Federal Budget & Tax

Federal Budget & Tax: News Blog Background

Friday, August 27, 2004

Watcher: August 24, 2004

Federal Budget

Posted by John S. Irons, 04:33:58 PM

Thursday, August 26, 2004

Poverty on the Rise

The Census Bureau today released updated income and poverty data. The news is not good.

Among the findings:

"Real median household money income did not change from 2002 to 2003.1
...the share of aggregate income received by the lowest 20 percent of households had a slight reduction – from 3.5 percent to 3.4 percent.
The ratio of female-to-male earnings in 2003 for full-time, year-round workers was 76 percent, a decline from 77 percent in 2002, because of a decline in the earnings of female year-round full-time workers.
The official poverty rate rose, from 12.1 percent in 2002 to 12.5 percent in 2003. The number in poverty increased also, by 1.3 million people, to 35.9 million in 2003.2.
The poverty rates for people 18 to 64 and those 65 and older remained unchanged, but the poverty rate for children rose from 16.7 percent in 2002 to 17.6 percent in 2003."

See the full report from the Census Bureau.

Posted by John S. Irons, 11:46:01 AM

Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Recent Trends in Nonprofit Employment and Earnings 1990-2004
New Report: "Recent Trends in Nonprofit Employment and Earnings: 1990-2004" This report examines the recent history of employment and compensation trends in the nonprofit sector, from 1990 to 2004. It finds that while the nonprofit sector held up well in the 2001 recession and its recent aftermath, the more recent experience has been troubling. Employment growth has come to a near standstill over the past year. In addition, and perhaps more troubling, there have been declines in average hours worked, weekly earnings, and hourly wages. Data on individual states also confirm the general nationwide pattern. Read More.

Posted by John S. Irons, 03:58:07 PM

Wednesday, August 04, 2004

Debt ceiling to be hit soon
It looks like the debt ceiling will be hit soon - late september/early october unless congress and the president act to raise the ceiling.

It does sound like there are some accounting gimmicks that could be used to extend until mid november.