Tax Fairness

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:12:07 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of uninsured Americans in 2008: 45.7 million

Estimated number of uninsured Americans after passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act: 23 million

Percentage growth in the uninsured between 2004 and 2007 that came from lower- and middle-income families: 70

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 1999: $1,543

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 2009: $3,515

Savings on premiums to a low-income family from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act because they do not have to buy private, nongroup insurance: $10,076

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Access to health care is a critical component of a middle-class standard of living. Skyrocketing health care costs have created a vicious and destabilizing trap for middle-class Americans in which employer-sponsored coverage is offered less frequently and private coverage is increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, successful public programs that effectively cover children (SCHIP), the poor (Medicaid), and the elderly (Medicare) are unavailable to middle-class adults. Almost 46 million nonelderly Americans lack health insurance, the majority of whom are low- and middle-income, and the rate of the uninsured has grown significantly since 2000. At the same time, the average worker’s health care premium has increased 128% (to $3,515) since 1999. One study even found that just shy of two thirds of all bankruptcies are due to medical expenses even though the vast majority of these bankruptcies involve families who have health insurance. Because employers, too, have had to absorb similar premium increases, employer-sponsored insurance – the type of insurance most middle-class Americans obtain – has declined significantly in each of the last eight years. The economic downturn has exacerbated this situation and experts estimate that each percentage point increase in the unemployment rate results in substantial increases in the number of uninsured Americans. Given the high costs of obtaining insurance in the private, non-group market, which is nearly impossible without steady employment, many Americans have simply given up coverage over the last several years. In short, a perfect storm of increasing health care costs and a down economy has undermined the financial stability and endangered the wellbeing of the middle class and the aspiring middle class.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act would do much to relieve the financial stress placed on these households by high health insurance costs while also extending health coverage to millions of Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill would reduce the number of uninsured to 23 million, leaving just 6 percent of the population without health coverage. Expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults is one of the most effective and cost-efficient means of covering more aspiring middle-class Americans. The expansion would enroll about 15 million individuals in Medicaid, providing an important public backstop for aspiring middle-class families. Indeed, public programs have successfully kept millions of children from becoming uninsured, while the lack of such programs for low-income childless adults has led to increased numbers of the uninsured among this population. Similarly, subsidized coverage in the Health Benefits Exchanges would reduce health care costs for tens of millions of households. Premium savings could be as high as $10,000 for a low-income household of four. Such savings are targeted at the very groups that need the most help.

At the same time as it helps reduce health care costs for middle-class and aspiring middle-class Americans, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act greatly improves health coverage by enacting strict requirements for the type of insurance that is offered. The bill prevents the nightmare scenarios of being denied coverage just because you have become sick or being forced to pay higher premiums because of a preexisting condition (in many policies, being a woman is effectively considered a preexisting condition). Eventually, it will define minimum benefits and cost limits that must be included in most health insurance plans, not just ones offered by the Health Benefits Exchanges. And it will ensure that health insurers do not use premiums to pay for administrative costs and profits, instead of medical care. In this way, affordable and adequate health insurance that protects individuals and their families during both normal medical events and extraordinary medical hardship will be available to all aspiring middle-class and middle-class households.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Health Reform,” from the Kaiser Family Foundation

“The Treatment,” A Health Care Reform Blog from The New Republic

“Competitive Health Care: A Public Health Insurance Plan That Delivers Market Discipline,” from the Center for American Progress Action Fund

Wall Street Accountability and Consumer Protection Act

hmoroz — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:24:17 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of delinquent loans originated by IndyMac, which failed in the summer of 2008, that required either very little or no documentation: 81.9

Estimated total support made available by the federal government to the financial system since 2007: $23.7 trillion

Year in which Goldman Sachs paid its highest bonuses ever: 2007

Year in which Goldman Sachs is expected to break this record: 2009

Total federal TARP funds used to bail out Goldman Sachs Group: $10 billion

Number of homes the Center for Responsible Lending estimates could be saved by court-supervised modifications of mortgages in bankruptcy: 800,000

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. The economic and financial crisis has demonstrated that the current financial regulatory system permits banks, mortgage brokers and servicers, and other firms to enrich themselves at the expense of ordinary Americans. Abusive and fraudulent mortgages sold to unsuspecting homeowners fueled the housing crisis while credit card companies used deceptive billing practices to mire cardholders in debt. The federal government leaped into action to assist the financial services industry when firms like AIG, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup were at risk. The $700 billion TARP program and trillions of dollars more in cheap loans and guarantees have nurtured the financial services sector back to health, profits, and gigantic compensation packages. Meanwhile, middle-class Americans continue to face foreclosure and abusive lending and credit card practices in addition to extended bouts of unemployment.

The Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency is a critical innovation to protect ordinary Americans from deceptive and abusive lending practices. While consumers are currently guarded from faulty products like toasters, no single agency is tasked with overseeing the financial products and services – from credit cards to mortgages and student loans – that Americans rely on every day to earn a middle-class standard of living. The CFPA will be empowered to root out products and services that are harmful to aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans. It will promote equal access to safe credit products and root out harmful ones like certain subprime mortgages, abusive credit card practices, and usurious payday loans. The Agency is critical to making the financial services sector work for ordinary Americans. The Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act, which is included in the bill, also takes important steps to combat and end the abusive lending practices at the root of the financial crisis.

The legislation’s increased regulation of executive compensation, improved protections for investors, and expanded oversight of derivatives all address factors – compensation structures that encouraged excessive risk taking, fraudulent investment practices like Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and opaque derivatives contracts – that contributed to the financial crisis. These steps will help ensure that similar practices do not precipitate another crisis.

The Financial Services Oversight Council, the regulatory powers granted to the Council, and the dissolution authority included in the legislation make the development of a financial threat into an agent of financial and economic destabilization less likely. By regularizing a process for oversight of financial markets and creating a mechanism for regulators to impose capital, leverage, and other standards on at-risk firms, the legislation significantly enhances the federal government’s capacity to stem an outbreak of instability before it begins. Most importantly for middle-class Americans, this process and the dissolution authority created by the legislation rely on assessments of the largest financial firms for funding. Thus, if future bailouts become necessary, they are much less likely to use taxpayer dollars.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

Americans for Financial Reform

“Financial Regulatory Reform,” from the House Financial Services Committee

“Consumer Financial Protection Agency,” from the Consumer Federation of America

Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009

hmoroz — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:35:56 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Opposes

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Percentage of deaths that trigger the estate tax: 0.2

Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption in 2001, respectively: 60%, $675,000

Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption provided by the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act, respectively: 45%, $3,500,000

Loss in revenue from the legislation over ten years: $244 billion

Percentage of the estate tax paid by households in the top 1% of earners: 72.0

Percentage of the estate tax paid by households in the top 20% of earners: 96.2

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Opposes. The estate tax, the most progressive component of the federal tax code, applies only to Americans lucky enough to inherit substantial fortunes. In fact, only 0.2 percent of deaths currently result in taxable estates. By taxing inherited wealth, the tax preserves the American tradition of rewarding hard work, not inherited privilege and wealth. Although the legislation does ensure that the estate tax does not disappear completely in 2010 as current law would require, the bill’s increased exemption allowance and lower top tax rate would mean $244 billion in lost revenue over ten years. This significant reduction would benefit only the wealthiest American estates worth millions of dollars at a time when the federal government is struggling to fund benefits for families hit by unemployment and extend health coverage to people who cannot afford the care they need.

If Congress takes no action on the estate tax, current law would reinstate a $1 million exemption and a top tax rate of 60 percent in 2011, both of which are consistent with – or more generous than – historical levels. Although more estates would be subject to the estate tax, 99.9 percent of them would be millionaires and very few would be small businesses and farms. In contrast, the Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act would adversely affect aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans by burdening them with more of the cost of public services while allowing additional accumulated wealth to be passed on for generations. Those who work for their money would be forced either to pick up a bigger share of the tax bill or to suffer cuts in services essential to middle-class families and communities.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Tax Topics: Estate and Gift Taxes,” from the Tax Policy Center

"Estate Tax," from United for a Fair Economy

“The Estate Tax: Myths and Realities,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Testimony of Warren Buffet, Before the Senate Finance Committee

Affordable Health Care for America Act of 2009

hmoroz — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:04:32 -0500

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of uninsured Americans in 2008: 45.7 million

Estimated number of uninsured Americans after passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act: 18 million

Percentage growth in the uninsured between 2004 and 2007 that came from lower- and middle-income families: 70

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 1999: $1,543

Average annual worker contribution to health insurance premiums in employer-sponsored coverage in 2009: $3,515

Savings to a low-income family and a higher-income family, respectively, from the Affordable Health Care for America Act because they do not have to buy private, nongroup insurance: $9,000, $1,260

