Property Taxes And Funding Schools

Schools receive funding from the property taxes of nearby neighborhoods. Richer areas are bound to receive more money because the taxes the rich people pay are higher than the poorer communities. The poor communities pay less because their property is not valued as high and schools in that area get less funding which usually makes them worse off. In order to more efficiently fund schools, richer schools need to donate supplies or money to those in need. A rich school with all the supplies they need still has to spend the money it gets on things they do not need. Instead of helping a poor school get textbooks the rich school will get more comfortable chairs or a
different asset that is not needed. Efficient school spending would lead to higher education in less fortunate communities which could boost the community as a whole in years to come.
States experiencing taxpayer revolts among homeowners are tempted to reduce reliance on the property tax to fund schools. But a more targeted approach can provide property tax relief and also improve state funding for public education, according to this new report by Daphne A. Kenyon, a visiting fellow at the Lincoln Institute. “Those who have tried to reduce property taxes and improve school performance at the same time have not met with much success,” according to Kenyon.

The report includes a comprehensive review of recent research on both the property tax and school funding, and summarizes case studies of seven states—California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas, the majority of them heavily reliant on property tax revenues to fund schools. Among these states Massachusetts ranks the highest and California the lowest, according to the respective property tax relief and school funding principles presented in the report.

One objective of the report is to provide information helpful to state policy makers and others who are grappling with the twin challenges of court mandates regarding school funding and constituent pressure to lower property taxes. Another objective is to correct some common misconceptions through a critical analysis of nine myths regarding school funding litigation, property tax characteristics, and the state role in funding education.

While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, the report recommends addressing property taxes and school funding separately.

Property tax relief. Arguing that the use of property tax revenue for schools is fundamentally sound, the report points out that increasing state aid for education does not necessarily result in lower property taxes, and it cautions against switching to greater reliance on a sales tax, for example, to fund schools. Instead, a more targeted effort can achieve fairness and relief, with the greater use of circuit breakers that adjust property tax bills based on ability to pay. Many states do not take full advantage of this policy instrument, or limit its application to the elderly.

School funding. Addressing the complex issue of statewide funding for schools, the report also recommends a targeted approach—distributing state aid for public education to the neediest school districts, schools, and students. State policy makers should not aim to provide any specific percentage for the state’s share of funding K-12 education, the report concludes.

According to Darcy Saas, the Deputy Director of the New England Public Policy Center, a research group established by the Boston Federal Reserve Bank, this report's "most important contribution is its exposure and discussion of the common misconceptions regarding school funding and property taxes. Public policies are too often developed based on incomplete analysis and unchallenged assertions. There is a real need for objective research like Dr. Kenyon’s that can shine a brighter light on assumptions and support the development of sound policies."

Obama tax cuts

The House approved President Obama's sweeping tax-cut compromise at midnight Thursday, preventing tax rates from rising Jan. 1 and sending the president a bipartisan agreement that few could have imagined in deeply polarized Washington.

The vote to accept the $858-billion Senate-passed measure was 277 to 148. Now it goes to the president for his signature, which is expected to be swift. Obama campaigned incessantly for passage despite his opposition to extending the George W. Bush-era lower tax rates across the board, including on family income above $250,000.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/dec/17/nation/la-na-tax-cuts-20101217

Commentary: This is amazing how the tax cuts have changed over time.

Last Year’s Poverty Rate Was Highest in 12 Years

In the recession, the nation’s poverty rate climbed to 13.2 percent last year, up from 12.5 percent in 2007, according to an annual report released Thursday by the Census Bureau. The report also documented a decline in employer-provided health insurance and in coverage for adults. The rise in the poverty rate, to the highest level since 1997, portends even larger increases this year, which has registered far higher unemployment than in 2008, economists said. The bureau said 39.8 million residents last year lived below the poverty line, defined as an income of $22,025 for a family of four. In another sign of both the recession and the long-term stagnation of middle-class wages, median family incomes in 2008 fell to $50,300, compared with $52,200 the year before. This wiped out the income gains of the previous three years, the report said. Adjusted for inflation, in fact, median family incomes were lower in 2008 than a decade earlier. “This is the largest decline in the first year of a recession we’ve seen since the Census Bureau started collecting data after World War II,” said Lawrence Katz, an economist at Harvard University, referring to household incomes. “We’ve seen a lost decade for the typical American family.” The share of American residents who said they lacked health insurance throughout the entire year remained steady, at 15.4 percent, or 46.3 million people. But the total masked some more worrisome trends that are helping to drive the debate over a national health care overhaul. Continuing an eight-year trend, the number of people with private or employer-sponsored insurance declined, while the number of people relying on government insurance programs including Medicare, Medicaid, the children’s insurance program and military insurance rose.The share of children who were uninsured declined, to 9.9 percent from 11 percent in 2007, apparently because of the federal government’s special efforts to insure low-income children. But at the same time, the share of adults aged 18 to 64 without health insurance rose, to 20.3 percent in 2008 from 19.6 percent in 2007.In a speech Thursday to promote his health care overhaul, President Obama referred to the census survey and said that things had grown worse since September 2008. “Over the last 12 months, it’s estimated that the ranks of the uninsured have swelled by nearly six million people,” he said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/11/us/11poverty.html


