Budget Matters Blog

Category: Transparency & Data


New Open Federal Spending Data: Week One

One week after launch, NPP presents hard-hitting analysis of the most popular State Smart states.


What Has the U.S. Spent Fighting Ebola?

What has the U.S. spent fighting Ebola? It seems nobody really knows. One thing we do know: it’s not a lot.


Spotlight: NPP's Data Transparency Voter's Guide

This week, following on the release of NPP’s new State Smart website that allows you to see how federal dollars flow to and from your state, we’re spotlighting our Data Transparency voter’s guide.


State Smart: Better Federal Budget Open Data

NPP launches State Smart and ends a dark time for federal spending data.


State Smart: Federal Jobs in Your State

Our last State Smart preview digs into federal jobs and compensation in the states and what they mean for a pathway to the middle class.


NPP to U.S. Treasury: Here's Why Spending Data Matters

NPP presented its outside-the-Beltway perspective on federal spending data to the U.S. Treasury Department.


Participatory Budgeting Can Transform our Democracy

Last week I had the good fortune to join an amazing group of people doing exciting and transformative work in the growing field of participatory budgeting (“PB”), at the third annual PB Conference, held this year in Oakland (and nearby Vallejo), California. [I was invited to speak on two panels--one...


State Smart: Federal Grants to Your State

Today's State Smart preview spotlights federal grants that go directly to state governments and ultimately affect people in our communitites.


State Smart: Federal Aid to Individuals in Your State

From California’s agricultural Central Valley to cities like Detroit and Washington, DC, to coal mining towns in Appalachia, federal aid to individuals touches communities in many ways. NPP previews a new State Smart dataset showing you how.


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

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