The Obama Coalition "
These general findings suggest the possibility that the political strength of voters whose convictions are perhaps best described as Social Democratic in the European sense is reaching a significant level in the United States. With effective organization and mobilization, such voters are positioned to set the agenda in the Democratic Party in the near future."
posted by Glibpaxman
on Apr 4, 2010 -
37 comments
Where does my tax money go? From USA Today, a calculator and graph that lets you enter your salary and shows you how your tax dollars are spent. You can also change the year shown, so that you can compare now and then.
posted by OmieWise
on Feb 3, 2010 -
39 comments
On July 31 of this year, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) introduced
H.R. 3501, a bill aimed at granting tax deductions to owners of companion animals. Known as the HAPPY Act — Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years — it would create a deduction of up to $3,500 on federal tax returns for the care of "qualified" pets, defined as "legally owned, domesticated, and live animals." As of yet,
there are no co-sponsors. So did McCotter introduce the bill due to being
a genuine supporter of animal protections, or is this one Republican's way of
trying to ensure taxpayers get to keep more of their money? Either way, the
ASPCA approves, as do actors
Leo Grillo and Robert Davi.
via
posted by lovermont
on Oct 8, 2009 -
37 comments
"Death and Taxes: 2009" is a representational poster of the federal discretionary budget; the amount of money that is spent at the discretion of your elected representatives in Congress. Basically, your federal income taxes. (previously)
posted by Knappster
on Oct 26, 2008 -
14 comments
HowISpentMyStimulus.com In January, Congress approved $152 billion in economic stimulus checks for millions of American households, intended to boost the economy and avert a recession. Just how this money will be spent remains to be seen. We hope this website helps shed some light on where the stimulus money is going.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero
on May 31, 2008 -
77 comments
Want to know how government spending and taxation levels have gone up or down over the last 20 years, and how they compare with other countries? The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has a handy set of tables (
Excel,
HTML-ized by Google): total spending, total revenues, fiscal surplus or deficit (
Norway's surplus is 17% of GDP). Part of the
statistical tables for the semi-annual
OECD Outlook.
posted by russilwvong
on May 30, 2008 -
6 comments
Moreover, based on the empirical distribution of height and wages, the optimal height tax is substantial: a tall person earning $50,000 should pay about $4,500 more in
taxes (pdf) than a short person earning the same income. Draw what inferences
you will.
posted by Pants!
on Dec 15, 2007 -
41 comments
Roads To Riches (or We've Got a Bridge in Brooklyn to Sell You--Seriously) -- Why investors are clamoring to take over America's highways, bridges, and airports—and why the public should be nervous.--
...a slew of Wall Street firms—Goldman, Morgan Stanley, the Carlyle Group, Citigroup, and many others—is piling into infrastructure ... Assets sold now could change hands many times over the next 50 years, with each new buyer feeling increasing pressure to make the deal work financially. It's hardly a stretch to imagine service suffering in such a scenario; already, the record in the U.S. has been spotty. ...
posted by amberglow
on Apr 29, 2007 -
107 comments
US TaxFilter:
Your real tax rate: 40%."In a study for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Boston University economists Laurence J. Kotlikoff and David Rapson have found that our all-in marginal tax rate is 40%, give or take a bit. Yes, you read that right: 40%." The table at the end is telling.
posted by knave
on Feb 26, 2007 -
88 comments
Many people want to legalize, regulate, and tax marijuana and other drugs, however, few know that many
U.S. states are content simply to tax. In fact,
even the federal government wants a share (middle of p. 89 of the PDF), and
used tax stamps in
early prohibition, but only the states have recently issued
issued cool
stamps (be sure to click "exhibit"). The point, of course, is not to actually tax the drugs, but to
penalize the drug dealers for tax evasion as well as drug sales.
They have brought in some money, though. A few interesting state government pages:
Conecticut,
Nebraska,
North Carolina and their
tax return form, and
Kansas.
posted by TheOnlyCoolTim
on Jan 15, 2007 -
30 comments
Cost of Government Day - "
n. the date of the calendar year, counting from January 1, on which the average American has earned enough in cumulative gross income to pay for his or her share of government spending (total federal, state, and local) plus the cost of regulation."
posted by Gyan
on Dec 3, 2006 -
16 comments
Thomas Friedman: The First Law of Petropolitics, in short, argues that the price of oil and the pace of freedom operate in an inverse correlation. As the price of oil goes up in what I call petroauthoritarian states—like Iran, Sudan, Venezuela—the pace of freedom goes down. These regimes can afford to be less responsive to their people and outside pressure. And as the price of oil goes down, the pace of freedom goes up because these regimes have to open up to the world if they want to deliver for their people, and they have to empower their people more.
But how to lower oil prices and help freedom on its proverbial march? Many, from
Alan Greenspan to
Andrew Sullivan to
Ray Magliozzi from Car Talk think the answer may be to . . .
raise the gas tax? The
Pigou Club is an ever-updated list of economists, politicians and others who have advocated Pigouvian (or is it
Pigovian?) taxes to not only lower oil prices, but reduce greenhouse gases, fix the federal deficit and strengthen our national security. Though some remain more than a little hesitant to
jump on the bandwagon and others
remain skeptical that the movement is anything more than "just talk," this could be an idea whose time has come, especially since the gas tax
isn't as regressive one would think.
posted by joshuaconner
on Oct 25, 2006 -
57 comments
Is the U.S. Bankrupt? [332Kb PDF] Laurence Kotlikoff, writing in this month's
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, says "yes" - to the tune of $66 trillion! [more inside]
posted by ikkyu2
on Jul 16, 2006 -
67 comments
From estate tax to 'death tax' Public Citizen released
a report [PDF link] today that "reveals how 18 families worth a total of $185.5 billion have financed and coordinated a 10-year effort to repeal the [U.S.] estate tax, a move that would collectively net them a windfall of $71.6 billion." The rich get richer...
posted by tippiedog
on Apr 25, 2006 -
73 comments
Oregon man gets jailtime for website. There's a lot you can do on the internet, but "cheating" the state out of tax revenue is a crime. "Washington County Circuit Judge Michael McElligott found Eric Ivan Guthrie not guilty of racketeering and computer crime for selling cigarettes through the now-defunct Inexpensivesmokes.com Web site. However, McElligott found Guthrie guilty of doing business as a cigarette distributor without a license, two counts of unlawful distribution of cigarettes for not affixing the packs with Oregon revenue stamps and five counts of failing to comply with tobacco sale requirements for not verifying that buyers were at least 18 years old. Oregon Department of Revenue has the names and sales receipts for 7,500 people who bought cigarettes online without paying the state tax of $1.18 a pack. A small percentage have been sent bills, and officials are determining how many others will be asked to pay the state". This seems wrong.
posted by Mack Twain
on Aug 21, 2005 -
37 comments
