State Budgets

Six Charts Explain How Workers’ Compensation Is Deteriorating

Mar 30, 2015 by Jessica Schieder

Workers’ compensation is a state-based government program that has protected American workers for close to a century. Throughout the early part of U.S. history, injured workers were taken care of by the communities they were a part of: churches, worker’s benevolence associations, neighbors, or extended family. But when workplace deaths and injuries soared during the industrial revolution, government stepped in to help.

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State and Local Taxes Fall More Heavily on Lower-Income Americans

Jan 27, 2015 by Jessica Schieder

The wealthiest one percent of households – those with an annual income of at least $419,000 a year – pay half the tax rate of households earning less than $18,000, a new report by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) shows. Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the Tax Systems in All 50 States, which examines tax rates at the state and local levels, concludes: the lower one’s income, the higher one’s overall effective (actual) state and local tax rate.

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Economic Costs of Inaction Should Make State Aid a No-Brainer for Congress

Jun 15, 2010 by Gary Therkildsen*

Does this adequately convey the allusion to a 'no-brainer'?

In a post this morning on his Beat the Press blog, Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) economist Dean Baker makes an interesting point when he laments the one-sided economic reporting on President Obama's recent request for quick action on several economic stimulus measures languishing in Congress. While the president's demand would add nearly $80 billion to budget deficits over the next decade, inaction on these aid measures will likely reduce gross domestic product (GDP) by $120 billion and eliminate 800,000 jobs.

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CBPP: States May Soon Resemble Bartertown in Mel Gibson Sci-Fi Classic

Jul 24, 2009 by Gary Therkildsen*

Here's a shock: state budgets are not doing so good. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) released a report today cataloging the gory details.

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Watcher: November 2, 2004

Nov 2, 2004 by Guest Blogger

Federal Budget

Election Day Ballot Initiatives Could Affect State and Local Tax Policy
Completing Appropriations to Dominate Lame Duck Session
Upcoming 2006 Budget Process Portends Deep Discretionary Cuts

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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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California Nonprofits Caught in Revenue Squeeze

The California Association of Nonprofits (CAN) recently completed a study of the impact on nonprofits of funding cutbacks in California. In the report "Holes in the Safety-net: Study of Funding Cutbacks and Safety-net Nonprofits in California," CAN found that a wide range of nonprofits in the state are squeezed between revenue reductions and increased demand for services.

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