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Skyrocketing health care costs have created a vicious and destabilizing trap for middle-class Americans in which employer-sponsored coverage is offered less frequently and private coverage is increasingly unaffordable. Meanwhile, successful public programs that effectively cover children (SCHIP), the poor (Medicaid), and the elderly (Medicare) are unavailable to middle-class adults. Almost 46 million nonelderly Americans lack health insurance, the majority of whom are low- and middle-income, and the rate of the uninsured has grown significantly since 2000. At the same time, the average worker’s health care premium has increased 128% (to $3,515) since 1999. One study has even found that just shy of two thirds of all bankruptcies are due to medical expenses even though the vast majority of these bankruptcies involve families who have health insurance. Because employers, too, have had to absorb similar premium increases, employer-sponsored insurance – the type of insurance most middle-class Americans obtain – has declined significantly in each of the last eight years. The economic downturn has exacerbated this situation and experts estimate that each percentage point increase in the unemployment rate results in substantial increases in the number of uninsured Americans. Given the high costs of obtaining insurance in the private, non-group market, which is nearly impossible without steady employment, many Americans have simply given up coverage over the last several years. In short, a perfect storm of increasing health care costs and a down economy has undermined the financial stability and endangered the wellbeing of the middle class and the aspiring middle class.

The Affordable Health Care for America Act would do much to relieve the financial stress placed on these households by high health insurance costs while also extending health coverage to millions of Americans. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reckons that the bill would reduce the number of uninsured to 18 million, leaving just 4 percent of the population without health coverage. Expanding Medicaid to cover low-income adults is one of the most effective and cost-efficient means of covering more aspiring middle-class Americans. The expansion would enroll about 15 million individuals in Medicaid, providing an important public backstop for low-income families. Indeed, public programs have successfully kept millions of children from becoming uninsured, while the lack of such programs for low-income childless adults has led to increased numbers of the uninsured among this population. Similarly, coverage in the Health Insurance Exchange would reduce health care costs for tens of millions of households: the savings range from more than $9,000 for a low-income household of four which receives payment assistance to $1,260 for a higher-income family making more than $90,000 that does not receive such assistance. Such savings are targeted at the very groups that need the most help. The inclusion of a public option in the Exchange, in which a relatively meager 6 million individuals are expected to enroll, will create competition with the Exchange’s private insurance plans driving costs even lower.

At the same time as it helps reduce health care costs for middle-class and aspiring middle-class Americans, the Affordable Health Care for America Act greatly improves health coverage by enacting strict requirements for the type of insurance that is offered. The bill prevents the nightmare scenarios of being denied coverage just because you have become sick or being forced to pay higher premiums because of a preexisting condition (in many policies, being a woman is effectively considered a preexisting condition). Eventually, it will define minimum benefits and cost limits that must be included in all health insurance plans, not just ones offered by the Health Insurance Exchange. And it will ensure that health insurers do not use premiums to pay for administrative costs and profits, instead of medical care. In this way, affordable and adequate health insurance that protects individuals and their families during both normal medical events and extraordinary medical hardship will be available to all aspiring middle-class and middle-class households.

Finally, the Act contains cost-cutting strategies to reduce the impact of health care costs on the budget deficit and additional measures to reorient health care delivery to quality, preventive care and away from costly and unnecessary overtreatment. Eliminating overpayments to Medicare Advantage, the ill-advised, Bush-era privatization of a chunk of Medicare, and empowering the Secretary of Health and Human Services to negotiate Medicare drug prices are effective ways to cut costs without weakening coverage. The tax surcharge on the wealthiest Americans, who benefited most from the economic growth of the 2000s and who are weathering the current economic downturn best, is a sensible method of increasing access to and the affordability of health insurance coverage in a fiscally responsible manner.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Health Reform,” from the Kaiser Family Foundation

“House Health Reform Bill Expands Coverage And Lowers Health Cost Growth, While Reducing Deficits,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

“Competitive Health Care: A Public Health Insurance Plan That Delivers Market Discipline,” from the Center for American Progress Action Fund

“The Treatment,” A Health Care Reform Blog from The New Republic

Death Tax Repeal Permanency Act of 2006

hmoroz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:15:32 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Opposes

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Year the federal estate tax was introduced: 1916

Ratio of Americans who died in 2006 that paid any estate taxes: 5 in 1000

Percentage of the estate tax paid by the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans: 90.3

