Monthly Archives: July 2022

Sustainable Future

Our climate crisis is natures debt collector, and it will not be kind to future generations. It will hold them hostage unless we invest in its 'stocks'

Opinion:While discussing the natural world in business terms strips its inherent life-giving holistic value, our capitalist structures and systems speak this business language fluently. So this is from where I write today.

As a young person thinking about the future, and our current trajectory as a species, it is difficult to imagine a world without crippling debt, limiting our possibilities, and threatening our very lives.

This debt will not be purely financial. It will not just be the transition debt or adaptation debt although that debt will also be colossal. There are things we can buy our way out of but in many instances, it will be too late. No amount of money will get back what we have lost what we have spent and what we have compromised.

The way we have traded, and continue to trade, our natural capital is not just bad business, it is reckless negligence. Our natural capital has been squandered. We are actively bankrupting those who will take over from us.

These future leaders are already rising to the challenge of reimagining what the future of business looks like. A future that recognises the inherent, intersectional, and holistic value of our natural world and our undeniable reliance on it.

We all, both individuals and businesses, rely on natural capital to live (literally) and thrive (economically). Our oceans, land, minerals, ecosystems, freshwater, and air. We also rely on its services from growing the food we eat, to producing the materials we use for buildings, medicines, and fuel. Insects pollinate our crops, birds distribute seeds, and our forests provide natural flood defences.

Paying for services and resources is such a basic concept in our business world so its hard to understand why its not a standard consideration for how we treat the environment as supplier. And while this is not how I consider the environment it is the best analogy I have for communicating the responsibility that organisations have to the natural world we are all a part of.

The list of natural services is extensive, and this does not even begin to include all the emotional, mental, and spiritual benefits we connect with as the human components of these complex natural systems.

However, most of the services and immense value provided by nature are economically invisible in our business world. We hardly consider them; we barely report on them, and we do not have clear plans for repaying them. The mere mention of GDP will often incite eye rolling from younger members of society. How can we value something that excludes the fundamental systems that allow it to exist? How can we be excited about GDP growth when we know it is systemically tied to the destruction of all that gives us life?

So, when you think about the natural capital you are reliant on, would you consider your organisation to be borrowing or stealing?

If we are borrowing, then we need to acknowledge the real bill and start repaying nature for what we have taken. And these bills also need to be paid in the currency that is of actual value to nature and emerging generations restoring the stocks we have taken, embedding nature-based solutions and considering the broader ecosystems we all operate within.

Because the truth of the matter is, if we do not start taking that seriously, these bills are going to end up being the kinds of bills we can never pay our way out of. Our climate crisis is natures debt collector, and it will not be kind to future generations. It will hold them hostage. And, when we consider the potential scenarios of climate change, this is going to feel a lot like torture.

For many, especially in developing countries, this torture is already manifesting in food insecurity, scarce water supplies, unbearable heat, and political instability with war for resources and global health.

Here we sit, comfortably in the economic systems benefiting us today, while the natural systems and people we exclude along the way are the canaries falling silent in the coal mine.

Paying for services and resources is such a basic concept in our business world so its hard to understand why its not a standard consideration for how we treat the environment as supplier. And while this is not how I consider the environment it is the best analogy I have for communicating the responsibility that organisations have to the natural world we are all a part of.

And from an economic standpoint, this is especially critical for a country like New Zealand. We are a resource-based economy. Our economic system is almost entirely dependent on finite natural resources. Thirteen of our top 20 export commodities depend on natural capital, which is more than 70 percentof New Zealands entire export earnings.

How can we be so dependent on something that we are not actively restoring? Why are nature-based solutions not the first thing we think of when we audit our impacts, especially when we think about future generations? What kind of existence will we leave for them if the natural world has been so depleted there is nothing left to enjoy or marvel at, let alone prosper from?

To see nature-based solutions so explicitly in the Emissions Reduction Plan is a massive step in the right direction. Recognising how inextricably linked our climate crisis is with our biodiversity and natural degradation is critical.

This is a fantastic opportunity for all to learn about and embrace the kind of action that truly enhances and restores our natural world. The kind of action that mitigates the environmental debt our legacy is handing over to future generations.

Actions like this require collaboration. They require organisations, industries, sectors, and systems to understand the collective way forward. A way forward that acknowledges the natural world we exist within and all the reciprocal relationships we share with it in a way that ensures its wondrous stocks are around for generations to come.

Because while our natural world is not a business, our capitalist structures and systems continue to take precedent.

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Reimagining business: The greatest debt of all time - Newsroom

Toronto, July 12, 2022 -- Moody's Investors Service (Moody's) today affirmed the A1 and (P)A1 long-term debt ratings of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and revised the outlook to stable from negative. Concurrently, Moody's affirmed the a3 baseline credit assessment (BCA) of the province.

