Revenue & Spending

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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more news

Everything You Want To Know About Social Security And More

Dec 16, 2004 by Guest Blogger

The Social Security Network, which was first launched in 1997, serves as an important resource for information and research on the Social Security program and the debate about its future. This week they released "Twelve Reasons Why Privatizing Social Security Is A Bad Idea." The report highlights the fact that the creation of personal investment accounts will have drastic consequences on federal revenue reserves, future retirees, and the people who rely on social security benefits the most. The report also includes numerous links to other studies of social security policy.

For an additional analysis of the social security safety net and the implications of reform, check out this article from tompaine.com.

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The Social Security Debate, Continued

Dec 15, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Today is the first day of President Bush's Economic Summit, which will address issues such as budget and tax reform, health care, and social security. Social security has been widely discussed recently, as this administration has made clear their intent on overhauling the program. According to this New York Times article, however, plans to reform social security may result in significant benefits cuts for retirees in the future due to many factors, including the size of transition costs. Bush recently stated that he was opposed to the idea of raising payroll taxes to offset transition costs.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the original proponents of reform, very recently warned however that borrowing the entire sum of transition costs to reform the program would be irresponsible. Because of current budgetary constraints, Graham told Fox News Sunday he supports temporarily lifting the program's tax base, or pushing up the $87,900 cap on personal income subject to Social Security. He said, "I don't think you can make the tax cuts permanent, have alternative minimum tax relief, and borrow the entire transition cost--which is over $1 trillion, and have debts that we can sustain."

To read more about Graham and the social security debate, click here and here.

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Trade Gap Grows Significantly in October

Dec 15, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Yesterday, the government reported that America's trade deficit widened in October at a record monthly rate. BNA news services reported, "A major contributor to the October deterioration in the deficit was the oil import bill, as the price of oil rose 11 percent to a record $41.79 a barrel from $37.62 in September."

The trade gap widened a total of 9 percent from September to October. The deficit in September was $50.9 billion, and the deficit in October was $55.5 billion. The total deficit tally for the first ten months of 2004 was $500.5 billion, which is a significant increase when compared with the deficit tally for all twelve months of 2003, which was $496.5 billion. As a New York Times editorial pointed out today, the United States "is now on track for a trade deficit of more than $60 billion next June."

The continuously high trade deficit is not good news for the return on our dollar. The dollar is currently down 55 percent against the euro, and 22 percent against the yen. To read more about the dollar and the implications of the trade gap, click here. To read about President Bush's latest comments on the current strength (or weakness) of the dollar, click here.

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Watcher: December 14th, 2004

Dec 14, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

Bush Plans Economy, Tax Summit Dec. 15-16
Bush Signs Bill Extending Internet Tax Moratorium
Economy and Jobs Watch: November Numbers Still Lag Behind Need
New York Joins States Raising Minimum Wage
Wealthy Congressmen Support Estate Tax
Congress Strips Offending Tax Provision, Passes Omnibus Bill

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Congress Strips Offending Tax Provision, Passes Omnibus Bill

Last week Congress reconvened for a second lame duck session. They succeeded in stripping controversial tax language from the bill and on Dec. 8 the President finally signed it, officially bringing the much delayed FY 2005 appropriations process to a close. The omnibus bill combines nine appropriations bills Congress was unable to finish working on before the end of the fiscal year, along with thousands of provisions and riders.

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Wealthy Congressmen Support Estate Tax

The estate tax, one of the most progressive tax policies in America, only currently affects the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Yet contrary to personal self interest, many members of Congress are not basing their position on the issue on their own pocketbooks. In his recent article in Tax Notes, Martin Sullivan made the ironic observation that on average, the more wealthy members of Congress, many of whom would be substantially taxed under the estate tax, are fighting the Bush administration’s attempts at repeal.

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New York Joins States Raising Minimum Wage

As the New York Daily News reported last Wednesday, nearly one million New Yorkers work full-time jobs, year round, for poverty level wages. A new New York law may help change conditions for some of these people as New York joined the growing list of states requiring that their workers be paid a minimum wage higher than the level set by the federal government, which is $5.15 an hour.

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Economy and Jobs Watch: November Numbers Still Lag Behind Need

The Bureau of Labor Statistics November Job Report shows a continuing disappointing trend in employment as the nation’s employers added 112,000 jobs in November, far below analyst projections of least 200,000 jobs. This report is a bit of a surprise after the October report showed a strong month with 303,000 jobs added. The 112,000 jobs, about what was added in September this year, is below the approximately 140,000 jobs per month necessary to keep pace with new workers entering the workforce.

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Bush Signs Bill Extending Internet Tax Moratorium

On Dec. 3, President Bush signed the Internet Tax Nondiscrimination Act (S. 150), extending a moratorium on all taxation of Internet access and certain aspects of related electronic commerce through 2007. The bill is a result of a multi-year struggle over policy related to taxing Internet access and the development of broadband services across the United States.

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Bush Plans Economy, Tax Summit Dec. 15-16

The White House will host a two-day summit in Washington, DC, to gather expert opinions on a variety of topics related to the economy, including budget and tax reform, Social Security, extending expiring tax cuts and health care. The Dec. 15-16 summit will solicit input from the business community, including small businesses.

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