Inequality and Poverty

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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more news

Economy and Jobs Watch: Political Business Cycle?

Economy and Jobs Watch Update

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Sep 11, 2003 by Guest Blogger

Paul Krugman talks about the deficit and economic policy in an interview with Buzzflash.

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Sep 9, 2003 by Guest Blogger

Cost of War .com

The President is asking for an additional $87 billion for Iraq. 87 billion is in some ways an inconceivably large number. CostofWar.com is tracking the ongoing cost of war/reconstruction in Iraq and translating the numbers into forgone opportunities. For example - well over 1 million four-year college scholarships could be funded with the current war costs.

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New Watcher Articles

Sep 9, 2003 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - The Watcher - September 8, 2003 Vol.4 No.18 -

Federal Budget Watcher Articles:

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Foundation Expenses, Charitable Giving to be Debated in the House

Should foundation administrative expenses count toward their required annual 5 percent “payout,” or should only grants count? A controversial provision of the Charitable Giving Act (H.R. 7) eliminates all administrative expenses from the payout requirement, and will be debated at a mark-up scheduled for Tuesday, September 10 in the House Ways and Means Committee.

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Cost of the War

A "Cost of the War" counter constantly updates the rising costs of the war in Iraq and compares the cost to what could be accomplished in pre-school, kids' health, public education, college scholarships, energy independence and public housing. There is also a pull down chart that breaks out costs and comparisons of selected counties and cities in the US. (Java is required to run the counter correctly).

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Appropriations Update

Following are some issues of interest that have risen during the FY 2004 appropriations process.

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A Guide to Block Grant Proposals

The Coalition on Human Needs has developed a "Block Grant Chart."

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Poverty is Growing in the United States

Poverty rates are rising according to new figures by the U.S. Census Bureau.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Outlook

The nation’s job market continues to struggle. In August, even though the unemployment rate improved slightly – falling from 6.2 to 6.1 percent – payroll employment fell by 93,000 jobs.

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