Budget Matters Blog


Congress Passes a Spending Bill: Top Three Takeaways

Congress has settled how the government will spend billions of dollars over the next couple of months. From Syria to our own homegrown border crisis, here’s what you need to know.


#PeoplesClimate and People's Budget: #WorthSaving

Even the Pentagon has called climate change a national security threat. Why do we spend so little on climate change initiatives compared to so much on other programs?


State Smart: Income, Business, and Other Taxes in Your State

NPP profiles another State Smart dataset, this time highlighting state federal tax contributions.


Spotlight: NPP’s Taxes and Revenue Voter’s Guides

We’ve been hearing the terms “tax reform” and “corporate inversions” from lawmakers and the media all year long. But what does it all mean? Here at NPP we have created a series of Voter’s Guides to break down key federal budget issues and even provide you with questions for the candidates.


Military Action Against ISIS? #NotSoFast #AmericaMustKnow #WhenWillitEnd?

In the wake of President Obama’s speech to the nation last Wednesday, and with a bill in Congress today authorizing further military action against ISIS, we are left with several troubling questions.  At the top of the list are such critical, unanswered, questions as: Is military action, and the use...


State Smart: Cost of Military Contracts, Your State, and the Election

As the first in a series of releases leading up to State Smart, NPP profiles federal contract spending in the states, with a spotlight on the Department of Defense.


Spotlight: NPP's Military and War Spending Voter Guides

With a war budget that has topped $1.5 trillion since 2001 and ongoing cuts to domestic programs, military spending raises serious questiosn for voters in the upcoming November 4 election. 


Election 2014: A Voter's Guide to the Federal Budget

It’s election season, when the political ads and campaign claims will fly. National Priorities Project’s 2014 Voter’s Guides will help you pierce through campaign rhetoric and get to the bottom of how candidates approach critical federal budget issues.


Fast Facts about our Workforce this Labor Day

As you’re gathering your friends and family around for one last summer barbecue this Labor Day weekend, don’t forget to recognize the day as a time to celebrate workers for their contributions to the strength, well-being, and prosperity of our nation. In honor of Labor Day, here are some fast facts on the American workforce, minimum wage workers, and the unemployed.


Raising the Federal Minimum Wage is Good for Working Families, the Economy, and the Federal Budget

The federal minimum wage is normally seen as a labor standard that imposes costs on businesses, and, by lifting up the wage floor, benefits low wage workers.  This is an accurate, but incomplete view, however, as it doesn’t show the impact on the federal budget that results from businesses failing...