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Joint Economic Committee Democrats

Publications

Jan 03 2018

December Economic Snapshot of the States

Although the U.S. economy overall continues its expansion following the Great Recession and associated financial crisis, the recovery can look very different from state to state. The lion’s share of economic gains are not only concentrated at the top of the income and wealth distribution, but also in a small share of regions. While some parts of the country have surged ahead, millions of Americans in urban and rural communities are still waiting for their wages to start rising again and struggling to make ends meet.

Dec 20 2017

Worst of 2017: How Republicans Stacked the Deck Against Working Families

This year has turned out to be a rough one for working Americans. In his first year in office, President Trump and Congressional Republicans hurt workers’ pay and benefits, rolled back consumer financial protections, targeted public lands for commercial development, and attempted to strip health care coverage from millions of Americans. Just one year into the Trump presidency and already the harm to people, communities, and the environment is considerable.

Dec 18 2017

Republican Tax Cuts Will Mostly Go to Wealthy

Despite claims that the Republican tax cuts are aimed at working families, wealthy owners of pass-through businesses (such as partners in large law firms and hedge funds) will see substantially more benefits than workers. In 2019, primarily-wage workers in the bottom 20 percent of earners would average a $40 tax cut. This contrasts with an average tax cut of $87,000 for pass-through owners in the top one percent. Because of the windfall that high-earners will see by becoming a pass-through, many more will seek to use the pass-through loophole in the future—eroding tax revenues and worsening income inequality.

Dec 15 2017

Republican Agenda Threatens Market Stability, Puts Main Street at Risk

With equity market valuations at highs only seen right before the stock market crash of 1929 and the Dotcom crash of 2000, now is the time that policymakers should be focused on maintaining stability, protecting consumers, and promoting sustainable growth. Instead Republicans are pursuing an agenda that will feed bubbles, leave consumers and small investors vulnerable to fraud and abuse, and undermine financial stability.

Dec 13 2017

Auction Results Cast Doubt on ANWR Drilling Revenues

Congressional Republicans have a plan to fill part of the giant deficit hole created by their tax plan for the wealthy; open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to commercial drilling. Their plan is a shortsighted tactic that arcane budget rules and will ultimately fail to live up to expectations. In fact, early estimates based on recent lease bids of neighboring plots of land underscore how selling these precious protected lands to commercial drilling could generate underwhelming revenues.

Dec 11 2017

Trump Budget Would Drop Nondefense Discretionary Spending to Historic Lows

Budgets proposed by the Trump administration and House and Senate Republicans would all drastically slash federal investment in nondefense discretionary (NDD) funding. NDD funding includes infrastructure, education, and medical and scientific research, among other programs critical to American families and the economy. Senate Republicans have proposed slashing NDD spending by $800 billion over the next decade, House Republicans by nearly $1.4 trillion, and President Trump by more than $1.5 trillion. The President’s budget would bring NDD spending down to 2 percent of GDP, the lowest level in modern history by a wide margin.