Commentary: This is crazy the poverty is going higher and higher every year

Economic Industries

Our indicators are GDP, Inflation, and unemployment. Economists lower 2011 U.S. GDP growth forecasts to 2.5%. The unemployment rate in the United States was last reported at 8.9 percent in February of 2011. From 1948 until 2010 the United States' Unemployment Rate averaged 5.70 percent reaching an historical high of 10.80 percent in November of 1982 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953. The labour force is defined as the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work. The nonlabour force includes those who are not looking for work, those who are institutionalised and those serving in the military. This page includes: United States Unemployment Rate chart, historical data and news. The inflation rate in United States was last reported at 2.1 percent in February of 2011. From 1914 until 2010, the average inflation rate in United States was 3.38 percent reaching an historical high of 23.70 percent in June of 1920 and a record low of -15.80 percent in June of 1921. Inflation rate refers to a general rise in prices measured against a standard level of purchasing power. The most well known measures of Inflation are the CPI which measures consumer prices, and the GDP deflator, which measures inflation in the whole of the domestic economy. This page includes: United States Inflation Rate chart, historical data and news.

Country	Interest Rate	Growth Rate	Inflation Rate	Jobless Rate	Current Account	Exchange Rate
United States	0.25%	2.80%	1.60%	8.90%	-127	85.0400

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Unemployment-Rate.aspx?Symbol=USD
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/Economics/Inflation-CPI.aspx?Symbol=USD

Employment Situation Summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed                    USDL-11-0436
until 8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, April 1, 2011

Technical information:
Household data:       (202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Establishment data:   (202) 691-6555  *  cesinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/ces

Media contact:         (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


                      THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- MARCH 2011


Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 in March, and the unemployment
rate was little changed at 8.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health
care, leisure and hospitality, and mining. Employment in manufacturing continued
to trend up.
Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons (13.5 million) and the unemployment rate (8.8
percent) changed little in March. The labor force also was little changed over
the month. Since November 2010, the jobless rate has declined by 1.0 percentage
point. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.6 percent),
adult women (7.7 percent), teenagers (24.5 percent), whites (7.9 percent), blacks
(15.5 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) showed little change in March. The
jobless rate for Asians was 7.1 percent, not seasonally adjusted. (See tables A-1,
A-2, and A-3.)

The number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, at 8.2 million,
was little changed in March but has fallen by 1.3 million since November 2010.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was 6.1
million in March; their share of the unemployed increased from 43.9 to 45.5 percent
over the month. (See tables A-11 and A-12.)

In March, the civilian labor force participation rate held at 64.2 percent, and the
employment-population ratio, at 58.5 percent, changed little. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred
to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in March, at 8.4 million.
These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or
because they were unable to find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)


Commentary:This crazy and the percentage goes higher in Unemployment 

USA VS. China Economy

http://www.chinastockdigest.com/articles/Chinas-Economic-growth-versus-the-US.html


The US economic growth is still a superpower, the largest economy in the world. GDP per capita in the United States is high, at $46,000 in 2007. GDP growth rate in the country is stable and the country offers a relatively low unemployment rate. The country's economy is also cushioned with high levels of capital investment and research. There are various concerns in the current economy, though, including national debt, Social Security, mortgage debt, low savings rates, as well as the potentially looming recession.



Comment: I agree that the U.S economic growth is still a superpower but in my opinion China will beat U.S's economy if America wont do anything about this situation, they need to come up with a plan. I also thought that this is a good website to show the differences between china and US:

http://www.mint.com/blog/finance-core/china-vs-united-states-a-visual-comparison/

Constitution Party Opposes Sotomayor Confirmation

The Constitution Party National Committee unanimously passed a resolution urging the U.S. Senate to deny the confirmation of President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court, 2nd Cir. Appeals Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. The resolution was agreed upon at the party’s recent National Committee Meeting held in Newark, N.J. The resolution cites Sotomayor’s lack of fidelity to the Constitution in a number of areas including her denial of “ the applicability of the individual right to bear arms protected by the 2nd Amendment to the citizens of the several states;” because “she supports giving voting rights to convicted murderers who are still serving time in prison…”; because “ she has been a member of the National Council of La Raza, many of the leaders of which favor amnesty for illegal aliens and the return of the southwest United States to Mexico…” and because “she favors racial and ethnic quotas in education and employment…”

Read more on the web site: http://www.constitutionparty.com/news.php?aid=977