Affirmations:

..Issuer: Newfoundland and Labrador, Province of

....Senior Unsecured Regular Bond/Debenture , Affirmed A1

....Senior Unsecured Shelf, Affirmed (P)A1

.... Baseline Credit Assessment, Affirmed a3

Outlook Actions:

..Issuer: Newfoundland and Labrador, Province of

....Outlook, Changed To Stable From Negative

RATINGS RATIONALE

RATIONALE FOR THE STABLE OUTLOOK

The change in outlook to stable from negative reflects Moody's opinion that despite still facing several years of consolidated deficits, Newfoundland and Labrador debt burden, as measured by net direct and indirect relative as a share of revenue, will stabilize within a range of 240-250% over the next 3-4 years. The stable outlook also reflects Moody's assessment of reduced risk that the province will need to support the Muskrat Falls electricity generation project, following a CAD5.2 billion support package provided by Canada.

RATIONALE FOR THE AFFIRMATION

The a3 BCA and A1 / (P)A1 long-term debt ratings reflect the mix of credit strengths including sufficient fiscal flexibility to achieve desired targets and strong debt management as well as credit challenges of elevated debt and interest burdens, continued multiple years of forecasted deficits and a resource-based economy that creates revenue volatility for the province.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a strong institutional framework that provides for unfettered access to a broad range of tax bases and wide discretion over expenditure decisions. As such, the province has the capacity to adjust revenue and expenditure measures to meet budget targets set out each year. In 2021-22, the province estimates that its consolidated deficit was CAD400 million (equal to 4.6% of revenue) compared to the originally budgeted deficit of CAD826 million (9.7% of revenue).

The province's debt management is considered to be strong, which aids in keeping fiscal pressure at a minimum from the elevated debt burden. With minimal exposure to foreign exchange risk or variable interest rates the province is able to plan for debt service payments far in advance. The province retains strong access to capital markets and sufficient liquidity to allow it to avoid issuing when markets are turbulent.

Nonetheless, the province has an elevated debt burden, which Moody's notes reached 275% of revenue in 2020-21. While the slower pace of debt accumulation and resilient revenues across the next 3-4 years will allow the debt burden to stabilize within a range of 240-250%, this level is still considered elevated relative to other A1-rated global peers. The high debt burden also correlates to a high interest burden which is expected to remain above 10% across the next 3-4 years, the highest among Canadian provinces.

Newfoundland and Labrador also faces ongoing deficits, including a CAD351 million (3.9% of revenue) deficit in 2022-23, before balancing the budget in 2026-27. While the province has unfettered access to a broad range of tax bases, the revenue sources of Newfoundland and Labrador are volatile and less dynamic than other provinces. Labour and income metrics, which are among the social risk metrics monitored by Moody's, are typically lower than many Canadian provinces which constrains revenue generation. Additionally, the relative importance of offshore oil royalties, which are driven by volatile global prices for oil, also add to revenue uncertainty. This reliance also exposes the province to long-term risks around the pace of carbon transition.

The A1 ratings of Newfoundland and Labrador incorporate the BCA of a3 and Moody's assumption of a high likelihood of extraordinary support from the Government of Canada (Aaa stable), should Newfoundland and Labrador face an acute liquidity stress.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATINGS

Upward rating pressure could arise if both the debt and interest burdens were to decline materially or if the liquidity holdings of the province were to increase. Downward pressure could arise if there are material downward adjustments to the projected path back to balanced budgets. A material increase in either the debt or interest burden above Moody's current expectations would also lead to downward rating pressure.

ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE CONSIDERATIONS

Newfoundland and Labrador has a highly negative E issuer profile score (E-4) which largely reflects the highly negative risk stemming from the risk of carbon transition, as evidenced by the fiscal challenges raised by the volatility in oil prices. As with other Atlantic provinces, Newfoundland and Labrador also faces moderately negative risks stemming from physical climate change, as the province is subject to low scale hurricanes that move up the North American eastern coast which can bring high winds, heavy levels of precipitation and rainfall.

The moderately negative S issuer profile score (S-3) reflects the mix of severely negative demographic risk, stemming from the aging population which creates long-term pressure on health expenses, as well as moderately negative labour and income risk and neutral-to-low risk across the remaining social factors measured by Moody's.

The neutral-to-low G issuer profile score (G-2) captures the positive risk from the very strong institutional and governance framework inherent to all Canadian provinces offset by neutral-to-low risk stemming from budget management and transparency and disclosure.

The principal methodology used in these ratings was Regional and Local Governments published in January 2018 and available at https://ratings.moodys.com/api/rmc-documents/66129. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on https://ratings.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found on https://ratings.moodys.com/rating-definitions.