Estimated amount raised by the estate tax in 2006: $18.3 billion

Estimated cost of completely repealing the estate tax from 2012 to 2021: $1 trillion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Opposes. The estate tax falls only on the small number of individuals lucky enough to inherit a windfall – less than one percent of Americans ever pay it at all. Nearly half of all estate taxes collected by the government are paid by the most affluent 0.1 percent of Americans. By further increasing the amount of money heirs can acquire without paying a dime, this bill would shift more of the cost of the public services that benefit all Americans onto middle-class families, allowing accumulated wealth to be passed on for generations while obliging those who work for their money to pick up a bigger share of the tax bill, or suffer cuts in services essential to middle-class families and communities.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“The Estate Tax: Myths and Realities,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

United for a Fair Economy on the estate tax

Citizens for Tax Justice on the estate tax

“Estate Tax Facts,” from the Tax Policy Center

Permanent Estate Tax Relief Act of 2006

hmoroz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:35:25 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Opposes

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Year the federal estate tax was introduced: 1916

Ratio of Americans who died in 2006 that paid any estate taxes: 5 in 1000

Percentage of the estate tax paid by the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans: 90.3

Estimated amount raised by the estate tax in 2006: $18.3 billion

Projected cost to the federal treasury of this legislation over the next ten years: $280 billion

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle Class Opposes. The estate tax falls only on the small number of individuals lucky enough to inherit a windfall – less than one percent of Americans ever pay it at all. Nearly half of all estate taxes collected by the government are paid by the most affluent 0.1% of Americans – individuals who make $1.5 million a year or more. In this way, the estate tax continues America’s long tradition of honoring hard work and opportunity, rather than inherited privilege and wealth. But by abolishing the estate tax, this bill would deprive the public of hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenue. In effect, estate tax repeal shifts more of the cost of public services onto middle-class and aspiring middle-class families, allowing accumulated wealth to be passed on for generations while obliging those who work for their money to either pick up a bigger share of the tax bill, or suffer cuts in services essential to middle-class families and communities.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“High Cost Of Thomas Proposal Reflects The Low Effective Tax Rates Estates Would Face,”
By Joel Friedman and Aviva Aron-Dine from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities

United for a Fair Economy on the estate tax

Citizens for Tax Justice on the estate tax

“Estate Tax Facts,” from the Tax Policy Center

Vote To Raise the Minimum Wage without Cutting Estate Taxes of 2006

hmoroz — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 12:15:12 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Number of workers who would benefit from the minimum wage increase included in the Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act: 5.6 million

Approximate number of estates the estate tax reduction would benefit: 8,200

Percentage increase in the cost-of-living since September 1997: 26

Percentage increase in the federal minimum wage since September 1997: 0

Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption in 2001, respectively: 60%, $675,000

Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption in 2015 under the Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act: 30%, $5 million

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

The Middle-Class Supports. At less than $11,000 a year for a full-time worker, the federal minimum wage is a poverty wage. It is a rate at which it is impossible for working Americans to independently pay their rent, feed their families or get needed medical care—much less save for the types of investments that make it possible to work one’s way into the middle class, like an education, a secure home or the chance to start a business.

Contrary to the stereotype of the minimum wage worker as a teenager with nothing to purchase but junk food and movie tickets, the typical minimum wage worker is an adult providing more than half of his or her family’s total earnings. According to the Economic Policy Institute, half of families with a minimum wage worker rely on his or her pay as the family’s only source of earnings. As many states have raised their minimum wages above the federal rate, economists have also had more opportunities to study the effects of minimum wage increases, concluding that raising the minimum wage does not lead to the loss of jobs.

In contrast, the estate tax provisions which this vote aimed to remove from the bill will only benefit the wealthiest taxpayers. The estate tax is the most progressive component of the federal tax code and applies only to Americans lucky enough to inherit substantial fortunes. By taxing inherited wealth, the tax preserves the American tradition of rewarding hard work, not inherited privilege and wealth. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the estate tax provisions would cost approximately $267.6 billion between 2007 and 2016. This significant reduction would adversely affect aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans by burdening them with more of the cost of public services while allowing accumulated wealth to be passed on for generations. Those who work for their money would be forced either to pick up a bigger share of the tax bill or to suffer cuts in services essential to middle-class families and communities.

