Money
Pew's Analysis of Growth in Personal Income Shows Uneven US Recovery
States have recovered at different paces. Adjusted for inflation, personal income in 21 states has grown faster than in the nation as a whole since the start of the recession. Only in mid-2015 did the final state — Nevada — recover its personal-income losses and return to its pre-recession level. more »
Congressional Hearings and Bills Introduced: Opioid Abuse, WASPs' Burial Bill; INSPIRE Act, Training and Counseling to Women Entrepreneurs
A bill seeks to reauthorize and modernize the Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers (WBCs), and Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) programs. Another bill would authorize the National Science Foundation to "encourage its entrepreneurial programs to recruit and support women to extend their focus beyond the laboratory and into the commercial world." And A bill to revise the crime of sexual assault under Article 120 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice to include committing a sexual act upon another person by using position, rank, or authority to obtain compliance by the other person. more »
The Outlook, Uncertainty, and Monetary Policy; Janet Yellen's Speech to the Economic Club of New York
"The labor market has added an average of almost 230,000 jobs a month over the past three months. In addition, the unemployment rate has edged down further, more people are joining the workforce as the prospects for finding jobs have improved, and the employment-to-population ratio has increased by almost 1/2 percentage point. The housing market continues its gradual recovery, and fiscal policy at all levels of government is now modestly boosting economic activity after exerting a considerable drag in recent years." more »
While the Snow Falls & You Avoid the Shovel; IRS Offers More Free Federal and Free State Tax Software Options
"We are proud to once again offer the industry's most innovative and secure tax software at no cost to 70 percent of American taxpayers. Tax time can be stressful, but Free File makes step-by-step help accessible to everyone making $62,000 or less. IRS.gov/FreeFile is the one place where taxpayers can choose from a variety of industry-leading tax software options in order to prepare and e-file their federal tax returns at absolutely no cost." more »