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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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It's Official: Another Deficit Record Set

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson took time out of his busy schedule nationalizing recapitalizing banks to announce with OMB Director Jim Nussle that the federal budget deficit for FY 2008 was $455 billion or 3.2 percent of GDP. The deficit- a record in nominal dollars -- had been projected by the Congressional Budget Office last week to be $438 billion.

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House Democrats to Begin Crafting Stimulus Package

Following a closed-door meeting with economic experts, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that she is instructing various committee chairs to begin holding hearings on what should be included in an economic stimulus package that could be voted on in Nove

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The Cost of TARP, Dollars and Opportunity

Stan Collender ponders the bottom line of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (AKA "TARP", AKA "Wall Street Bailout", AKA "financial rescue", AKA "Just Trust Us") and what it means for the next administration inthis week's Fiscal Fitness column.

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Commentary: Bailout Package Signed into Law; Economic Stimulus Still Needed

With the enactment of a $700 billion Wall Street bailout, or "financial rescue" package, prospects for success in stabilizing the nation's financial markets remain uncertain. Certain, however, is that deteriorating economic conditions that continue to put Americans on the unemployment rolls will remain unaffected by the implementation of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). And despite over $100 billion in tax cuts included in the package, Congress failed to leverage even modest economic stimulus from the resulting jump in the federal budget deficit. If and when Congress returns to work for a lame-duck session after the elections, it should consider what steps to take next to improve the economy and aid those who have fallen victim to it.

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Congress Enacts Flurry of Legislation at Year's End

Congress tentatively adjourned for the year on Oct. 3 after passing a flurry of legislation to address the financial meltdown, extend expiring tax cuts, provide disaster relief funding, and fund the federal government through March 6, 2009.

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House Approves, Bush Signs Bailout Bill

In a stark reversal of Monday's vote, the House approved the Senate-passed version of a financial market rescue bill.

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Timely CTJ Report Pushes for Reagan Tax Proposal

Citizens for Tax Justice released a timely report yesterday examining the special tax breaks and subsidies that are currently handed out to Wall Street firms (and other companies). One in particular this report dissects is the special low rate on capital gains and dividends.

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FedSpending.org Will Blow Your Mind

Great news from the technology trade pubs today - FedSpending.org has been selected by PC World Magazine as one of the top five sites out there that will raise your political awareness. Woohoo! Below is the screenshot of the article: Read the full article: 5 Sites That Will Boost Your Political Awareness

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Senate Approves Bailout; Cost "Impossible" to Predict

Last night, the Senate approved a financial rescue (or Wall Street bailout) bill, HR 1424, by a 74-25 vote. As we noted yesterday, the package includes not only a provision that grants the Treasury Secretary $700 billion to purchase troubled financial assets, but also a package of tax cuts passed previously by the Senate.

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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