Roll Call Vote 424 would strip the provisions that are detrimental to middle-class households from the legislation, while preserving the minimum wage increases that are critical to expanding the ranks of the middle class.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Nine Years of Neglect: Federal Minimum Wage Remains Unchanged for Ninth Straight Year,” from the Economic Policy Institute

“States with Minimum Wages above the Federal Level Have Had Faster Small Business and Retail Job Growth,” from the Fiscal Policy Institute

“Tax Topics: Estate and Gift Taxes,” from the Tax Policy Center

Estate Tax Cut Amendment of 2009

hmoroz — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:33:39 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Opposes

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption in 2001, respectively: 60%, $675,000

Top estate tax rate and maximum exemption in 2009, respectively: 45%, $3,500,000

Percentage of estates that will benefit from the amendment: 0.28

Estimated cost of the amendment between 2012 and 2021, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, in dollars: $440 billion

Percentage of the estate tax paid by households in the top 1% of earners: 81.1

Percentage of the estate tax paid by households in the top 20% of earners: 99.7

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Opposes. The estate tax, the most progressive component of the federal tax code, applies only to Americans lucky enough to inherit substantial fortunes. In fact, only 0.6% of deaths result in taxable estates. By taxing inherited wealth, the tax preserves the American tradition of rewarding hard work, not inherited privilege and wealth. Although the amendment does not fully repeal the estate tax, as has been proposed in the past, the legislation would still cost approximately $442 billion over ten years compared to current law. This significant reduction in revenue would benefit only the wealthiest 3 of every 1,000 American estates worth millions of dollars. While conservatives argue that the estate tax harms small farms and business, very few such estates are subject to the tax.

The amendment would adversely affect aspiring middle-class and middle-class Americans by burdening them with more of the cost of public services while allowing accumulated wealth to be passed on for generations. Those who work for their money would be forced either to pick up a bigger share of the tax bill or to suffer cuts in services essential to middle-class families and communities.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

“Tax Topics: Estate and Gift Taxes,” from the Tax Policy Center

“Lincoln-Kyl Estate Tax Amendment Is Both Unnecessary And Unaffordable,” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Testimony of Warren Buffet, Before the Senate Finance Committee

A Bill To Impose An Additional Tax On Bonuses Received From TARP Recipients of 2009

hmoroz — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:35:25 -0400

Legislation

The middle class

Supports

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Total amount of federal assistance authorized for AIG, according the Government Accountability Office, in dollars: 182,500,000,000

Minimum amount of bonuses distributed to employees of AIG’s Financial Products Subsidiary, the unit principally responsible for the firm’s collapse, in dollars: 165,000,000

Percent ownership stake in Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and AIG held by the United States government, respectively: 79.9, 79.9, 77.9

Value of assets received for every $100 the Treasury Department spent on the ten largest TARP investments in 2008, in dollars: 66

Value of securities received by Berkshire Hathaway for each $100 it invested in Goldman Sachs in September of 2008, in dollars: 110

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

Middle Class Supports. Taxpayer bailout funds should be used first to prevent a collapse of the financial system and next to make the financial system work for current middle-class Americans by addressing the housing crisis and increasing the availability of loans. Under no circumstances should taxpayer funds pay exorbitant executive bonuses. The tax on bonuses imposed by H.R.1586 provides taxpayers with a measure of accountability by recovering taxpayer funds that are misused by financial institutions whose very existence is largely predicated on government assistance. The tax cannot excuse the government’s initial failure to limit executive compensation at firms propped up by taxpayers. However, the bill will protect middle-class taxpayers by holding firms accountable when they use public money inappropriately for bonuses.

As difficulties for middle-class Americans worsened at the end of 2008, Congress prioritized the country’s financial sector instead of struggling homeowners and the growing ranks of the unemployed. Legislators rushed passage of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), arguing that a failure to shore up the financial system would cause great pain throughout the economy. In exchange, they promised strict oversight and accountability for the $700 billion of taxpayer money that would be funneled to the very banks and financial institutions responsible for the current crisis. But strong measures to ensure appropriate use of taxpayer funds were not included in EESA. Despite a majority government stake and commitment of $183 billion of government funds, American International Group paid executives bonuses unthinkable to the vast majority of working Americans. Similar compensation payments are planned for executives of the housing finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are also under government control.

Quotes from Experts

Beyond this Bill

Additional Resources

TARP Oversight and Accountability Reports, from the House Financial Services Committee

TARP Congressional Oversight Panel

“Re: AIG 2008 Retention Bonuses,” Letter from New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to Rep. Barney Frank

Tax Fairness

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

Middle Class Position Analysis

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Beyond this Bill

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Wall Street Accountability and Consumer Protection Act

Legislation

The middle class

Video Summary

Injustice Facts

Overview/Summary

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Beyond this Bill

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Permanent Estate Tax Relief for Families, Farmers, and Small Businesses Act of 2009

Legislation

The middle class

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Injustice Facts

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Middle Class Position Analysis

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The middle class

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