps businesses retain skilled employees, allows workers to stay on the job and keep their benefits and boosts the local economy.

Twelve of the seventeen states that offer this kind of program have Democratic-controlled legislatures. And that’s no surprise – Democratic legislators across the country have been proactive about protecting jobs ever since the recession began.

At at time when states are doing all they can to try to attract new industries, many policymakers are looking to the film industry as a potential force for job creation. States across the country are attempting to lure film and television production with a mix of tax cuts and other promotions.

But Florida Republicans have potentially handicapped the economic stimulus of their program with a heavy dose of conservative censorship:

Movies and TV shows with gay characters could be ineligible for a "family-friendly" tax credit in Florida under a little-noticed provision tucked into a $75 million incentive package that Republican House leaders hope will attract film and entertainment jobs to the state.

The bill would prohibit productions with "nontraditional family values" from receiving a so-called family-friendly tax credit. But it doesn't define what "nontraditional family values" are, something the bill's sponsor had a hard time doing, too.

"Think of it as like Mayberry," state Rep. Stephen Precourt, R-Orlando, said, referring to The Andy Griffith Show. "That's when I grew up — the '60s. That's what life was like. I want Florida to be known for making those kinds of movies: Disney movies for kids and all that stuff. Like it used to be, you know?"

Much of the concern for language stems from the fact that no one knows exactly what it means.

When specifically asked about potential state money for a television show with gay characters, Precourt told reporters, "That would not be the kind of thing I'd say that we want to invest public dollars in."

But other policymakers refused to go that far, and some weren't prepared to offer a definition at all.

Already members of the Florida Senate are indicating that they will not take up the 'nontraditional family values' language, leaving the proposal's future in doubt.

While the Washington State Senate considers a Democratic-sponsored jobs initiative, Democrats in the State House are stepping up to support working families in other ways.

Speaker Frank Chopp -- a DLCC Board Member –- kicked things off a few weeks ago by leading the charge against a new ballot initiative to privatize the state-run worker’s compensation insurance system:

House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, said it would be "an absolute tragedy" to privatize the state-run workers' comp system, which has been in place for decades.

"That would be a disaster, and I hope to God the public also agrees on this," Chopp said Thursday.

Washington’s labor leaders prefer the state-run system because it provides more generous benefits than some private plans would, and the plan’s low overhead and efficient operation make it much cheaper compared to costs in other states.

Then late last week, the State House voted to grant collective-bargaining protections to workers at some childcare centers receiving state subsidies:

This measure, House Bill 1329, stirred much controversy in 2009. It passed the House but died after the majority there rejected changes made by the Senate.

House Democrats expect the outcome will be different this time because they are apparently willing to accept revisions pushed by senators a year ago.

If passed by the Senate, this bill would fulfill a promise that slipped through the legislative cracks last year.

Senate Democrats in Washington are focusing on an agenda designed to boost job creation and put the economy back on solid footing in the state:

The plan zeroes in on five elements: Helping small businesses, putting people to work on infrastructure projects, retraining an additional 6,000 workers for high-demand jobs, green jobs and attracting investment in research.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown told reporters, "Our strategy is like a bull's-eye, putting the existing jobs and businesses that are essential to our recovery at the center, and rippling steadily outward toward the jobs of the future that are the key to our competitiveness over the long term."

The 2010 regular session began in the state on January 11th.

With his state still grappling with high unemployment, Indiana Speaker Pat Bauer -- a DLCC Board member -- is calling for a major new infrastructure investment as a way to create jobs.

Four years ago, lawmakers created the Next Generation Trust Fund with money generated from leasing the Indiana Toll Road to private operators for $3.8 billion. The fund now holds more than $500 million.

Speaker Bauer wants to take a significant portion of that money and use it to repair the state's crumbling bridges:

"We believe we ought to put the money to work . . . instead of letting the banks lend it out and make interest," Bauer said. "We have, like, over 60 percent of our bridges in this state that are considered dangerous, decrepit. We ought to start fixing those. We should do that now and put people to work, and we do have the money."

Predictably, Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels thinks the state is already doing enough.

Despite the recession beginning to ease, Wisconsin’s Democratic legislators know their constituents still face a tough economy. But the State Senate’s Democratic Caucus is determined to make next year’s legislative session all about jobs -- starting with a package of job-creation bills unveiled on Monday:

One of the proposals would spend $2 million to increase partnerships between businesses and the University of Wisconsin.

Tax credits that can be claimed for those who make investments in startup companies would be increased under another idea.

Other bill would create a $2 million tax credit for businesses that pay university or technical college tuition for their low-income employees.

The hallmark of the Democrats’ initiative is its focus on leveraging private investments, rather than relying entirely on tax dollars, and it’s exactly the kind of innovative approach Wisconsinites expected when they elected Democrats to lead their state legislature.

Back in April, Florida’s legislative Republicans refused to accept nearly $444 million in federal funding for the state’s unemployment system – money that would have shored up the unemployment trust fund at a crucial time and helped prevent a business tax hike in the middle of the recession.

This week, the Republicans’ stubbornness came home to roost as Florida’s unemployment trust fund officially went broke. For now, the state will be forced to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars from the federal government to keep the system running, but just as we warned in April, paying back that money will cause heavy tax hikes on Florida businesses:

Replenishing the fund won't be pain-free.

Employers will feel a bigger sting under changes lawmakers made this spring to the unemployment compensation tax system.

How much more employers will pay is based on a complicated formula that takes into account such things as the number of workers a business has laid off, its size and the number of years it has been paying into the system.

Of course, it wasn’t just the DLCC, media analysts, and Democratic legislators warning that this would happen; Republican Governor Charlie Crist opposed the decision too. But instead of accepting free money from the federal government, legislative Republicans chose to raise taxes to pay back borrowed money, all while denying extra help to Florida’s unemployed workers and their families.

As we also noted back in April, Floridians deserve better than this.