Money Matters: Avoiding Home Foreclosures, Economic Stimulus & Military Budget - 10/29/08
Money Matters
FCNL’s Budget Interest Group
October 29, 2008
Avoiding Home Foreclosures, Economic Stimulus & Budgets for Peace
The Economy
Funding for Human Needs
Military Spending
The Economy
Legislators Call for More Homeowner Protection
The financial rescue that Congress passed earlier this month (officially called the Troubled Asset Relief Program), was mainly concerned with stabilizing the banking system while provisions for homeowners in danger of losing their homes were minimal. Find out more about homeowner protections currently being proposed in Congress.
Budget Watch Publishes Guide to McCain, Obama Economic Proposals
How do the economic stimulus plans of the two major party candidates compare? Read the analysis of U.S. Budget Watch.
U.S. Corporate Taxes Low Relative to Other Developed Countries
Based on recently released Treasury Department data, U.S. corporations paid an average of 13.4 percent of their profits in taxes between 2000 and 2005, while companies in similar developed countries paid an average of 16.1 percent. This discrepancy is largely explained by the higher tax breaks that the United States gives to businesses. The Treasury estimates that corporate tax breaks will cost the government $1.2 trillion in revenues over the next 10 years. Find out more from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Credit Rating Debacle Revealed
Credit rators testifying before the House Financial Services Committee this week revealed how credit rating agencies rate financial assets. In many cases, financial institutions paid credit raters directly, seriously compromising the independence of the raters’ judgment. This practice encouraged the artificial inflation of the value of mortgage assets. Find out more.
Funding for Human Needs
Underemployment Rate Hits 14-Year High
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that 17,136,000 people in the United States are currently underemployed, meaning that they either are unable to find any work or can only find part-time employment that doesn’t meet their financial needs. Find out more from the Economic Policy Institute.
Best Economic Stimulus: Focused Programs for Those in Need
The last “economic stimulus” plan that gave rebates on 2007 taxes to taxpayers temporarily boosted the economy, increasing consumer spending for a few weeks, but it neither created long-term economic growth nor greatly benefitted those most in need. For a second stimulus plan, which Congress could take up when it returns for a short session after the November election, lawmakers will consider focused programs that provide relief to those most affected by economic recession. For example, $1 in government spending on food stamps provides $1.73 in economic stimulus and $1 in unemployment insurance creates $1.64 in economic stimulus. Find out more from the Economic Policy Institute.
Military Spending
Congress Authorizes Record High Military Budget, FCNL Advocates for Peaceful Spending Priorities
FCNL staff members Bridget Moix and Kate Gould were quoted in this Truthout article on the recently adopted military authorization bill. The new bill authorizes $611 billion in military spending for fiscal year 2009. The Pentagon also expects a $450 billion increase in military spending over the next five years. Moix and Gould suggest that this increased military spending is out of line with the budget priorities of most people in this country, and they advocate for greater funding for diplomacy and human needs. Read the article.