The Facts

Reports

The Stress Test

A State-by-State Assessment of America's Economic Health and a Prescription for Change

The Stress TestEconomists and politicians debate whether or not we’re technically in a recession, but most Americans feel we’ve been in a recession for years.

The Campaign for America’s Future has designed "The Stress Test" to show how the economy affects working families. By assessing the condition of the job market, housing, health care, and household costs on a state-by-state basis over time, "The Stress Test" illustrates the troubles families face. Use this report to talk about the real impact of conservative policies and need for a new, progressive economic strategy.

» Read the full report (PDF)

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Toxic Trade

Globalizatiion and the Safety of the American Consumer

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 »

Fast Facts

Armand Biroonak's picture

CAF STAFF

Half of Our Trade Deficit Due to Oil

Almost half of our trade deficit—$327 billion—is attributable to oil imports. To finance this debt, we must either borrow from countries like China or sell off American assets at the rate of $2 billion every single day.

Source
http://www.energyintel.com/PublicationHomePage.asp?publication_id=2
Armand Biroonak's picture

CAF STAFF

Trade Deficit Nearly Doubles under Bush

America's trade deficit has nearly doubled during the Bush presidency. The 2007 trade deficit was $711 billion compared to $365 billion in 2001.

Source
"U.S. Trade in Goods and Services - Balance of Payments (BOP) 1960 thru 2007, U.S. Census Bureau. 10 June 2008. http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/statistics/historical/gands.txt

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 »

Public Pulse

Isaiah J. Poole's picture

CAF STAFF

Record Percentage of Americans Sees Themselves As Worse Off

Fifty-five percent of Americans interviewed in a May 30-June 1 Gallup Poll said they were worse off financially than they were a year ago. This is the first time in the 32 years that Gallup has tracked this question that a majority of Americans have declared themselves worse off financially. more »

Source
Gallup Poll. "Record-High 55% of Americans 'Financially Worse Off.'” June 2, 2008.
Isaiah J. Poole's picture

CAF STAFF

NAFTA-Type Deals Sour Public on Free Trade

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.