For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the issuer/deal page for the respective issuer on https://ratings.moodys.com.

For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.

The ratings have been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.

These ratings are solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website https://ratings.moodys.com.

Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.

Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://ratings.moodys.com/documents/PBC_1288235.

The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on https://ratings.moodys.com.

The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FA under the law applicable to credit rating agencies in the UK. Further information on the UK endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on https://ratings.moodys.com.

Please see https://ratings.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.

Please see the issuer/deal page on https://ratings.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.

Michael YakeAssociate Managing DirectorSub-Sovereign GroupMoody's Canada Inc.70 York StreetSuite 1400Toronto, ON M5J 1S9CanadaJOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376Client Service: 1 212 553 1653

Alejandro OlivoMD-Sovereign/Sub SovereignSub-Sovereign GroupJOURNALISTS: 44 20 7772 5456Client Service: 44 20 7772 5454

Releasing Office:Moody's Canada Inc.70 York StreetSuite 1400Toronto, ON M5J 1S9CanadaJOURNALISTS: 1 212 553 0376Client Service: 1 212 553 1653

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Moody's affirms A1 rating of Newfoundland and Labrador, changes outlook to stable - Moody's

Vice President Kamala Harris to deliver remarks at White House Summit and reinforce call for state and local leaders to invest American Rescue Plan funds to help more Americans secure good-paying jobs

On Wednesday, the White House will announce that over $40 Billion in American Rescue Plan funds have been committed to strengthening and expanding our workforce. White House officials will highlight top American Rescue Plan workforce best practices from Governors, Mayors, and County Leaders across the country, and call on more government officials and private sector leaders to expand investments in our workforce. Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver remarks kicking off a half-day White House Summit. Since passage of the law, states, localities, community colleges, and local organizations have leveraged American Rescue Plan resources to deliver training, expand career paths, encourage more Registered Apprenticeships, provide retention and hiring bonuses in critical industries, and power efforts to help underserved Americans and those who face barriers to employment secure good jobs. These investments in the workforce along with the American Rescue Plans direct payroll support that has saved or restored jobs across a broad set of industries have contributed to a record 9 Million jobs added since President Biden took office in the fastest and strongest jobs recovery in American history.

The half-day White House Summit on the American Rescue Plan and the Workforce will feature remarks by Vice President Harris and Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh, a session on state American Rescue Plan workforce investments with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf, as well as panels with Mayors, County Leaders, and Labor and Community Leaders on their model American Rescue Plan workforce programs. The Summit will focus on three major areas of American Rescue Plan investment:

1. Building a Diverse and Skilled Infrastructure Workforce: President Biden and Vice President Harris have launched the Administrations Infrastructure Talent Pipeline Challenge to encourage immediate partnerships by the public and private sectors to ensure we have the diverse and strong workforce needed to help rebuild our infrastructure and supply chains here at home with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Todays session will focus on innovative programs to meet this challenge like the DC Infrastructure Academy, with a special focus on Pre-Apprenticeship programs funded by the American Rescue Plan. Pre-Apprenticeship programs play a critical role in diversifying the talent pipeline by training, placing, and retaining workers through Registered Apprenticeships which the North Americas Building Trades Unions (NABTU) has cited as having a return on investment for employers of as much as $3 for every $1 invested. The session will feature:

2. Strengthening Our Care and Public Health Workforce: The pandemic exposed the fragility and importance of our care economy. As part of an unprecedented commitment to a stronger care workforce, the American Rescue Plan contains significant investments in public health and the care economy that will help provide better pay and career opportunities for care workers and make it easier for workers with child and elder care responsibilities to join and stay in the workforce. U.S. prime-age labor force participation has fallen behind that of its competitors, in part due to lack of family friendly policies. Studies show that access to care can be an important determinant of whether workers are able to join or remain in the labor force. Millions of families rely on paid child and elder care to work, while millions more struggle to afford or find available care. The demand for child and elder care remains high and will only grow, with a projected need for over a million additional home health care workers over the next decade. Studies have shown that quality pathways for nursing aides leads to better outcomes for patients and workers. The American Rescue Plan is helping deliver supports for quality pathways for these essential jobs.The session will feature:

3. Expanding Access to the Workforce for Underserved Populations: American Rescue Plan funds are being used to recruit more Americans facing barriers to employment homelessness, disability, prior criminal justice involvement and giving them pathways into the workforce. More than 600,000 people leave prison every year and confront significant challenges in accessing and sustaining stable, meaningful employment a 2018 study estimated that formerly incarcerated individuals experience an unemployment rate of over 27 percent, exponentially higher than the overall national unemployment rate. Investments in expanding access to the workforce strengthen our economy by increasing labor force participation and tapping into the potential of more Americans, and research shows that certain programs such as comprehensive reentry programs and summer youth employment programs can significantly reduce crime. The session will feature:

To date, the Administration has worked with states, localities, and other American Rescue Plan recipients to identify over $40 Billion in American Rescue Plan funds being utilized to strengthen and expand our workforce:

Over $13 Billion in American Rescue Plan Workforce Investments Committed or Proposed by Over 1,000+ State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Governments.

