Federal Budget Policy

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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CBO Updates Budget Estimates: Massive Deficits to Grow

The Congressional Budget Office today released its semi-annual update on the nation's budget situation. The report confirms massive deficits for the current year and beyond. In addition, the report shows that deficits will not be "cut in half" in the next five years, as projected by the Bush administration.

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CBO Confirms Record Deficits

Sep 7, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The CBO today released its semi-annual budget update. The report confirms record deficits of $422 billion for 2004.

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Watcher: August 24, 2004

Aug 27, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

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Poverty on the Rise

Aug 26, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Census Bureau today released updated income and poverty data. The news is not good.

Among the findings:

"Real median household money income did not change from 2002 to 2003.1
...the share of aggregate income received by the lowest 20 percent of households had a slight reduction â€“ from 3.5 percent to 3.4 percent.
The ratio of female-to-male earnings in 2003 for full-time, year-round workers was 76 percent, a decline from 77 percent in 2002, because of a decline in the earnings of female year-round full-time workers.
The official poverty rate rose, from 12.1 percent in 2002 to 12.5 percent in 2003. The number in poverty increased also, by 1.3 million people, to 35.9 million in 2003.2.
The poverty rates for people 18 to 64 and those 65 and older remained unchanged, but the poverty rate for children rose from 16.7 percent in 2002 to 17.6 percent in 2003."

See the full report from the Census Bureau.

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Recent Trends in Nonprofit Employment and Earnings 1990-2004

Aug 24, 2004 by Guest Blogger

New Report: "Recent _fcksavedurl=>"Recent Trends in Nonprofit Employment and Earnings: 1990-2004" This report examines the recent history of employment and compensation trends in the nonprofit sector, from 1990 to 2004. It finds that while the nonprofit sector held up well in the 2001 recession and its recent aftermath, the more recent experience has been troubling. Employment growth has come to a near standstill over the past year. In addition, and perhaps more troubling, there have been declines in average hours worked, weekly earnings, and hourly wages. Data on individual states also confirm the general nationwide pattern. Read More.

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Recent Data Shows Decline in Nonprofit Employment, Earnings

On August 19, OMB Watch released a new report, "Recent Trends in Nonprofit Employment and Earnings: 1990-2004," which examines the recent history of employment and compensation trends in the nonprofit sector. It found that while growth in nonprofit employment continued during the 2001 recession and immediately after, it stalled over the past year, with significant declines in average hours worked, weekly earnings, and hourly wages. Data on individual states reflect this nationwide pattern.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Tax Cuts Go Mostly to the Rich

The Congressional Budget Office has released a new study detailing the impact of recent tax changes on various income levels. The bottom line: The very, very wealthy made out very, very well.

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Tax cut distribution

Aug 13, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Congressional Budget Office released a new study today detailing the impact of recent tax cuts on various income levels. Bottom line - the very, very wealthy made out very, very well.

From the New York Times:

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Watcher: August 10, 2004

Aug 10, 2004 by Guest Blogger

OMB Watch - The Watcher - August 9, 2004 Vol.5, No.16 -

Federal Budget

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Economy and Jobs Watch: Economy Shows Signs of Weakness under Pressure

Two recent economic reports on jobs and gross domestic product (GDP) indicate that the economy is showing some signs of weakness. The economy will begin to be under increasing pressure from higher oil prices, rising interest rates, and a ballooning deficit. Over the period from 2004 to 2009, the White House projects that $1,727 billion will be added to the federal debt -- and this projection does not include many policy proposals favored by the President and many in Congress which would increase the deficit even more.

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