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

Economists Rethink Minimum Wage

Aug 8, 2006 by Craig Jennings

Ezra Klein, writing on Tapped, points us to this Bloomberg article about an emerging consensus among economists regarding the minimum wage: Aug. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Prominent economists of all ideological persuasions long believed that raising the U.S. minimum wage would retard job growth, creating unintended hardship for those at the bottom of the ladder. Today, that consensus is eroding, and a vigorous debate has developed as some argue that boosting the wage would pull millions out of poverty.

read in full

Senate Defeats Estate Tax Giveaway...Yet Again

The Senate voted last week to reject a tax and wage package dubbed the "trifecta" that would have slashed the estate tax permanently, increased the minimum wage modestly, and extended a broad set of tax breaks. The bill, passed by the House last month, also contained a number of "sweeteners" to entice targeted senators to vote for the bill. "What I will do over the next month [is] assess where America is," Frist said. "And what I would very much like to do or to have happen is ... pressure from the American people. If I felt that, I would use that procedural option in bringing these back."

read in full

Bush, Blacks, and the Estate Tax

Aug 2, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Fantastic op-ed article from William Spriggs, chairman of the economics department at Howard University and former executive director at the National Urban League, on the chutzpah President Bush displayed urging help in repealing the estate tax in front of the NAACP. Spriggs finds Bush's tactics insulting, and pulls no punches in suggesting so:

read in full

Minimum Wage and The Estate Tax: Who Benefits?

Jul 31, 2006 by Craig Jennings

Joel Friedman and Aviva Aron-Dine at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities have put together a great article comparing the benefits of a minimum wage hike and a reduction of the estate tax. [The Economic Policy Institute] estimates that the average yearly wage increase for the 6.6 million workers who would benefit directly from the minimum wage change would total about $1,200. [...]

read in full

The National Debt, Pt. II: Why the National Debt Matters

Jul 28, 2006 by Matthew Madia

In this installment of my series on the national debt I explain why the national debt matters. The U.S. government owes a whole bunch of people a whole lot of money. Is this a problem? Well, like most things macroeconomic, the answer depends. Generally speaking, there are two things about which to be concerned when the federal government carries debt.

read in full

Minimum Wage Bill Moving Through House

Jul 28, 2006 by Craig Jennings

The House is unexpectedly expected to vote on a minimum wage bill today. House GOP members are trying to tie the $2.10 minimum wage hike to a health insurance provision affecting small businesses. There is also speculation that Republicans are going to attempt attaching a permanent estate tax cut to the bill. BNA (subscription required):

read in full

Household Debt: A Growing Challenge for American Families and Federal Policy

Mirroring the federal government's penchant for spending more money than it collects, the American public now has a negative net savings rate. Home prices, medical care, and college tuition are all growing faster than wages, and debt has become increasingly pervasive among American households. These are facts that have not escaped the attention of American consumers, 82 percent of whom now recognize household debt as a serious problem, according to a recent survey sponsored by the Center for American Progress.

read in full

Americans Concerned About Household Debt

Jul 25, 2006 by Craig Jennings

As real wages stagnate and as energy prices continue their steep climb, Americans have reached the bottom of their pockets and have found only credit cards. Going into debt is becoming increasingly common as many Americans see their wages fail to keep pace with inflation.

read in full

Democrats: Responsible for Budget Surplus, Not So Much for Budget Deficits

Jul 20, 2006 by Matthew Madia

In today’s Washington Post, Robert Samuelson chides President Bush for boasting about a $300 billion deficit, but finishes his column by shifting some of the blame for the atrocious fiscal policies of the Republican Congress and President to the Democrats. For fiscal 2006, which ends in September, the administration projects a $296 billion deficit; for fiscal 2007, the estimate is $339 billion. How could anyone boast about that? [...]

read in full

Wealth/Income Trends Reported In Wall Street Journal

Jul 17, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

A great article (sub. required) appeared today in the Wall Street Journal sheading light on another trend that can be seen within the new deficit projections released last week by the administration.

read in full