Budget Matters Blog

A bug fix, a usability fix, and a grammar fix

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Posted: | Transparency & Data

We fixed county-level data downloads, added state names to the county data pages, and changed some wording to appease the grammar nerds.

Data Story: Jobs and Department of Defense Procurement

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Posted: | Military & Security, Transparency & Data

This data story explores the relationship between Department of Defense procurement spending and unemployment rates.

Money Out—Also, Money In

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Posted: | Budget Process, Transparency & Data

There’s so much talk these days about federal deficits and cutting spending. So we at NPP thought it would be good to talk about tax revenues—the other half of the budget picture—and not just about spending (For some background on how the budget works, check out the People’s Guide to ...

Sunlight Makes Government Accountable

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Posted: | Budget Process

Sunlight Foundation is working for a "Super Committee" process that is more transparent and has developed five recommendations: Provide a live webcasts of all official meetings and hearings Make available the Committee's report for 72 hours before a final committee vote Disclose every meeting held with lobbyists and other powerful ...

Data Story: Food Insecurity and Food Stamps

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Posted: | Social Insurance, Earned Benefits, & Safety Net, Transparency & Data

Between 2008 and 2010, the percentage of food insecure households remained flat at 14.5% while the amount of money the federal government spent on the food stamp program rose 83%.

What the Bush Tax Cuts Cost

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Posted: | Budget Process, Debt & Deficit

$1,034,401,772,556. That’s the cost to the U.S. Treasury since 2001 from Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans—as of the moment I started writing this blog post. National Priorities Project and Citizens for Tax Justice today released CostOfTaxCuts.com, a site that has a real-time ticker showing the ...

New Data: Food Insecurity

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Posted: | Social Insurance, Earned Benefits, & Safety Net, Transparency & Data

We've added a new indicator. Food insecurity: households with difficulty at some time during the year providing enough food for all members.

Data Story: Volusia County, FL

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Posted: | Social Insurance, Earned Benefits, & Safety Net, Transparency & Data

This week's data story is inspired by an activist from Daytona Beach, Florida

Taking Back the American Dream

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Posted: | Budget Process

This week I (Mattea Kramer, research analyst here at NPP) traveled to Washington to the Take Back the American Dream conference. What did I learn? I learned that the American Dream Movement is about Shannon McLeish and others like her. Shannon and I ate cheese quesadillas together on Monday night. ...

Build a Better Budget: Send Your Priorities To Congress Today

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Posted: | Budget Process

Right now our elected officials are trying to balance the federal budget on the backs of the most marginalized Americans. This crusade to drag government into the bathroom and drown it will, over time, result in the erosion or near eradication of programs that safeguard our collective well-being. Four years ...