Income, Poverty Stats: Two Tales of the Economy

Aug 29, 2006 by Craig Jennings

This morning, the Census Bureau released its report, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005. Nationally, 2005’s 1.1 percent increase marked the first time that real median household income showed an improvement since 1999. The poverty rate remained statistically unchanged from 2004, which marked the end of four consecutive years of increases. That’s one tale of the economy. But, as OMB Watch noted yesterday, the raw numbers are misleading unless historical benchmarks are taken into account. The economic tale that does so is not as sanguine.

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EPI's "The State of Working America"

Aug 29, 2006 by Craig Jennings

Coming soon... On Labor Day 2006, the Economic Policy Institute releases its advance edition of The State of Working America 2006/2007.

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I'll have the cancer-flavored soft drink, please.

Aug 29, 2006 by Guest Blogger

Just another reason to lay off the soda pop. Parents recently filed suit against Coca-Cola asking that the company eliminate ingredients from their products that can form the known-carcinogen benzene. From Consumer Reports: Also on Friday, a lawsuit over benzene was settled involving two smaller companies, Atlanta-based Zone Brands Inc. and Preston, Wash.-based Talking Rain Beverage Co., according to news reports. The companies reportedly denied that their products caused harm, but they had already agreed to change their ingredients.

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Secret Hold Update

Aug 29, 2006 by Matthew Madia

TMPmuckraker has a handy-dandy tally of senators who have been cleared of being the secret holder. Their tally includes senators cleared by Porkbusters, GOP Progress, and TPMmuckraker. It also includes a list of senators who have refused to answer queries about the hold or who have not issued a denial.

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Bush Seeing Colors on the Estate Tax?

Aug 29, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

In his speech (text; video) to the NAACP last month, President Bush implied that the estate tax discriminates against black entrepreneurs. Darius Ross, himself a black entrepreneur, shredded that absurd, if not vaguely racist, hypothesis in an incisive TomPaine.com commentary last week. Ross cites a stat suggesting that the estate tax may actually be roughly ten times more burdensome on whites: “The median net worth of African American households was $19,024, compared to $120,989 for whites in 2001,” he writes.

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A Victory for Wildlife

Aug 29, 2006 by Guest Blogger

From Earthjustice: A federal judge ruled that the Bush administration "plainly violated" the Endangered Species Act when it issued a regulation that eliminated reviews of new pesticides by federal wildlife biologists.

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New Lows

Aug 29, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Via Kevin Drum, we may now know why CBO found an unexpected drop in Medicare spending this year. Actual spending hasn't gone down. Rather, the Bush administration is waiting until next fiscal year to pay some of its bills from this year. That way, some of the spending on services performed this year will get counted in the FY07 budget. And when the CBO puts out its FY07 budget projection, there'll be no pesky election to worry about. Here's an excerpt from a great article on the scheme, from Barron's (sub. req'd).

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Mystery Senator Update

Aug 28, 2006 by Matt Lewis

Last week we told you about efforts to smoke out the senator who has put a "secret hold" on a bill that would create a free, searchable database continuing information on all contracts and grants awarded by the federal government. Today, TPMmuckraker updates us with the latest. They are reporting, based on reponses from thier readers, that as of this afternoon, 50 senators have denied putting a hold on the bill.

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2005 Income, Poverty Stats Due Out Tomorrow

Aug 28, 2006 by Adam Hughes*

Tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., the Census Bureau will release its annual report card on the nation's economic well-being, with a consolidated report on personal income, poverty health insurance coverage and other data for 2005. Last year, the New York Times reported, was the first time on record that household incomes failed to increase for five straight years. Median pretax income, $44,389, was at its lowest point since 1997, after inflation. And OMB Watch noted that poverty rose for the fourth straight year. Will these sad trends continue?

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NYT Articles on Suspected Foreign Charities in London Terrorist Plot

Aug 28, 2006 by Kay Guinane

More articles about the possible role of British and Pakistani charities in the recent London terrorist plot can be found at
  • Airplane Terrorism Case Prompts Quesitons About the Work of Islamic Charities New York Times Aug. 24, 2006
  • British Study Charitable Organization for Links to Plot New York Times Aug. 25, 2006

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