April 2013 Blog Archives


Sequestration - Useless Baggage

They’ve hit a new low. Citing significant concerns about long lines at airports and flight delays caused by the furlough of air-traffic controllers, Congress let the Federal Aviation Administration override strict sequestration rules and redirect funds within its budget. And they did so with lightning speed.


How Budget Cuts Affect Special Education Programs

The cost of education for a child with disabilities can be double the amount needed for a child without disabilities.  Many students with special needs require multiple services such as classroom aides, counseling, specialized equipment, or access to health professionals during the day. Special education programs are often underfunded, leading to poor outcomes for students and repercussions for schools and communities. Unfortunately, many school districts today are seeing budget cuts, and these cuts exacerbate the challenges faced by special education programs.


National Priorities Project and Western Massachusetts' First Civic Hackathon

In just over a month, hackers will descend on over 80 locations across the United States, including right here in Western Massachusetts. But don’t worry—these are civic hackers: volunteer technologists, data geeks, designers, and citizens coming together and using publicly-released data to solve challenges relevant to their towns and states. NPP is thrilled to sponsor Hack for Western Mass.


Data Story: Social Security's Wide Reach and Proposed Cuts

Nearly 90% of Americans oppose cuts to Social Security, which covers more than just retirees. Benefits are also paid to those with disabilities and family members of deceased workers. Combined, these groups received about $720 billion during fiscal year 2011.


Updated Data: Electric Emissions

All electric emissions data have been updated and are now current through 2011.


Updated Data: Energy Consumption

All energy consumption data have been updated to reflect the latest published information and are now current through 2010.


NPP's Federal Spending Database: USASpending.gov Made Understandable

NPP's Federal Priorities Database--the interactive tool that connects the dots between our tax dollars, the federal budget, and programs or services in your community--now pulls spending information from USASpending.gov, making it accessible to the average citizen.


Updated Data: Federal Tax Collection

Federal Tax Collections have been updated through 2012, reflecting the latest available IRS data.


Top Five Things To Know About the Pentagon’s Budget Request

Last week the Obama Administration released its long-overdue budget request for fiscal year 2014. As part of the request, the administration is seeking $526.6 billion for the Pentagon. This amount does not including funding for wars or the nuclear weapons activities at the Department of Energy.  Here are five things ...


Today is Tax Day – Where Do My Taxes Go?

After heroic feats of arithmetic and a your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine interpretation of opaque rules and guidelines, millions of Americans will file their taxes by today, April 15. But where does all that money actually go?