Digital Commons Network^™

Why States Should Now Consider Expanding Sales Taxes To Services, Part 1, Gladriel Shobe, Grace Stephenson Nielsen, Darien Shanske, David Gamage

Articles by Maurer Faculty

States are facing a severe budget crisis as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. And with the federal government unlikely to pass a relief bill to address those state budget issues,1 states will need to play a significant role in making up revenue shortfalls.

This is the first in a three-part series, which is a contribution to Project SAFE: State Action in Fiscal Emergencies. This essay will lay out the general case for why states should consider expanding their sales tax bases to more services as a response to the COVID-19 crisis. The follow-ups will discuss further mechanics and details …

Dean's Desk: Amid Covid-19 Shutdown, Iu Maurer Displays Resilience, Austen L. Parrish

Austen Parrish (2014-2022)

The spring semester is coming to a close in Bloomington, but in ways none of us expected. The COVID-19 pandemic required us to shift to teaching remotely in a matter of days, and all on-campus events — including commencement — have been canceled or postponed. Fortunately, when classes resumed remotely March 30, our students, faculty and staff more than rose to the occasion and pulled together, and the transition has been smoother than expected.

Our community’s resilience and positive attitude through the pandemic have led me to reflect more broadly on the wonderful support — financial and otherwise — we …

Mindsets In Legal Education, Victor D. Quintanilla, Sam Erman

Articles by Maurer Faculty

If you teach 1Ls, you may share the following concern. At the start of each year, we meet enthusiastic and successful students who are passionate about law. They arrive on campus invested in learning, ready to work hard, and eager to participate in class. But trouble brews soon thereafter. Students worry whether they have what it takes to do well, whether they will fit in, and whether they belong in law school. Answering questions in class, many sense (rightly or wrongly) that their professors and peers think that they aren’t smart and that they will not do well. When they …

The Debt Collection Pandemic, Pamela Foohey, Dalie Jimenez, Chris Odinet

Articles by Maurer Faculty

To curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus set to overwhelm the United States' healthcare system, in mid-March 2020, the federal government declared a national emergency. Many states followed suit by implementing shelter-at-home orders and people began social distancing across America. As of this writing, the United States' reaction to the unique and alarming threat of COVID 19 has partially succeeded in slowing the virus's spread. Saving people's lives, however, has come at a severe economic cost. Economic activity plummeted. Unemployment numbers soured to figures not seen since the Great Depression and countless other people saw their income disappear.

Americans' …