This is the first our data stories, short pieces to spotlight the role of the Federal Priorities Database in understanding the relationship between social indicators and federal spending programs. This time, we're featuring food stamp participation and unemployment rates.

NOTE: This article originally appeared on TomDispatch.com.The killing of Osama Bin Laden did not put cuts in national security spending on the table, but the debt-ceiling debate finally did. And mild as those projected cuts might have been, last week newly minted Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta was already digging ...

In the midst of Congressional debates about debt, budget cuts, and tax increases, a “penny poll” was held in every Maine county asking participants, “How would you like your federal tax dollars spent?” Mainers Larry Dansinger and Lisa Savage were among the leading coordinators of this effort.Education, health care, and ...

There's a new indicator in the Federal Priorities Database. Student Teacher Ratio: number of students for every public school teacher.

We've added an indicator to the Federal Priorities Database. Head Start enrollment: number of children enrolled in a Head Start program. The Head Start program provides grants to local public and private non-profit and for-profit agencies to provide child development services to economically disadvantaged children and families.

We've added the following indicator to the Federal Priorities Database. TANF (Cash Assistance) Participation: average number of individuals and families receiving cash assistance. TANF stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. . Note that it replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) during the Clinton administration, which explains the ...

A new indicator is now available in the Federal Priorities Database: Department of Defense Personnel: Number of civilian, military, and reserve national guard personnel employed by the Department of Defense.

We've added another federal expenditure to the Federal Priorities Database: Department of Defense Procurement Contracts: amount of procurement contracts awarded by the Department of Defense (by vendor location).

Well friends it's August 3, and despite their best efforts Congress and the President did finally pass a deal to raise the debt-ceiling. It's call the Budget Control Act of 2011. Happy days, right? Not so fast, Fonzarelli. Nearly every lawmaker who voted for the bill has described it as ...

Well, people, it's August 1, just hours away from the deadline for raising the debt-ceiling and avoiding a disastrous U.S. credit default. As this story has unfolded, we've had some laughs, shared some disappointments and frustrations I'm sure, as well as a renewed our appreciation for the nuances of the ...