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2007-01-08
Cato Institute;
There are frequent complaints that U.S. income inequality has increased in recent decades. Estimates of rising inequality that are widely cited in the media are often based on federal income tax return data. Those data appear to show that the share of U.S. income going to the top 1 percent (those people with the highest incomes) has increased substantially since the 1970s.
However, there have been large changes in U.S. tax rules over time that have made a dramatic difference on what is reported as income on individual tax returns. Tax changes induced thousands of businesses to switch from filing under the corporate tax system to filing under the individual tax system. Corporate executives switched from accepting stock options taxed as capital gains to nonqualified stock options taxed as salaries. The huge growth in tax-favored savings plans, such as 401(k)s, has resulted in billions of dollars of investment income disappearing from tax returns. Meanwhile, studies of inequality that are based on tax return data usually exclude transfer payments, which results in exaggerating the shares of income received by those at the top by ignoring growing amounts of income at the bottom.
Measurements of inequality have also been affected by large reductions in income tax rates, particularly in 1986. Estimates by many economists indicate that the reported income of highincome taxpayers is very responsive to tax rates. When top tax rates on wages or capital gains fall, reported incomes rise, and a larger fraction of the incomes of those at the top show up on tax returns. International comparisons show that reported income shares of those at the top have risen the most where top tax rates have been cut the most (the United States, the United Kingdom, and India) and have risen the least where top tax rates have remained very high (France and Japan).
In sum, studies based on tax return data provide highly misleading comparisons of changes to the U.S. income distribution because of dramatic changes in tax rules and tax reporting in recent decades. Aside from stock option windfalls during the late-1990s stock-market boom, there is little evidence of a significant or sustained increase in the inequality of U.S. incomes, wages, consumption, or wealth over the past 20 years.
2014-11-19
National Housing Institute;
This report summarizes how McCormack Baron Salazar, a development firm, and its nonprofit subsidiary, Urban Strategies, involved residents in an 18-month redevelopment of New Orleans' C.J. Peete public housing complex after Hurricane Katrina. The National Housing Institute report takes an up-close look at how those charged with redeveloping the public housing development worked with residents throughout the process -- and what they learned along the way.
2012-02-07
Commonwealth Fund;
Presents survey findings related to uninsurance, access to regular sources of care, and emergency room visits among low- and moderate-income families compared with others. Outlines Affordable Care Act provisions to offer affordable coverage options.
2011-12-16
Working Poor Families Project;
Highlights 2007-10 trends in the number and percentage of working families with incomes below 200 percent of the poverty line by state and race/ethnicity, as well as the number of children affected. Examines income inequality by quintile and implications.
2011-09-13
Social IMPACT Research Center;
The newly released poverty data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey provide a glimpse of the ongoing impacts of the Great Recession for millions of individuals and families. While the recession technically ended in 2009, stubbornly high unemployment persists across the Midwest and throughout the nation, leading to increasing hardship and need. In 2010, the number of people experiencing poverty was the highest on record, and the poverty rate was the highest since 1993. The 2010 increase marked the 3rd annual consecutive increase in the rate and the 4th consecutive increase in the number in poverty.
2011-09-13
Social IMPACT Research Center;
The year 2010 was the first full calendar year after the end of the Great Recession, which lasted from December 2007 to June 2009. Estimates of poverty, income, and health insurance from the Current Population Survey shine a spotlight on how Americans are fairing post-recession. The findings reveal a nation struggling with prolonged job loss, as evidenced by increasing poverty, declining incomes, and loss of employer-sponsored health insurance.
2011-09-22
Social IMPACT Research Center;
The newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey provide a glimpse of the ongoing impacts of the Great Recession for millions of individuals and families. This snapshot of your community's data includes a comparison of 2010 data to 2009 and 1999, illustrating trends over time.
2009-11-20
Social IMPACT Research Center;
Poverty and Income Estimates for All Illinois CountiesU.S. Census Bureau's 2008 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates ProgramAll data in this file are from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2008 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates Program (SAIPE). The SAIPE provides model-based estimates of poverty and income with information from the American Community Survey, population estimates, and administrative records. The most recent SAIPE data were released in 2009 and include data for 2008. For more
2011-09-22
Social IMPACT Research Center;
The newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey provide a glimpse of the ongoing impacts of the Great Recession for millions of individuals and families. This snapshot of your community's data includes a comparison of 2010 data to 2009 and 1999, illustrating trends over time.
2011-09-22
Social IMPACT Research Center;
The newly released data from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey provide a glimpse of the ongoing impacts of the Great Recession for millions of individuals and families. This snapshot of your community's data includes a comparison of 2010 data to 2009 and 1999, illustrating trends over time.
2010-01-22
Foundation Center;
In the immediate aftermath of the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti, the Foundation Center surveyed members of its Grantmaker Leadership Panel to gauge the reaction of top U.S. funders to the unfolding crisis. Findings suggest that a number of leading funders are considering a direct response to the crisis, with a primary focus on providing emergency assistance.
2013-01-15
Economic Policy Institute;
Evidence-based policy has been a goal of American education policymakers for at least two decades. School reformers seek data about student knowledge and skills, hoping to use this information to improve schools. One category of such evidence, international test results, has seemingly permitted comparisons of student performance in the United States with that in other countries. Such comparisons have frequently been interpreted to show that American students perform poorly when compared to students internationally. From this, reformers conclude that U.S. public education is failing and that its failure imperils America's ability to compete with other nations economically.
This report, however, shows that such inferences are too glib. Comparative student performance on international tests should be interpreted with much greater care than policymakers typically give it.