Over $16 Billion in Medicaid and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Funds for the Care and Healthcare Workforce.

Over $12 Billion in American Rescue Plan Education Funds to Strengthen the K-12 Educator Workforce and Expand Workforce Credentials.

In addition to investments outlined above, over $3 billion in additional, competitively awarded American Rescue Plan funding will be invested in the coming months, including:

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Summaries of American Rescue Plan Best Practices in Workforce Investments Highlighted by State and Local Leaders at White House Summit

1. North Carolina is committing American Rescue Plan funds to address the barriers holding back workers and expand opportunities for careers in high-growth fields offering good wages. Governor Roy Cooper will explain that North Carolina is leading the way with innovative investments to increase compensation for care economy workers and establish and expand work-based learning opportunities in critical sectors. To improve recruitment and retention in care fields, the state is leveraging American Rescue Plan Child Care Stabilization program grants to incentivize and fund increased compensation for tens of thousands of child care workers in the state reducing turnover and increasing the strength of the workforce and investing over $200 Million annually utilizing American Rescue Plan-enhanced Home and Community Based Services funding to increase wages for direct care workers. North Carolina is also using American Rescue Plan resources to establish a new Direct Care Jobs Innovation Fund that will support initiatives that improve recruitment and retention among the direct care workforce, including training opportunities and workforce supports. Further, the state is investing American Rescue Plan funds in key workforce efforts, including establishing work-based learning programs supporting small businesses, helping individuals who are justice-involved or in substance use recovery enter the workforce, as well as filling critical infrastructure and supply chain jobs by investing in expanding truck driver training, apprenticeships in high-demand fields, and a work-based learning program in the construction trades across the NC Community College System.

2. Pennsylvania is delivering historic support to its care and healthcare workforce with American Rescue Plan funds. Governor Tom Wolf will discuss how the state is investing in expanded training and credentialing opportunities for direct care workers across the state, improving retention and quality of care. Using American Rescue Plan-enhanced Home and Community Based Services funds, these initiatives include increasing behavioral health provider rates to support state staff training, education, and recruitment, as well as creating an online education and training portal to strengthen supports to nursing professionals. The state is also delivering $225 Million statewide for healthcare retention and recruitment efforts, including payments to direct care staff as well as expanding a high-demand nurse loan forgiveness program. In addition, the state is providing nearly $190 Million through the American Rescue Plan to support retention bonuses, personnel development, and recruitment efforts for its child care workforce.

Building a Diverse and Skilled Infrastructure Workforce

1. Washington, DC is expanding its DC Infrastructure Academy to fill growing DC infrastructure jobs. Mayor Muriel Bowser will describe the DC Infrastructure Academy, which is a key initiative of her administration, launched in 2018 to meet the need for skilled infrastructure professionals in the District. The school coordinates, trains, screens, and recruits residents to fulfill the needs of the DC infrastructure industry, matching graduates to infrastructure jobs with leading companies in this high-demand field. The city is investing over $4 Million to expand the program in preparation for the coming demand for infrastructure workers as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

2. Los Angeles County, CA is investing $10 Million to bolster High Road Training Partnerships (HRTP) and its Worker Equity Fund.Supervisor Holly Mitchell will describe LA Countys American Rescue Plan investment to enhance training programs in high-demand sectors such as construction, transportation and warehousing, manufacturing, technology, and more with an American Rescue Plan investment in High Road Training Partnerships. Bringing together industry, education and training providers, labor, and community groups, HRTPs focus on building long-term career pathways utilizing pre-apprenticeships and apprenticeships, provide family-sustaining wages, and require deep collaboration between employers, workers, education partners, and the workforce system. The pre-apprenticeship program deploys the Los Angeles-Orange County Building Trades Councils Multi-Craft Core Curriculum and spans 8-10 weeks, and aims to enroll at least 480 individuals in all HRTPs with at least 350 individuals hired in permanent employment. This is part of Los Angeles Countys larger workforce development plan, which includes reducing workforce barriers for youth, enhancing job placement programming for justice-involved individuals and those experiencing homelessness, rapid re-employment, as well as a Worker Equity Fund that provides supportive services and flexible cash assistance for participants in the countys workforce programs to mitigate barriers to successful participation.

