dispatches from the new world of work

Laboratory of the States!

Thank God for Federalism! The Power of the "Laboratory of the States" is often underrated in an increasingly DC-centric nation. Thus I was delighted to see the following headline in yesterday's Boston Globe: "Stem Cell Bill Tops Agenda As Legislature Convenes." Massachusetts is heavily life sciences dependent ... and has no intention of passively slipping behind California, which passed (with the Republican Governator's strong support) a $3 billion stem cell research initiative in November. So while Washington kowtows to Jerry Falwell, the States, in direct competition with one another, experiment & legislate their 50 individual ways forward. California, which claims one out of every four public biotech companies within 35 miles of a UC (public!) campus, is back (!) and has been piling it on lately ... with leadership in tort reform, environmental protection, a minimum wage boost, etc.

BTW, the CA-MA initiatives are overdue if you subscribe to the recent BusinessWeek headline: "ASIA IS STEM CELL CENTRAL." Remember: This is the Life Sciences Century!

Tom Peters posted this on 01/07/05.

Comments

I'm thankful for Federalism too. I wonder though...we still seem to be spending all of our time and money trying to cure the disease and not the human, the cell and not the pain, the "it" and not the "who." I am all for research and discovery, but we continue to leave out the primary driver, the person and the true reason for disease, emotions. oh wait..isn't that marketing too, isn't that life, my oh my the connections.

Posted by Wendy at January 8, 2005 5:07 PM

Have you ever noticed that the same people who are against stem cell research are those who refuse to believe in the dangers of global warming? Excuse me for generalizing, but I think it's mostly true. Why?

Posted by Steve Yastrow at January 8, 2005 7:33 PM

I'll take a stab at it... I think it is because both stem cell research and global warming go right at the heart of scarcity / fear of life issues for humans and most [emotionally unhealthy] people think that there are only 2 scenarios - either/or - and they choose themselves out of fear. They don't see that there is the possibility for both/neither or for you and God succeed together, that God succeeds when you succeed. I think Christianity teaches people to be fearful instead of hopeful. We are the fingertips of God in the end. We both win as a team. ...I think it as simple as that.

Posted by Wendy at January 8, 2005 10:32 PM

Minimum boosts don't always help states. Everyone wants to see workers make enough money to live on. However, when states get ahead of the Washington on the minimum wage, the states are shooting everyone in their state in the foot. In NY they've just raised the minimum wage. It will go up in stages to about $7. The Earned Income Credit on your Federal Tax Return effectively gives minimum wage earners $7.83 per hour. So NY minimum wage earners will receive a smaller amount of their $7.83 from Washington, and more from their employer. It's hard to get some of the money you send to Washington back if you pass laws like that.

Posted by Stephen Geissler at January 10, 2005 7:30 PM