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Source: R. Sam Garrett, Congressional Research Service, R41054, February 1, 2010

From the summary:
Following the Supreme Court's January 21, 2010, ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, questions have emerged about which policy options could be available to Congress. This report provides an overview of selected campaign finance policy options that may be relevant. It also briefly comments on how Citizens United might affect political advertising. A complete understanding of how Citizens United will affect the campaign and policy environments is likely to be unavailable until at least the conclusion of the 2010 election cycle.

If Congress pursues additional legislation, at least two broad choices could be relevant. First, Congress could provide candidates or parties with additional access to funds to combat corporate influence in elections. Second, Congress could restrict spending under certain conditions or require those making expenditures post-Citizens United to provide additional information to voters or regulators. Options within both approaches could generate substantial debate. Some may contend that the only way to provide Congress with the power to directly affect the content of the ruling would be to amend the Constitution.

Bills introduced as of this writing that may be relevant for legislative responses to Citizens United include, but are not necessarily limited to H.J.Res. 13, H.J.Res. 68, H.R. 158, H.R. 1826, H.R. 2056, H.R. 3859, H.R. 4487,H.R. 4511, H.R. 4517, H.R. 4522, H.R. 4523, H.R. 4527, H.R. 4537, H.R. 4540, S. 752, S. 2954, and S. 2959. Given the pace of developments since the ruling, this report is not intended to be exhaustive. Relevant legislation that has been introduced thus far is reflected through selected examples. Additional legislation will be included in future updates. This report is not intended to provide a legal analysis of Citizens United or of legal issues that might affect the policy options discussed here. CRS Report R41045, The Constitutionality of Regulating Corporate Expenditures: A Brief Analysis of the Supreme Court Ruling in Citizens United v. FEC, by L. Paige Whitaker discusses legal aspects of the decision.
See also:
Life After Citizens United
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, February 18, 2010

Source: Katherine Baicker, David Cutler and Zirui Song, Health Affairs, published online January 14, 2010
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
Amid soaring health spending, there is growing interest in workplace disease prevention and wellness programs to improve health and lower costs. In a critical meta-analysis of the literature on costs and savings associated with such programs, we found that medical costs fall by about $3.27 for every dollar spent on wellness programs and that absenteeism costs fall by about $2.73 for every dollar spent. Although further exploration of the mechanisms at work and broader applicability of the findings is needed, this return on investment suggests that the wider adoption of such programs could prove beneficial for budgets and productivity as well as health outcomes.

Source: Connie Clem, American Jails, November/December 2009

The author contacted jail administrators across the U.S. asking what their agencies were doing to cope with decreased funding amidst economic troubles. This article shares their thoughts. Strategies for cutting costs are provided for the physical plant, operations, inmate programs and services, personnel, and population management. Ideas are also given for revenue options, making a plan to address cost savings, and the importance of public stewardship.

Source: Monika Bauerlein and Clara Jeffery, Mother Jones, Vol. 35 no. 1, January-February 2010

More than a year later, has anybody been brought to account for crashing our economy? Don't be silly.
See also:
Moral Bankruptcy, By Joseph E. Stiglitz
Moguls without morals: Time for a market correction.

Thank You, Sir. May We Have Another?, By David Corn
The bailout made Americans hopping mad. So why aren't we furious at the fat cats who caused it?

Always Be Foreclosing, By Andy Kroll
Homeowners' pain is shady mortgage middlemen's gain.

Capital City, By Kevin Drum
It's hard to kick the finance lobby off the Hill when they own the place.

Faces of Greed: Meet the Madoff Minions, By Erin Arvedlund
Bernie Madoff claims he acted alone. Riiiiight.

Source: Emily Silverman, The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, Vol. 22 no. 4, 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
The purpose of this paper is to provide suggestions for communicating library needs and opportunities to prospective donors. The paper discusses and gives examples of outreach communications that can inspire support. The paper proposes that fundraising opportunities can be communicated and enhanced through a variety of methods.

Source: Tina Keresztury, The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, Vol. 22 no. 4, 2009
(subscription required)

From the abstract:
The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how statewide advocacy and advocacy planning can effectively ward off major threats to library funding. The paper presents a case study of New Jersey advocacy efforts when faced with proposed legislation to halve the minimum mandated funding for public libraries in the state. The paper describes various advocacy strategies. The advocacy process has had encouraging results, although the threat of funding cuts remains. The case study demonstrates that creating a statewide task force to focus on advocacy and other advocacy strategies can be effective in thwarting legislative efforts to reduce library funding.

Source: Christine M. Keller, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, November 2009

From the press release:
Strategic reviews of core activities are underway or planned by two-thirds of the nation's public research universities according to a survey of chief academic officers by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (A۰P۰L۰U). The survey focused on depth of budget cuts, strategies to close deficits, and impact on institutions and students at the nation's 188 public research universities.

Overall, the picture painted by survey respondents is dreary, with 85 percent of institutions reporting a decrease in state appropriations and nearly one-half of institutions experiencing cuts of 10 percent or greater. Sixty institutions from 32 states reported a decrease in state appropriations averaging 11.4 percent, but ranging from 5 to 20 percent. Nine institutions located in six states reported increases in state appropriations averaging 3 percent.

Source: Committee for Education Funding, 2009

Welcome to the Committee for Education Funding's Appropriation's Tracker. Below you'll find 3 features:

1. Appropriations Charts: Click on any of the buttons below to see the amount of funding Congress appropriated to the type of education policy that interests you most. The charts span from Fiscal Year 2001 to Fiscal Year 2009.

2. Full-Funding Gauges: A bill is considered to be fully funded when the House and Senate appropriation subcommittees spend as much money as the House and Senate authorization committees allow. The gauges below will show the percentage of the money Congress said it will spend if the current (Fiscal Year 2010) appropriations bill passes unchanged.

3. A Discretionary Appropriations Graph: See the U.S. Department of Education's funding over the past 9 fiscal years. Click on the graph to access the spreadsheets from which the charts were created.

Source: Land & Water Conservation Fund Coalition, 2009

The LWCF is the principal source of funds to purchase land for national parks, national wildlife refuges, national forests, and other federal areas. The program has helped protect some of America's most treasured assets including Grand Canyon National Park, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, White Mountain National Forest, and portions of America's first national wildlife refuge, Pelican Island.

Despite LWCF's strong track record of success over the past 44 years, the program faces enormous challenges. Lands with significant historic, cultural, and wildlife values are rapidly being converted to other uses. Factors that are responsible for this trend include increasing land values, population growth, and the development of the rural-urban fringe. Yet, in the face of escalating development pressures, funding for the LWCF has declined precipitously in the past seven years. Authorized at $900 million annually, this level has been met only once. The recorded balance in offshore oil revenues credited to, but not appropriated from, the LWCF is approaching $17 billion. LWCF funding for federal land acquisition has dropped from $445 million in Fiscal Year 2001 to $130 million in Fiscal Year 2008.

Source: John N. Berry III, Library Journal, September 15, 2009

Threatened cuts and partial restorations point out the ambiguous politics of library funding.

Hard times bring out the ambiguity in politics. Except for fiscal extremists, most politicians in North America want to support their libraries. When LJ planned to name the heroes and villains in the politics of library funding, we rediscovered that politics just isn't that simple.

We learned that it is a bad idea for library advocates and political strategists to label even what seem to be the most offensive politicians as villains. Library advocates are understandably constrained from getting angry. Attacking a politician rarely changes his or her mind, and after you have done it, negotiating with that person for library support is nearly impossible.