3. Franklin County, OH is committing over $11 Million in State and Local funds to support a number of job training assistance programs, including over $2 Million toward the Building Futures Pre-Apprenticeship Program. Commissioner John OGrady will explain the countys investment in Building Futures, a 12-week program designed to help low-income Franklin County residents pursue careers in the skilled construction trades, including electrical work, iron work, carpentry, painting, plumbing, and more, with a focus on recruiting populations that have been historically underrepresented in the trades. More than half of program graduates were TANF-eligible when they first enrolled. Most graduates have gone on to become apprentices and are earning an average wage of over $22 per hour plus benefits with some earning as much as $30 and $40 an hour. The program, which was developed in partnership with the Columbus/Central Ohio Building and Construction Trades Council, Columbus NAACP, and the Columbus Urban League, provides both hard skills training, including safety certification and trade-specific instruction, as well as soft skills training, including interpersonal skills and financial literacy, as well as a weekly $250 stipend. Participants are also eligible to receive supportive services offered through Building Futures in average amounts of $1,500-$2,500, depending on a persons individual needs, to help address barriers like transportation, housing, childcare, and more. At the end of each cohort, participants complete an entrance assessment to progress directly into a Building Trades apprenticeship program. The county also runs an American Rescue Plan-funded Driving Futures program, which fills critically needed positions as licensed drivers in Central Ohios construction industry.

4. Louisville, KY is proposing an expansion of its successful Kentuckiana Builds construction program. Mayor Greg Fischer will explain how he is answering the Presidents call to action on the Talent Pipeline Challenge by proposing American Rescue Plan funds be deployed to expand the citys pre-apprenticeship program, Kentuckiana Builds. The program is run by the Louisville Urban League in partnership with the Carpenters Union. The program helps diverse residents successfully complete a 6-week construction training program, which then provides them access to union apprenticeships in partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Carpenters Union, as well as other basic construction roles. Since its inception, over 350 individuals have graduated from the program into good construction jobs. The proposed American Rescue Plan investment would enable the Kentuckiana Builds pre-apprenticeship program to serve additional participants. Beyond this proposed investment, Louisville has made a number of American Rescue Plan-funded investments in workforce, including a comprehensive reentry program for formerly incarcerated individuals.

5. North Americas Building Trades Unions (NABTU) is working with state and local leaders to promote American Rescue Plan-funded Pre-Apprenticeship Programs as a critical pathway to Registered Apprenticeship Programs that will help fill the increased workforce needs of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. NABTU Special Assistant to the President Melissa Wells will describe how NABTU has closely partnered with state and local governments, construction industry employers, and non-profit organizations to invest American Rescue Plan funds in their Pre-Apprenticeship programs known as Apprenticeship Readiness Programs. This builds on NABTUs work to create over 190 Apprenticeship Readiness Programs across the country in the last fifteen years, which are a pipeline to multi-year Registered Apprenticeship programs. These programs specifically focus on recruiting and training women, people of color, transitioning veterans, and the formerly incarcerated. NABTU operates over 1,600 Registered Apprenticeship training centers in the United States and graduates at least 50,000 apprentices each year with over 80,000 graduated in 2019 alone.

Strengthening Our Care and Public Health Workforce

1. Ramsey County, MN is supporting its care workforce through a $1 Million Public Health Career Pathways program and addressing a shortage of quality child care programs by offering new incentives and supports. Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire will describe Ramsey Countys Public Health Career Pathways program, which will increase the public health workforce and lift up low wage earners by offering careers as a registered nurse or community health worker. Selection priority is given to those who live in Ramsey County, are single parents, receiving public assistance, and/or are a member of an underrepresented group in the public health workforce. The program provides: college preparatory coaching and mentoring; reimbursement of tuition, expenses for transportation and/or child care, and other related academic costs; wages to allow participants to enroll full-time; and paid work time to complete coursework. To bolster the child care workforce, Ramsey County is providing bonuses of $1,000 per year and free professional development training to help providers remain open. Additionally, the county is recruiting additional child care educators in the neighborhoods most affected by the child care shortages, offering the training required to achieve a Child Development Associate credential at no cost. Participants will also receive mentoring support provided by experienced child care educators who currently operate high-quality programs and other necessary support for early childhood educators looking to open child care programs.

2. Erie County, NY used $1.6 Million in American Rescue Plan funds to launch a Healthcare Careers Program. County Executive Mark Poloncarz will explain that the county is providing educational grants for training in high-demand healthcare occupations, such of up to $10,000 per student. Students must be enrolled in an approved occupational program, meet certain income requirements, and must currently earn less than $25 per hour. Students enrolled in the program also receive a transportation allowance, child care assistance, and access to an emergency fund of up to $500 for emergencies. Since the program began in October 2021, more than 320 residents have already enrolled in programs offered by the Countys training partners (including Erie 1 BOCES, Trocaire College, DYouville University, SUNY Erie and Villa Maria College). Given the programs success so far, the county has dedicated additional funding to sustain and expand the program.

