Faces of the Federal Budget

The Faces of the Budget project tells the story of the federal budget through ordinary folks' personal experience.

I’m a business consultant … and I’ve been in literally hundreds of organizations. … You’re not going to ramp your business up because you got a tax cut … That’s not how business works. More

Vincent from Bloomfield Hills, MI | Map

To get health insurance when you didn’t work for government or a large company … was an unnecessarily high expense … partly as a result of the exclusion of employer provided health care from taxation. More

Art from Dallas , TX | Map

[With a sales tax] wealthy people like myself … are only taxed on a portion of what we make. … A wage earner is getting taxed on all of his and I’m getting taxed on a piece of mine. More

John from Santa Fe, NM | Map

I would be a Wal-Mart greeter now [if it weren’t for veterans’ benefits]. … I’d have to sit here and watch television and hold my breath that the furnace didn’t give. More

Joe from Amherst, MA | Map

Pell grants... and federal student loans enabled me to go to college and grad school… Were it not for these programs, I would be left with very few opportunities in the rural community I came from. More

Dale from Leeds, MA | Map

I live on my son's property and pay a moderate rate, was investigated by Social Security and half my SSI was taken away. More

Pamela from Laytonville, CA | Map

About Stories and Opinions

Stories and opinions presented in Faces of the Federal Budget are those of the individual who submitted them, and are not necessarily the opinions of National Priorities Project. NPP reviews story submissions for appropriateness prior to posting and does not modify content beyond review for spelling and typos.