Federal Budget and Taxes

Pennsylvanians Ask PA Congressional Delegation to Reject Inhumane Cuts to Vital Federal Budget Programs

Posted by John Neurohr on June 19, 2017 4:24 pm
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Nearly 70 Pennsylvania organizations signed on to the letter below asking members of the Pennsylvania congressional delegation to reject inhumane cuts to vital federal government programs:
 
To The Pennsylvania Congressional Delegation: 
  
President Trump’s budget features deep cuts in assistance that helps struggling families afford the basics – food on the table, a roof over their heads, and access to health care – as well as stunning cuts in a range of basic public services and investments in our nation, such as job training, K-12 education, access to college, scientific research, and economic development. At the same time, the President has called for massive tax cuts that will overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest households and corporations.

The Trump Budget

Posted by Marc Stier on May 23, 2017 12:00 am
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President Trump’s budget is a triple betrayal — of his campaign promises, of working people in Pennsylvania and around the country, and of a uniquely-American economic order that has created the shared prosperity that America once enjoyed and should enjoy again.

The President is, first, betraying his promise not to cut Medicaid, Social Security, and the social safety net — that is, programs relied on by those left behind in a changing economy.

Our Upside-Down Tax System

Posted by Diana Polson on April 25, 2017 10:33 am
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The Pew Research Center released the findings from a recent survey (conducted April 5-11, 2017) that shows an increasing number of Americans find our current tax system unfair.

What do people believe is most unfair about our tax system? Nearly 2/3 (62%) of Americans are bothered “a lot” because some corporations do not pay their fair share in taxes; 60% are equally bothered because some wealthy people don’t pay their fair share.

A significantly less number of Americans are bothered by the amount they pay in taxes (only 27% are bothered “a lot” by this).

Repeal of the Affordable Care Act: A $31 billion tax cut for a handful of the wealthiest taxpayers

Posted by Mark Price on March 20, 2017 3:34 pm
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In Pennsylvania, the top 1% of families have captured just over half of all the growth in market incomes between 1979 and 2013 (Figure A above). As we have argued, this imbalance is largely the result of policy choices that have favored financial executives and CEOs over working families.

Trump Budget Slashes State and Local Grants at Tough Time for States

Posted by Shelley Aragoncillo on March 20, 2017 1:59 pm
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This post, written by Iris J. Lav, originally appeared on the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities blog on March 17, 2017. You can view the original post here.

How did the Pennsylvania Labor Market Perform in 2016

Last Friday, The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released preliminary estimates of December payrolls which show Pennsylvania created 32,000 jobs in the last 12 months. Payroll growth was especially weak in the 2nd half of 2016, which is likely one reason state revenue collections through December are $300 million below projections. Despite this weakness, payrolls still grew more in 2016 than they did in 2012 and 2013 when deep budget cuts weighed on job growth in Pennsylvania.

New Data, Good News: Health Insurance

Posted by Marc Stier on September 14, 2016 6:23 pm
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Most news is bad news. And political campaigns are more likely to flag what is wrong with our country than what is right with it. So, it’s not surprising that in the heat of a presidential election, we are more focused on what is wrong with our country than what is right with it.

But as the federal government updates its statistics on income, poverty and health care this week, we can take a moment to appreciate the good news—government at the federal and state level has been increasingly successful at encouraging broadly prosperity.

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