Free E-Filing Makes Sense for Both Taxpayers and the IRS
Filing income tax returns electronically has significant advantages for both taxpayers and the IRS. Electronic filing (e-filing) is more convenient for taxpayers, return processing is faster, and refunds can be sent out more rapidly. For the IRS, there are enormous cost savings from e-filing.
EXTENDING THE BUSH TAX CUTS IS THE WRONG WAY TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY
The Bush tax cuts, which disproportionately benefited the wealthiest Americans, were justified with a series of claims about their economic effectiveness. Seven years after the first tax cuts were passed, the evidence is clear that these claims were false, and in reality, these tax cuts have been bad economic policy. They have done little to stimulate the economy. The economic expansion earlier in the Bush administration was one of the weakest on record, and the economy has once again fallen into recession. While having limited economic effect, the tax cuts led to massive increases in the national debt and created an enormous windfall for the very wealthiest Americans at the expense of the middle class and future generations. Making the Bush tax cuts permanent would compound these long-term structural problems while doing nothing to address the immediate problems of the economy.
State-by-State Figures: Foreclosure and Housing Wealth Losses
While the White House has threatened to veto a number of housing bills being debated in Congress, including the recently passed Senate housing bill intended to aid families who are in danger of losing their homes, Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released reports showing that the subprime foreclosure crisis could cost over $2.6 TRILLION in household wealth from record numbers of foreclosures and falling home prices.
The state-by-state report was prepared by the majority staff of the Joint Economic Committee and shows that nationally, home prices will decline over 11% from 2007-2009 and families in a majority of states will lose over $2.6 Trillion in housing wealth in that same period. Moreover, an additional 1.3 million families stand to lose their homes to foreclosure in 2008 and 2009.
A Good Job is Hard to Find: Evidence for Extending Unemployment Benifits Already Exists
The March employment report showed widespread weakness in the labor market including, for the first time since 2003, a third straight month of falling employment. After months of job losses being contained in sectors associated with the housing bust, the economy is now showing losses in a wide array of industries. At the same time, unemployment is rising and jobs are harder to find. The labor market is trending downwards: in testimony before the Joint Economic Committee on April 4, 2008, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that “labor market conditions started to weaken more than a year ago.” Based on the labor market data, the slowdown in economic growth for the fourth quarter, falling home prices, and the ensuing crisis in the credit markets, most economists now believe we are in a recession.
Mar 06 2008
State by State Foreclosure Analysis
New State by State Foreclosure Analysis
Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released a state-by-state analysis showing that subprime mortgages in foreclosure have increased from the third to the fourth quarter last year in EVERY state, and prime mortgages in foreclosure have increased in all but two states (Montana and South Dakota). The JEC analysis of the Mortgage Banker's Association record-setting foreclosure data in the fourth quarter of 2007 is attached.
Mar 05 2008
Paid Family Leave at Fortune 100 Companies: A Basic Standard but Still not the Gold Standard
Paid Family Leave at Fortune 100 Companies: A Basic Standard but Still not the Gold Standard
Employers and employees are searching for ways to balance the competing demands of work and family. As a guide for policymakers, this report examines how firms design their paid leave policies. The majority staff of the Joint Economic Committee asked Fortune 100 companies about the length of paid leave that they provide for new parents. Among the firms that responded, about three-quarters offer mothers a specific parental leave program, either through paid family or disability leave, and the median length of leave for mothers is six to eight weeks. However, only one-third of firms report that they offer fathers paid parental leave and the median length of leave for fathers is only two weeks.
High Oil Prices Have Significant Effects on
Consumers and the U.S. Economy
This analysis estimates the impact of sustained high oil prices on consumers and the U.S. economy. Since 2002, real oil prices have risen dramatically. Recently, oil futures traded for more than $100 a barrel. Crude oil prices for January 2008 were $92.95/barrel, and monthly prices are rapidly closing in on the all-time inflation-adjusted high of $98.94/barrel, which was reached in April 1980. There are numerous causes for the recent rise in oil prices, including decisions made by OPEC and other oil-producing countries, stagnant production in Iraq, and ongoing concerns about political and supply stability in a number of oil-producing countries. However, it is the longer-term structural factors in the rise in oil prices, most notably greatly increased demand in developing countries such as China and India, which have led many experts to believe that we are likely to have sustained high oil prices for the foreseeable future.
President’s Economic Report Insists Economy is Sound, Despite Serious Worries in Housing, Credit, Jobs Markets
Senator Charles E. Schumer and Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairman and Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee respectively, responded to the 2008 Economic Report of the President (ERP), delivered to Congress today. The report, authored by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, summarizes the Administration’s views on the state of the United States economy. The report reviews the last year of economic data and projects the economic health of our country in the future.
For the full text of this report, please click on the file listed under "Related Resources."
On February 4 the Bush Administration released its budget for Fiscal Year 2009. The Joint Economic Committee has analyzed what this budget means for some important and popular programs for each of the 50 states plus Washington D.C. While there are thousands of programs that may have been slashed, level-funded, eliminated, or bolstered, the JEC has chosen a handful to show the big impact these cuts have on each state.
Jan 28 2008
President Bush's Dismal Economic Record
President Bush's Dismal Economic Record
On Monday, January 28, President Bush will deliver his annual State of the Union address to Congress. As he has in the past, President Bush is likely to claim that the policies of his administration have helped strengthen the economy. But President Bush’s claims are misleading. President Bush has turned a federal budget surplus into record deficits and is tied with his father for the worst job creation record of any President in 70 years. Under President Bush’s failed economic policies, the unemployment rate is now increasing and the number of unemployed Americans is now 1.6 million greater than when he took office. At the same time, household income has declined for all but the wealthiest Americans after accounting for inflation, and America’s middle class has been squeezed by rising energy, health care and education costs. If current economic trends lead to a recession, as many economists are currently predicting, President Bush will become the first President to preside over two recessions since the Nixon administration.
For the full text of this report, please click on the file listed under "Related Resources."