3. Manchester, NH is investing $6 Million in a Community Health Worker (CHW) Program. Mayor Joyce Craig will discuss the citys investment in the CHW program. The new team is multicultural and collectively speaks 11 languages, in addition to English (Spanish, French, Nepali, Hindi, Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kurundi, Mandinka, Fula, Wolof, and Yoruba). CHW staff are participating in a CHW Certificate program hosted by the Southern New Hampshire Area Health Education Center. The program will also be working closely with the Harvard School of Public Health to provide occupational health and safety training and technical assistance. CHW staff are proactively working with local community groups and organizations in their assigned neighborhood areas in the City to best serve neighborhood concerns and needs. As this Program is a joint effort between the Manchester Health Department and Manchester Police Department, the two Departments will be creating a structure to support linkages and coordination of efforts across public health and public safety.

4. The Communities RISE Together initiative, supported by WE in the World and the Public Health Institute, is using American Rescue Plan funding to recruit, hire, and train Community Health Workers to work with Black, Native American, Latinx, Asian American/Pacific Islander, immigrant/migrant, and low-income older adult populations in 200+ counties across the country. Director of the Communities RISE Together Initiative at the Public Health Institute Dr. Somava Saha will describe how RISE partners train and engage vaccine ambassadors and promotoras to serve as trusted messengers and connect community members with vaccines and well-being needs, while working to address underlying drivers of health inequities. Together, they have reached over 44 Million people through trusted, often nontraditional, messengers and channels and connected 200,000+ Americans to vaccines and supports like food, rental assistance, and social connection.

5. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) is mobilizing workers across the country to ensure American Rescue Plan funding for HCBS continues to improve conditions for care workers who are 90 percent women and disproportionately women of color and to stabilize and grow the care workforce and expand access to high-quality affordable home and community-based care. SEIU Secretary-Treasurer April Verrett will describe how SEIU and its partners are working together to ensure states are using funds to transform care work into good, union jobs that provide benefits and pay enough to support a family. This will help to create a sustainable care workforce and lift entire families and communities who are supported by care work. SEIU and its partners are also working with states to expand training opportunities to both help existing caregivers build additional skills and develop a pipeline of new workers.

Expanding the Workforce by Helping Americans Overcome Barriers

1. Memphis, TN is investing over $20 Million in workforce programs, with a focus on youth employment particularly for disconnected youth and youth with disabilities. Mayor Jim Strickland will describe the Opportunity R3 (Rethinking, Rebuilding, Rebranding) initiative, established with American Rescue Plan funds, which provides workforce readiness training for disconnected youth ages 16-24. According to one report, the Memphis metropolitan area has among the highest number of disconnected youth in the country, with over one in five youth neither working or in school. The R3 program helps participants develop a career and education plan, and guides participants on issues including job applications and resume work, communication and other soft skills, and financial management. The program also provides broader support to participants, including assisting with opening banking accounts, and has currently seen over 80 percent of graduates stay on track on their career or educational path. Additionally, the city is using American Rescue Plan funds to pilot I Am Included, a program for youth with disabilities. The program helps youth between ages of 14-18 with specific disabilities including those who are deaf and hard of hearing or visually impaired, or with specific learning disabilities and intellectual disorders develop soft and hard skills to prepare for gainful employment and other post-high school options. Topics discussed in the program include financial literacy, personal/professional development, conflict resolution, self-advocacy, goal setting, and mental health awareness. These programs are part of Memphis broader investment in workforce development, which includes several other youth employment training programs.

2. Harris County, TX is committing over $2 Million in American Rescue Plan funds toward Employ2Empower (E2E), a workforce program that employs unhoused individuals living in encampments. Commissioner Adrian Garcia will explain how American Rescue Plan funds have enabled the E2E program to expand from a one-precinct pilot into an expanded county-wide program, which is estimated to serve 160 individuals in four separate cohorts over 12 months. The initial precinct-level pilot compensated participants at $10 per hour, and the expanded E2E program employs these individuals for up to 32 hours a week, at a pay rate of $15 per hour, while providing access to resources to meet their basic needs. The work includes graffiti removal, illegal dumping abatement, and upkeep of public properties. Participants will also work alongside previously unhoused individuals who will serve as their Peer Mentors to provide motivation and support. E2E provides steady income and workforce development training, and connects participants to a pathway to a permanent housing solution, wrap-around services, and additional benefits, including ID services. The program implementation and management utilize inputs from Career and Recovery Resources (CRR), partner organizations, and the Harris County Sheriffs Office. By utilizing lessons learned from the pilot program, the goal is to provide a consistent stabilizing experience for program participants, who require time and intensive support to alleviate the effects of experiencing homelessness. The program is a pre-employment program intended to support individuals in graduating into higher-skilled programs and addresses racial disparities in homelessness and unemployment by reaching out to marginalized groups with 48% of participants being African American.

