Jan. 2, 2013
At the eleventh hour, Congress and President Obama reached a deal to address the fiscal cliff. The deal focused on tax revenue and included a number of changes to the tax code, including a permanent extension of the Bush-era tax cuts on income below $450,000 for families and below $400,000 for individuals.
Nov. 15, 2012
Young Invincibles and National Priorities Project released “A Fight for the Future: Education, Job Training, and The Fiscal Showdown,” a report detailing how the looming fiscal battle could severely threaten key investments in job training and education. This original analysis compares the scale of the challenges in educating the next generation of Americans to actual investments in the education and training of young adults, showing that our federal budget falls far short of the investment needed. The report also compares expenditures on training and education to other budget items like defense spending and tax cuts.
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Nov. 7, 2012
In the coming weeks, Congress will take on the fiscal cliff and make decisions about the Bush tax cuts, the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, and a host of other tax and spending issues that will affect every American. We've got all the details in plain English so you can follow these important negotiations and tell Congress your priorities.
Sept. 7, 2012
National Priorities Project's suite of resources for the 2012 election: A comparison of the presidential candidates on 12 key issues, plus fact sheets with crucial background information on Medicare, Social Security, taxes, and more.
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July 19, 2012
In 2000, the federal government had a balanced budget and projected surpluses for years to come. Fast forward a decade, and Washington runs steep budget deficits while news media report that federal spending is out of control. But deficits depend on two things: spending and revenue. In 2000, when the budget was balanced, federal tax revenue amounted to around 20 percent of the U.S. economy.
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March 28, 2012
This week the House of Representatives will consider two significantly different alternatives to the president’s fiscal 2013 budget request— the Republican draft budget resolution, introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan, and an alternative introduced by the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC). The two budgets offer vastly different visions for the nation, and each uses the president’s budget as a baseline to compare their contrasting proposals. Rep. Ryan reduces tax rates as well as spending, finding savings largely from domestic programs that serve low-income people, including Medicaid and the food stamp program. The CPC increases revenues with higher tax rates on wealthy individuals and corporations, while adding substantial new spending for job creation and making few changes to domestic programs.
March 21, 2012
On April 17, 2012, your 2011 federal income tax return is due to the IRS. Where did the federal government spend your income taxes during fiscal year 2011?
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March 5, 2012
The presidential election is about voters’ vision for how the federal government should serve the American people, so National Priorities Project is examining the extent to which residents of key primary states currently rely on federal support. Federal money often comprises a third or more of state budgets, while residents of those states receive thousands of dollars of direct federal assistance from programs ranging from Social Security and Medicare to Pell Grants or unemployment compensation.
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Feb. 29, 2012
On Feb. 13, the president released his budget proposal for FY 2013. National Priorities Project looks at the numbers, the history behind them, and why the president's budget matters.
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Feb. 16, 2012
On February 14, 2012 the Obama Administration released the government's Fiscal Year 2013 budget request. The budget proposal includes $525 billion for the Department of Defense, not including funding for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan or the nuclear weapons activities of the Department of Energy. The Pentagon is seeking ways to reduce spending by $487 billion over the next decade.
