The Facts

Reports

Toxic Trade

Globalizatiion and the Safety of the American Consumer

By Eric Lotke, Christopher Rasmussen, Alex Carter, Robert L. Borosage
Campaign for America's Future
10/30/2007
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As American consumers buy a sharply increased share of their goods from overseas, the American government has been cutting back its ability to regulate and inspect imports. Americans consumers are thus exposed to increasing numbers of products that were neither produced in America nor subject to American safety standards. The results put people at risk. more »

2006: The Fair-Trade Election

By Harold Meyerson
The American Prospect
11/14/2006
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Harold Meyerson examines how the debate over free trade ushered in a new progressive center on trade issues. more »

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Fast Facts

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Isaiah J. Poole's picture

CAF STAFF

Rebate Checks: Stimulus for Lenders

Submitted by Isaiah J. Poole
April 28th, 2008

As much as 60 percent of the $107 billion in rebates being sent to individuals and families starting this week as part of the Bush administration's economic stimulus plan will be used to pay down debt, according to a survey by Goldman Sachs. Another survey by the University of Michigan and Reuters said that only three in 10 rebate recipients plan to spend their rebate checks.

Source
Associated Press. "Shoppers will spend rebates on necessities." Accessed via MSNBC.com on April 28, 2008. Patti Doam. "Rebate Checks: Which Stocks Will Benefit (Or Not) From Spending." Accessed via CNBC.com on April 28, 2008.
Alex Carter's picture

CAF STAFF

Tax Rates for Middle Class Increases; Tax Rates for Rich Decreases

Submitted by Alex Carter
April 11th, 2008

Between 1960 and 2004, the average tax rate fell by nearly 14 percentage points for the top 1% of earners, while it has increased slightly (from 15.9% to 16.1%) for earners in the middle 20%.

Source
John Irons. Corporate tax declines and U.S. inequality. Economic Policy Institute. April 9, 2008.
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Fact Sheets and Briefs

The Dubious Priorities of the President's Fiscal 2009 Budget

President Bush’s fiscal 2009 budget would provide more tax cuts heavily skewed to the most well-off while cutting vital services for low- and moderate-income Americans, generating large deficits, and increasing the strain on states already confronting budget problems as a result of the economic downturn. The budget reflects misguided priorities that would leave the American people more vulnerable in a number of ways. more »

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Public Pulse

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Isaiah J. Poole's picture

CAF STAFF

NAFTA-Type Deals Sour Public on Free Trade

Submitted by Isaiah J. Poole
May 5th, 2008

Forty-eight percent of the people responding to an April 2008 Pew Research Center poll said that free trade agreements are a bad thing for the country, compared with 35 percent who call them a good thing. In that same poll, 61 percent of respondents said that free trade causes job losses, 56 percent said it lowers wages and 50 percent said it slows the economy.

Source
"Obama's Image Slips ... Public Support for Free Trade Declines," Section 4. The Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. May 1, 2008.
Alex Carter's picture

CAF STAFF

Iraq War Worsens Domestic Economic Problems

Submitted by Alex Carter
April 14th, 2008

The American public, by an overwhelming margin, believes that the cost of the Iraq war is worsening domestic economic problems. In a New York Times/CBS News poll completed on April 2, 67 percent of respondents said the war had contributed “a lot” to American economic problems, and 22 percent said it was contributing “some.” Only 10 percent said “not much” or “not at all.”

Source
John M. Broder. "Views on Money for Iraq War, and What Else Could Be Done With It." New York Times. April 14, 2008.
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