3. Employ Milwaukee and WRTP|Big Step are deploying American Rescue Plan-funded worker development programs by targeting underserved communities in Wisconsin. Employ Milwaukee CEO Chytania Brown will explain how the local workforce development board, with a $5 Million American Rescue Plan grant from Wisconsin, launched a new Skillful Transitions program aimed at connecting traditionally underserved groups to jobs. The program provides an individualized assessment of skills, experience, and job readiness, and provides job readiness training, skills training, and paid work experience across a variety of sectors, including construction, manufacturing, financial services, healthcare, and more. The program conducts targeted, specialized outreach to at-risk populations, including justice-involved individuals (pre- and post-release), veterans, individuals with disabilities, and human trafficking survivors. Employ Milwaukee also provides wraparound supports and targets high-unemployment and dislocated city residents for its other American Rescue Plan-funded programs, such as a $3 Million investment by Milwaukee into lead abatement certification training where there is an overall goal of serving a majority of people of color with a special emphasis on opportunity youth.

President Lindsay Blumer of WRTP | BIG STEP, a non-profit workforce intermediary in Wisconsin, will describe how her organization has used American Rescue Plan funds to expand the workforce in construction, manufacturing, and adjacent emerging sectors. In three programs funded by Milwaukee and Wisconsins American Rescue Plan dollars which include a manufacturing high school equivalency degree joint pre-apprenticeship, after-school youth construction career exploration and hands-on training, and a community resource navigator program the organization focuses on recruiting those who are underserved or not traditionally represented in these occupations, such as those individuals who are justice-involved, veterans and/or identify as differently abled. Critically, once enrolled, the organization provides a variety of barrier remediation and supportive services, such as food share and child care vouchers, focused mentoring and tutoring, as well as legal support, such as drivers license recovery. The organization directly connects participants with employers for access to family-sustaining waged careers. Close to 100 percent of its participants are considered underserved or traditionally unrepresented, with about 70 percent identifying as people of color and a majority as low-income.

APPENDIX: Additional Examples of States, Cities, Counties, and Community-Based Organizations Using American Rescue Plan Funding to Invest in Our Workforce

Building a Diverse and Skilled Infrastructure Workforce

Strengthening Our Care and Public Health Workforce

A. HOME AND COMMUNITY BASED CARE

B. HEALTHCARE

C. HISTORIC SUPPORT FOR CHILD CARE WORKERS

Expanding Access to the Workforce for Underserved Populations

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FACT SHEET: White House Announces over $40 Billion in American Rescue Plan Investments in Our Workforce With More Coming - The White House

Oil and gas revenues addedmore than $1.7 billion to New Mexico coffers in the first four months of the year more than in any other four-month period in state history.

A lot more.

Records compiled by the New Mexico Tax and Revenue Department show that year-on-year, revenues from January through April more than doubled from $782 million in 2021 itself a record year. (Records lag by two months to allow producers time to report their production numbers.) This money gusher comes from increasing production in New Mexicos portion of the Permian Basin currently themost productive oilfieldon the planet and skyrocketing oil and gas prices brought on by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

This story is by Capital & Main and is republished with permission.

State Sen. George Muoz (D-Gallup), vice chair of the powerful Legislative Finance Committee, says that committee economists peg the states likely take from oil and gas at $5.2 billion for the fiscal year roughly a billion more than last years oil and gas revenue. That tally may rise if world oil prices remain high.

Mountains of money are generally a good thing for anyone, but the unplanned windfall does come with complications. The first is thekindof money brought in by oil and gas production. Roughly speaking, state government views revenues in two ways: as one-time or recurring income. Recurring money remains fairly steady year after year. For example, people will generally remain employed and use their earnings to buy things, making income and sales taxes a reliable source of steady, recurring revenue for the state.However, record-breaking fossil fuel revenue is treated as one-time money: It cant be counted on to repeat, so it cant be used to create new programs, add permanent jobs or increase pay for state employees across the board. One-time money can build police stations and water treatment plants and schools, but it cant pay the people to fill them. And that makes budgeting difficult. When you have that one-time money surpassing recurring money, it becomes a little topsy-turvy, Muoz says. And he says that his committees economists are predicting that that is exactly what is about to happen.

The second problem stems from the first: This is oil money, and oil money has a roller-coaster history and a murky, finite future.

I have ridden the roller coaster, Muoz says. I came in in [2009] where we had to cut a billion dollars out of the budget because fossil fuel production had tanked during the Great Recession. Its not something he wants to do again.

