Spending Transparency

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

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...

read in full

more news

Economy and Jobs Watch: Steady Job Growth Threatened by Higher Oil and Gas Prices

The number of new jobs created in May declined to a steady 248,000, according to the Department of Labor. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.6 percent. This data reinforces the past two months' data and shows that the labor market continues to tread water - much higher jobs numbers will be necessary to bring the unemployment rate down.

read in full

Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation

Jun 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - Economy and Jobs Watch: Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation at 38-year Lows

read in full

Economy and Jobs Watch: Major Cuts to Domestic Services are on the Horizon

The White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has instructed government agencies to plan for cuts to a wide range of domestic programs. In a memo dated May 19, 2004, (download pdf), the White House told agencies to prepare their budgets for fiscal year (FY) 2006 consistent with the FY 2005 budget proposal -- specifically, to "[a]ssume accounts are funded at the 2006 level specified in the 2005 Budget database." The database refers to the

read in full

Economy and Jobs Watch: Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation at 38-year Lows

Recent data show a major shift in the balance between corporate income and labor compensation. As a share of the economy labor compensation has not been this low in almost 40 years (since 1966), and after-tax corporate profits are at the highest levels ever recorded by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

read in full

Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Struggling to Recover

Employment increased by a steady 288,000 jobs in April, the Department of Labor announced earlier this month. The unemployment rate remains steady at 5.6 percent as well.

read in full

National Income share

May 7, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Recent data show a major shift in the balance between corporate income and labor compensation. As a share of the economy labor compensation has not been this low, and after-tax corporate profits have not been this high in (at least) 25 years.

Source: National Economic Trends (St. Louis Fed)

read in full

Deeper into Debt

May 5, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The new request for military funding will put us another $25 billion in debt - still no revenue solution in sight.

read in full

Economy and Jobs Watch: GDP Up, But Risks Remain

Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by a 4.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This is about the same as the 4.1 percent rate from the last quarter of 2003, and shows the economy growing at a steady, if not exceptionally strong, rate. However, forecasters had expected growth to come in at a stronger 5 percent rate.

read in full

Will There Be a Budget Resolution?

"Paygo" rules, once a little-known budget technicality, are now proving to be the main impediment in reaching a budget resolution for FY 2005, which begins on October 1, 2004.

read in full

Watcher Newsletter - April 20, 2004

Apr 20, 2004 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - The Watcher - April 19, 2004 Vol.5, No.8 -

read in full

Pages

more resources

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

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

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

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

Economy and Jobs Watch: Steady Job Growth Threatened by Higher Oil and Gas Prices

Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation

Jun 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Economy and Jobs Watch: Major Cuts to Domestic Services are on the Horizon

Economy and Jobs Watch: Corporate Profits at Record Highs, While Labor Compensation at 38-year Lows

Economy and Jobs Watch: Employment Struggling to Recover

National Income share

May 7, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Deeper into Debt

May 5, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Economy and Jobs Watch: GDP Up, But Risks Remain

Will There Be a Budget Resolution?

Watcher Newsletter - April 20, 2004

Apr 20, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Pages

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

Citizen Health & Safety Topics

Recent Reports

Living in the Shadow of Danger: State Scorecards

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us