November 2011 Blog Archives


Those Automatic Cuts Triggered by the Super Committee

 Last week I wrote about how automatic, across-the-board cuts scheduled to take effect in 2013 may never take place—because a new Congress can choose not to uphold budget cuts legislated by our current Congress.  But it’s also worth asking, if the next Congress does uphold these automatic cuts, called “sequestration,” ...

Data Story: Federal Work-Study and Sequestration

This data story looks at the effect of sequestration on the federal work-study program.


Announcing Per Capita Spending Data

We’re happy to announce that our expenditure datasets now include per capita numbers. In other words, you can see the amount of money spent for each person who lives in a state or county. Why is this important? Below is a map of federal food stamp spending in FY 2010. ...

Goodbye to All That: Super Committee Fails (But it might not matter)

November 23rd is the deadline for the super committee, officially named the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. They’ve all but announced failure to come up with even $1 of their $1.2 trillion deficit reduction task. Since the creation of the super committee, we’ve been hearing there would be automatic, ...

Data Story: LIHEAP and Sequestration

Our latest data story focuses on LIHEAP, one of many programs that would see reduced funding if sequestration goes into effect.


Let's Make a Deal – Or Not

With its Nov. 23 deadline looming, members of the congressional “Super Committee” have a range of options as they try to find at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade. Here are some of the possibilities:A Grand Bargain:  President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner tried negotiating ...

Budgeting by CR – Déjà Vu All Over Again

Just like last year, the new fiscal year began on October 1, 2011 with no federal budget in place. And just like last year, the U.S. government is being funded through a Continuing Resolution (CR) – temporary spending legislation that provides funding at current levels for any federal agency whose ...

Data Story: Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)

This data story compares the health insurance coverage rate of children under 18 and adults in the 18 to 64-year-old category.


New Study: Income Gap Grows

According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) between 1979 and 2007 income for the top 1 percent of households grew by 275 percent. The next 19 percent of households saw their income grow by 65 percent. Income grew 40 percent for the next 60 percent of households. The bottom 20 ...

Updated Data: Health Insurance Coverage

Health insurance coverage data has been updated. The Children's Health Insurance and People's Health Insurance datasets are now current through 2010.