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Joint Economic Committee Democrats

Publications

Oct 16 2017

Are Trump Tax Cuts Brewing Bubbles?

Despite the President’s and Republican Congress’s failure so far to deliver on their agenda, expectations of policy changes and big tax cuts for top earners and big business have pushed the U.S. stock market to highs now verging into bubble territory. The price-to-earnings ratio, or PE, provides a measure of investors’ expectations of future corporate profits. Stock valuations relative to corporate earnings in S&P 500 companies have never risen above 28 without a sharp and severe stock market correction lurking around the corner. Only three times in U.S. history has the PE risen above 28: (1) on the eve of the Great Depression, (2) on the eve of the Dot-Com bubble bursting, and most recently (3) when Donald Trump took office.

Oct 16 2017

GOP Tax Plan Fails Working Families

While working families across America struggle to make ends meet, the top 1 percent have reaped the benefits of a growing economy, with their share of all income nearly doubling to 20 percent since 1980. President Trump and Congressional Republicans say their new tax plan will put more money in the pockets of working Americans by providing them with real tax relief. Instead, it gives more in tax cuts to wealthy Americans and stacks the deck even further against the vast majority of households.

Oct 11 2017

Economic State of the Latino Community in America Graphics

Latinos continue to be one of the fastest growing minority groups in the United States, and account for a combined $1.3 trillion in economic activity. Latinos are also more likely than the general population to become entrepreneurs. However, the unemployment rate for Latino workers stands at 5.1 percent compared to 3.7 percent for white workers.

Oct 11 2017

Rural Residents Overlooked in GOP Tax Plan

The road to tax reform will be long and winding with many bumps and turns along the way. But, where you start the journey matters and can reveal a great deal about priorities. The framework released by the White House and Congressional Republicans delivers major benefits to large corporations and wealthy individuals – at the expense of virtually everyone else. Rural Americans are barely an afterthought.

Oct 11 2017

The Economic State of the Latino Community in America

This fact sheet provides a snapshot of the current economic state of the Latino community in the United States. It includes the latest statistics on the economic well-being for the nation’s Latino community, including population, employment, and earnings data, among other key indicators. Together, these measures help paint a portrait of Latinos and their economic prospects for the future.

Oct 10 2017

Republican Plan Taxes Americans Twice

President Trump and Congressional Republicans’ tax proposal threatens to take the state and local tax deduction (SALT) away from over 40 million households. State and local deductions are not a partisan issue – both red and blue state families use them to save hard-earned money on their federal tax returns. The SALT deduction ensures Americans are not taxed twice on the same income.

Oct 06 2017

President Trump Job Tracker September 2017

Joint Economic Committee Democratic staff are comparing job growth each month to the average in the late 1990s (a boom time in the economy), but also to the best individual month each series has ever seen.

Oct 06 2017

GOP Child Tax Credit Too Little, Too Late

The child tax credit (CTC) is a crucial component of our nation’s commitment to ensure that all children grow up in financially secure households. The CTC provides both broad support for children and helps lift families out of poverty. Last week, Republicans released a tax plan they claim strengthens the CTC, but it falls woefully short of the meaningful reform working families need.

Oct 04 2017

DACA by the Numbers

Since 2012, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) has helped nearly 800,000 young people who came to the United States as children work legally, get driver’s licenses, pursue a college education, and lead their lives without the constant threat of deportation. To build on these gains, Congress should pass the Dream Act now so that all Dreamers have the opportunity to fully contribute in the American economy and to their local communities.