Budget Matters Blog

Kiki McClean, No Labels co-founder/ Photo by No Labels

This country is desperately in need of facts. That was the overwhelming message I took away from two exciting things that happened last week. First, there was a national conference for No Labels, an organization committed to getting beyond political party affiliation in order to support real problem solving in Washington. The second event was at the New York Public Library, Mid-Manhattan branch, where I spoke about A People's Guide to the Federal Budget.

"Congress is a fact-free zone," said Rep. Peter Welch (D-VT), one of a dozen members of ...

Lila Carpenter is from Belfast, Maine. She's starting her first year at New York University, where she'll be studying political science.

I used to be oblivious to the inner workings of my pay stub, and how the taxes I pay are used by the federal government. As a recent high school graduate, working two jobs and preparing for college, reading A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget has been a real eye-opener. As I prepare to vote for the first time this fall, and enter into college as a political science major, I am more aware of ...

What kind of country do you want to live in?

That's a question I'll be asking Colorado residents on Sept. 4th and 5th when I have the honor of speaking at the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver and the Boulder Book Store in downtown Boulder. We'll be talking about A People's Guide to the Federal Budget and how our elected officials are faced with decisions that will shape this country for years to come. That makes the federal budget the top election-year issue and it means it's absolutely crucial that voters are informed when ...

We just discovered that the book-sharing site GoodReads has some great discussion about A People's Guide to the Federal Budget. Here's what a young person by the name of Chris Byron had to say about our book, along with his four-out-of-five star rating:

This is the type of book that puts college text books to shame. Studying the federal budget, the tax system, tax rates, interest rates, appropriation of taxes, and budget legislation, could take three-four months, require testing, memorization, etc. Or, from now on, the reader can buy this book, and have most of the mentioned materials ...

Bob Dylan once said, "Money don't talk, it swears!" While it's easy to curse the budgetary decisions made by lawmakers, we often don’t realize how incredibly complicated the process is.

I've been reading A People's Guide to the Federal Budget, and though we as Americans may disagree with lawmakers about decisions made in the federal budget process, A People's Guide explains how lawmakers and the president work together through a process of checks and balances. And the book points out lots of opportunity for regular people to get in touch with lawmakers to make ...

Have you ever felt confused when hearing about the federal budget? Do you feel that the frequent debates in Washington about deficit and spending are complex, and you wish you understood them? Then A People’s Guide to the Federal Budget is the book for you.

The book is written in very simple language, making it accessible for the average reader with no previous knowledge of the federal budget.  And as a matter of fact, I was surprised to see how much I had learned in the first two chapters, where the authors explained common misconceptions related to federal spending ...

As I travel with candidates to meet voters across the state of Maine, I see people who disconnect from politics because they are overwhelmed and confused by the political landscape. Because of that confusion, I find that most people retreat from discussions about budget priorities – on the state and federal levels – and pass up opportunities to advocate for themselves and their families. Even as so many people need and benefit from government services, most are confused by budget terms from appropriations and outlays to mandatory versus discretionary spending.

As I read A People's Guide to the Federal Budget, I ...

Recently the notion of the "debt ceiling" has been appearing in the news. It's making a comeback after spending months in the spotlight last summer, when the federal government nearly shut down as federal debt reached the legal limit. (Lawmakers ultimately raised the limit in the eleventh hour.) Currently, it is projected that the federal debt will hit the new debt ceiling sometime before the end of 2012. To once again avoid a government shutdown, lawmakers will again have to raise the debt ceiling, which is now set at $16.4 trillion.

Sound a little complicated? It just so ...

National Priorities Project is thrilled to announce the release of our new book, A People's Guide to the Federal Budget. Call us idealists, but we at NPP believe that a little information goes a long way, and that a book can change history.

A People's Guide to the Federal Budget is a friendly, down-to-earth handbook for Americans of all ages and backgrounds who want to have a voice in our democracy and ensure the U.S. federal budget reflects their priorities. It's even got cartoons in it.

Most Americans say they're not happy with the way ...

A few weeks ago I was on the radio program Background Briefing with host Ian Masters. We were talking about National Priorities Project's Tax Day numbers, which show you how the federal government spent every penny of your income taxes in 2011.

"One sort of wishes the federal government provided these numbers," my host lamented.

In fact, the White House used to put out a Citizen's Guide to the Federal Budget every year, but it was discontinued during the George W. Bush presidency. President Obama has not resurrected the practice. Meanwhile, valuable information about how the federal government ...