New Posts

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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New State Information

National Priorities Project Introduces "Quick Reports"

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September Will be Appropriations Month

Looking foward to a hectic September...

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State Budget Cuts - From the Ridiculous to the Tragic

A random Internet search reveals the extent of state budget cuts -- from the ridiculous to the horrific, from frugal penny-pinching to measures that may be penny-wise but are ultimately pound-foolish.

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States Struggle to Fund Medicaid

Health care for low-income and disabled people is being slashed as states face their third consecutive year of fiscal crisis. In 2003, almost every state legislature cut benefits, eligibility, or payments to health care providers, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In March of 2003, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that based on proposed or recently enacted legislation, 1.7 million people would lose coverage, and many others will lose various health benefits such as prescription drugs, dental, vision, and home health care even though they remain insured.

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Disturbing Pattern Emerging on Government Budget Analyses

When it comes to federal tax and budget policy, it is essential that good forecasts and good estimates exist on the effects of policy options. Unfortunately, the current administration is showing a propensity to conceal and selectively release budget information when it suits their narrow political agenda.

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Nobel Laureate Speaks Out Against Administration's Policies

Nobel Laureate George Akerlof pulls very few punches in a recent interview.

"I think this is the worst government the US has ever had in its more than 200 years of history. It has engaged in extraordinarily irresponsible policies not only in foreign and economic but also in social and environmental policy. This is not normal government policy. Now is the time for people to engage in civil disobedience."

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IRS Revises EITC Certification Program

On August 5, the IRS announced significant changes in its proposed pilot program to require pre-certification of EITC taxfilers. (See previous entry for more information.)

The changes include:

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Revenue Loss and Social Security

Bill Gale notes that the the size of the revenue loss from the recent tax cuts would have been more than enough to shore up Social Secuty and Medicare.

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Watcher Articles

Children Bear Brunt of Federal Tax Cuts

In the absence of federal assistance, childcare, education, and children’s health programs are being slashed across the country despite their popularity and effectiveness.

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Resources & Research

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

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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more resources