This Beautiful West Coast State Has Lost More Troops In Afghanistan Than Any Other

May 09 2012

Eloise Lee - Business Insider

The National Priorities Project's most recent findings on military recruitment show the average number of U.S. recruits per 1,000 youth aged 18-24 is 2.28 — a calculation of recruitment rate. It seems a small number, yet those volunteers are signed up to defend the entire country when called.

We Get A Lot In Return For Our Income Tax Dollars

Apr 17 2012

Dan Neal - Casper Star-Tribune

Today’s Tax Day and, if you’re like me, you’ve been thinking about all that money we pay not just to the federal government but at the state and local level as well. It’s easy to gripe about it, but we should all think about what we get in return for our investment in public services.

It’s a lot.

Where Do Your Tax Dollars Go?

Apr 16 2012

Krys Boyd - KERA Public Radio for North Texas

How does the government spend your income tax dollars and how are budgetary decisions made at the federal level anyway? We’ll find out this hour with Mattea Kramer, senior research analyst for the National Priorities Project which breaks down the budget process and where your tax dollars go just in time for tomorrow’s tax deadline.

Making "Cents" Of Your Federal Income Taxes

Apr 16 2012

Megan Handley - U.S. News & World Reports

With tax filings due in just a few days, most people are thinking about how much they owe the federal government or, if they're lucky, how they'll spend their refund.

But whether you're writing a check to Uncle Sam or heading to the mall, it's worth taking a look at some other tax-related numbers, namely how the federal government spent Americans' income tax dollars last year.

Once Americans pay their income tax, those funds are designated by the U.S. Treasury as "federal funds," which means Congress and the president pretty much have free rein to use that money to fund just about any government activity.

So where did your 2011 tax dollars go?

Fifth Grader Says: "I'M Kind Of Mad At The Government"

Apr 13 2012

Jo Comerford - Huffington Post

"If we had a trillion dollars," dream the youth of Bresee Community Center in Los Angeles, "we would buy materials to build homeless shelters, rehabilitation centers, skate parks and soccer fields."

Making "Cents" Of Your Federal Income Taxes

Apr 12 2012

Meg Handley - The Chicago Tribune

Do you know how Uncle Sam spent your tax dollars last year?

Taxes Fuel The Services We All Use

Apr 11 2012

John Burbank - Everett Herald

If you're anything like me, you spent part of this week doing your income taxes. Or maybe you're delaying that task until the weekend. It's not a very pleasant way to spend your weeknights or your weekend, but those are the wages of procrastination for citizens like me.

When you pay your taxes, you may be thinking, not kindly, "More money for the government." A lot of people share that sentiment. But what we don't acknowledge is that without government, we could not survive, as a nation, as families, as individuals, as businesses, as workers, as citizens, as human beings. And government is not free. It is not manna from heaven. We have to pay for the public services that government provides.

Tax Day 2012

Apr 11 2012

Ben Stormer - Third Party Time

The good folks over at the National Priorities Project have published their 2011 report detailing where your tax dollars were spent last year. The federal government had in the past issued its own report each year to the public in which in included the identical information. However, George W. Bush determined in 2002 that the people did not need to know where their tax dollars went.

What Would You Do With A Trillion Dollars

Apr 11 2012

Mary Anne Meyers - Public News Service

CHICAGO - Young people from Chicago and five other cities will be in the nation's capital this weekend to tell Congress what they would do with $1 trillion.

Making "Cents" Of Your Federal Income Taxes

Apr 11 2012

Meg Handley - U.S. News & World Report

With tax filings due in just a few days, most people are thinking about how much they owe the federal government or, if they're lucky, how they'll spend their refund.