March 2012 Blog Archives


Updated Data: WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children)

WIC participation and benefits are now current through 2011.


Data Wednesday: Normalization Wrap-Up

This is the latest entry in NPP’s weekly Data Wednesday series, a getting-started guide to NPP’s Federal Priorities Database. All previous posts are archived here. Back in February, we introduced data normalization. The bottom line: it’s hard to compare data across time and geographies accurately unless that data is normalized. ...

You Ask, We Answer: How Much Aid Do We Give Foreign Countries?

Kris from Concord, California, wrote in to ask how much aid the United States gives to foreign countries. Foreign aid and diplomacy together comprise around 1 percent of the federal budget, or $56 billion in President Obama’s 2013 budget request. That money goes toward global poverty alleviation, including a contribution ...


Celebrating the Life and Work of Greg Speeter

On Saturday, March 3, 2012, 350 people packed the Haydenville Congregational Church to celebrate the life and work of National Priorities Project founder Greg Speeter. As a husband, father, brother, mentor, friend, and force-of-nature-community-organizer, Greg touched the lives of people in every corner of our nation. During the service, led ...


Priority Number Two: Cut Spending

In a recent blog my colleague Mattea noted that a February poll by the Hill of likely voters found that the top priority for 45 percent of respondents was "job creation." In close second, with 40 percent, was "cutting spending." Support for cutting government spending is certainly the result of ...

Data Wednesday: Per Capita

The latest Data Wednesday explains what per capita data is, how it's calculated, and why you'd want to use it. Using food stamp spending as an example, we see how per capita spending figures are useful when comparing numbers between states.


Primary Stakes: Tale of Two Super Tuesday States

The presidential election is about voters’ vision for how the federal government should serve the American people. National Priorities Project’s Primary Stakes series examines how residents of primary states currently rely on assistance from the federal government, and two Super Tuesday states illustrate that support from the federal government—and taxes ...

You Ask, We Answer: Is Social Security Part of the Federal Budget?

Many of our Facebook fans have been asking why National Priorities Project includes Social Security in charts about federal spending. If Social Security is funded by a dedicated source—your payroll taxes, also called FICA—then shouldn’t Social Security be shown separately from other kinds of federal spending? Most of the cost ...


Budget Brief - Job Creation in the Budget

Senior research analyst Mattea Kramer looks through the President's budget proposal to find out what is designated for job creation.     Want to make sure you don't miss any of our videos? Subscribe to NPP's YouTube Channel!


Priority Number One: Job Creation

Likely voters said their top priority for President Obama’s 2013 budget was job creation, according to a poll conducted last month by The Hill. The president released his fiscal 2013 budget on Feb. 13, and it includes around $350 billion for job creation, including money for jobs in the short-term, ...