The collapse of the housing bubble has led to difficult times for
the U.S. economy. On February 17, 2009, less than a month into
his term, President Barack Obama signed into law the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act, a $787 billion package to stimulate the
economy. However, the unemployment level has remained above
8-percent. National debt crossed the $15 trillion mark on
November 15, 2011; interest on the debt in FY 2011 was $454
billion. "Big government" was a dominant theme in the 2010
midterm elections. Heading into Fall 2012, a major concern is
sequestration, or automatic budget cuts that could be implemented as a
result of the Budget Control Act of 2011. Achieving fiscal
responsibility will require tough decisions.
General | Economic
Indicators | Fiscal
Responsibility | Taxation
| Poverty and Inequality
|
States | Trade
GENERAL
The White
House-Economy
U.S.
Department of the Treasury
Financial
Stability | TARP
U.S. Congress-Joint Economic Committee
"The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the
United States. It was founded by Congress in 1913 to provide the nation
with a safer, more flexible, and more stable monetary and financial
system. Over the years, its role in banking and the economy has
expanded."
(Other views: Audit the Fed | The Gold Standard Now)
Financial Crisis
Inquiry Commission
U.S. Department of Commerce
U.S. Department of Labor
U.S. Small
Business Administration
National Federation of Independent
Business
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
National Association of Manufacturers
National Retail
Federation
AFL-CIO
Change to Win
ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Economic
Briefing Room (U.S. Census Bureau)
Economy at a Glance (Bureau of Labor
Statistics)
see latest numbers column on the right
Overview of the
Economy (Bureau of Economic Analysis)
Economic
Indicators
(U.S.
Department
of
Commerce)
National
Debt | Interest
on
the
National
Debt
(Bureau
of
Public
Debt--Treasury)
Consumer
Confidence
Index
(The
Conference
Board,
Inc.)
Dow
Jones Averages
RealtyTrac-National
Real Estate Trends
BUDGET, SPENDING, AND FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY
The White
House-Fiscal Responsibility
The 2010 effort: National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform
Office of
Management and Budget
OMB Watch
U.S. House
Budget Committee
Congressional Budget Office
U.S. Senate Committee on
Appropriations
U.S. House Committee on
Appropriations
Government Accountability Office
The Campaign to Fix the Debt will serve as an
educational initiative, mobilizing key communities—including leaders
from business, government, and policy—and people all across America, to
build support for a comprehensive plan to fix our long-‐term debt and
deficits. (project of the Committee for a Responsible Federal
Budget, launched July 17, 2012).
Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget
"a bipartisan, non-profit organization committed to
educating the public about issues that have significant fiscal policy
impact. The Committee is a bipartisan group of leading budget experts
including many of the past Directors of the Budget Committees, the
Congressional Budget Office, the Office of Management and Budget and
the Federal Reserve Board. The Committee for a Responsible Federal
Budget is housed at the New America Foundation. New America is an
independent, non-partisan, non-profit public policy institute that
focuses on long-term issues facing the country."
US Budget Watch
"Our mission is to increase public awareness of the
nature and urgency of key fiscal challenges threatening America's
future and to accelerate action on them."
Comeback America Initiative
|
InDebtEd
| Budgetball
"a nationwide, non-partisan, grassroots organization
advocating generationally responsible fiscal policy."
"an independent and non-partisan voice for taxpayers
working to increase transparency and expose and eliminate wasteful and
corrupt subsidies, earmarks, and corporate welfare."
Citizens Against Government Waste
"mission is to eliminate waste, mismanagement, and
inefficiency in the federal government. Founded in 1984 by the late
industrialist J. Peter Grace and syndicated columnist Jack Anderson,
CAGW is the legacy of the President's Private Sector Survey on Cost
Control, also known as the Grace Commission."
"a nonprofit, non-partisan citizen group whose members work every day for lower taxes and smaller government at all levels."
"a project of Public Notice, a nonpartisan nonprofit
organization 100 percent focused on arming people with the economic
facts and figures needed to evaluate the policies our leaders are
proposing."
The Common Sense Balanced Budget Amendment Coalition
"a collaborative effort by over 150+ groups, and
growing, to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States
Constitution, specifically the Common Sense Balanced Budget Amendment.
We The People believe it is time to force the government to handle its
budget like our families have to, by balancing it."
"No American Debt is an organization that seeks to advance the national dialogue about America’s debt crisis. No American Debt will educate the general public about the severity of America’s $14 trillion debt and how this debt impacts everyday Americans." (launched by former Gov. George Pataki April 20, 211)
TAXATION
The White House-Taxes
U.S. House Ways and Means
Committee
U.S. Senate Finance Committee
U.S. Congress: Joint Committee on
Taxation
"The mission of the Tax Foundation is to educate
taxpayers about sound tax policy and the size of the tax burden borne
by Americans at all levels of government." Founded in 1937.
Institute on
Taxation
and Economic Policy
"ITEP's mission is to ensure that elected officials,
the media, and the
general public have access to accurate, timely, and straightforward
information that allows them to understand the effects of current and
proposed tax policies."
"a 501 (c)(4) public interest research and advocacy organization focusing on federal, state and local tax policies and their impact upon our nation. CTJ's mission is to give ordinary people a greater voice in the development of tax laws."
Americans for
Fair Taxation (Fair Tax)
advocates "a single-rate, federal retail sales tax collected only once, at the final point of purchase of new goods and services for personal consumption. Used items are not taxed. Business-to-business purchases for the production of goods and services are not taxed. A rebate makes the effective rate progressive."
"Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) opposes all tax increases as a matter of principle. We believe in a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today... ATR was founded in 1985 by Grover Norquist at the request of President Reagan. The flagship project of Americans for Tax Reform is the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a written promise by legislators and candidates for office that commits them to oppose any effort to increase income taxes on individuals and businesses."
POVERTY AND INEQUALITY
The White
House-Poverty
U.S.
Census Bureau: Poverty
Pew
Center
on
the
States:
Economic
Mobility
Project
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: Catholic Campaign for Human Development
"EPI was established in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers."
Center on Budget
and Policy Priorities
"...working at the federal and state levels on fiscal
policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income
families and individuals."
Institute
for
Policy
Studies-Working
Group
on
Extreme
Inequality
National Coalition for the
Homeless
STATES
National
Conference
of
State
Legislatures-Budget
&
Tax
Stateline-Taxes
&
Budget
news
State Budget Solutions
Project
TRADE
U.S. Census
Bureau: Foreign Trade Statistics
Office of the United States Trade
Representative
Public Citizen: Global Trade
Watch
CATO: Center for Trade Policy
Studies
World Trade Organization