Kelly ODonnell, a New Mexico economist who keeps tabs on the oil and gas industry, agrees that this isnt the states first boom year but that history rarely serves as a guide. New Mexico has had a tendency towards selective amnesia about these things, she says. We are always surprised when the bad times show up. Yet they always do.

To progress economically, over time, we are going to have to get out of this boom-bust resource cycle, she says. When it goes down next time, it may not come back up, and we have to be prepared for that reality.

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New Mexico sits atop half ofthe Delaware Basin, the most lucrative portion of the greater Permian Basin, and the states fossil fuel production continues to grow. New Mexico was the first state to return to and then exceed pre-pandemic oil production levels earlier this year after they cratered in early 2020 as the planet closed down in the face of COVID-19. Nationally, only Texas and the offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexicoproduce more oil.

The Tax and Revenue Departments figures do not account for all oil and gas revenues collected by the state they dont include revenue from federal mineral leases, for example but they do reflect how much is coming in. The total is calculated during the states fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year.

And while oil and gas revenues tallied by Tax and Revenue for the full 2022 fiscal year wont be known for another two months due to the reporting lag, they are already nearly double all of last years take: $3.6 billion this year compared to nearly $2 billion last fiscal year.

A large chunk of the oil and gas tax bonanza will go to long-term economic and social investment, primarily theEarly Childhood Trust Fund. Set up in 2020, the fund invests in the health and education of the states toddlers, with an eye on their and the states future development. If we invest in our people, if we have the workforce ready to attract employers, if we have the schools ready to attract employers over the long term that will improve our situation, says State Rep. Matthew McQueen (D-Galisteo), chair of the House Energy, Environment and Natural Resources committee.McQueen also argues that the windfall should be used to cap abandoned oil and gas wells. We should do that while the money is flowing, he says. When its not flowing, the state can get left holding the bag. And he says that maybe even a higher priority is hiring more oil and gasfield inspectorsat the Oil Conservation Division and Environment Department to find leaks and prosecute offenders. The reason you cap abandoned wells is because of the methane leaks, right? Theyre tied together, he says. But hiring inspectors for more than a year requires long-term funding, not a one-time windfall.

Funding additional oversight programs and positions is unfortunately not ultimately up to the executive, says Nora Meyers Sackett, press secretary to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham. Last year the administration proposed funding for additional regulatory staff at both [the Oil Conservation Division and Environment Department] that were not funded by the Legislature, which does affect the states ability to monitor and enforce pollution regulations.

Sen. Muoz says hes eyeing funding increases for capital projects that were approved last year. All those projects are underfunded, he says, because of recent sharp inflation which is also driven by increasing energy prices. One-time money could cover those increases.

But his ongoing concern is paying state employees a wage that can compete with private-sector jobs. Were going to have to raise those payments in order to recruit engineers, lawyers, those degreed staff to get them back to state work, he says. But once again, that would require recurring money, not one-time oil and gas payouts.

Its like you only get one apple off the tree, Muoz says. And everyone will try to get a bite during New Mexicos notoriouslyshort legislative session. Last years session was 30 days. And though the upcoming session will be twice as long, it still may not be enough time to thoughtfully deal with the complications of this sudden cash infusion. The bigger the budget gets, he says, the harder it becomes to manage.

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I think that theresource cursereally explains a lot of New Mexicos difficulties, ODonnell says. Before going into the private sector and becoming a research professor of economics at the University of New Mexico, she held a number of leadership roles under former Gov. Bill Richardson, including director of state tax policy, deputy cabinet secretary for economic development and superintendent of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department.

The resource curse theory explains why developing countries often underperform when their revenues are based on extractive resources usually fossil fuels. The developing economy relies heavily on the one money stream, both because it is lucrative and because of fears of upsetting the apple cart. Thus, it locks itself into an economic cycle tied to natural resources.

Its becoming increasingly clear to New Mexicans, in the wake of the most recent fires, that climate change is here, and that it has the potential to destroy the state and, really, to destroy the economy, ODonnell says. Putting all of our eggs in the oil and gas basket, to mix a metaphor terribly, becomes increasingly problematic.

A productive industry can and should also be a responsible one, says Meyers Sackett at the governors office. We remain committed to holding those who do not comply with our methane and ozone rules accountable. There is no situation where we will accept anything less than compliance, but there is every opportunity for the industry to exceed our requirements.

I dont care how high oil and gas gets this year, says Lucas Herndon, energy and policy director of ProgressNow New Mexico. I dont care if it stays high this year. I dont even care if it stays high next year. What I can guarantee is that sometime in the next two to five years, oil and gas will crash again.

He says that oil and gas is not a sustainable method for funding the state government. It never has been and it never will be It always goes back down.

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New Mexico's oil and gas revenues are breaking records and complicating budgets - New Mexico Political Report