Federal Reserve: From Income to Consumption Inequality? Looking through the Lens of Motor Vehicle Purchases
Wendy Dunn and Maria D. Tito1 Rising income inequality in the United States over the past several decades has been well documented in the economics literature.2 Recent studies have also looked at the dispersion in consumption, since it more accurately captures disparities in economic well-being. Here, however, the findings are mixed–while some authors find the…
SBA: New Report Helps Explain Differences in Latino Business Ownership and Income
A new report prepared for the Office of Advocacy by Professor Robert Fairlie, “Latino Business Ownership: Contributions and Barriers for U.S. Born and Immigrant Latino Entrepreneurs,” evaluates the differences in Latino self-employment rates and business income, comparing immigrant and U.S.-born Latino men and women with non-minorities. Roughly 600,000 business owners are U.S.-born Latinos, with an…
FEMA: Draft National Mitigation Investment Strategy Released for Public Comment
Hazard Mitigation Report Shows Benefits of Mitigation Strategies Following a report released today by the National Institute of Building Sciences that found, on average, every $1 spent on federally funded hazard mitigation grants saves $6 in future disaster costs, FEMA released the draft National Mitigation Investment Strategy for public comment. The draft National Mitigation Investment…
HUD: Record $2 Billion Awarded to Thousands of Local Homeless Assistance Programs Across U.S.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded a record $2 billion to support more than 7,300 local homeless assistance programs across the nation. HUD’s Continuum of Care grants provide critically needed support to local programs on the front lines of serving individuals and families experiencing homelessness. View a complete list of all…
Federal Reseve: Entrepreneurship and State Taxation
FEDS 2018-03 Entrepreneurship and State Taxation (PDF) E. Mark Curtis and Ryan A. Decker Abstract: Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in the economy, yet there exists little well-identified research into the effects of taxes on startup activity. Using recently developed county-level data on startups, we examine the effect of states’ corporate, personal and sales tax…
Federal Reserve: New Interactive Data Tools Added to Website for the Financial Accounts of the United States
The Federal Reserve Board on Thursday added three new tools to its web site to provide interactive access to data from the Board’s Financial Accounts of the United States (Z.1) release, which tracks the aggregate wealth of U.S. households and other economic sectors. The data visualization tools show, at a glance, the evolution of key…
FEMA: Federal Disaster Declaration for Southern California Wildfires now Includes Flooding, Mudflows, Debris
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced today that the federal disaster assistance declaration made available to the state of California to supplement state, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires from December 4, 2017 and continuing has been amended. The declaration now includes damage from Flooding, Mudflows, and Debris flows…
SBA: New Grant Opportunities Announced for Women’s Business Center Funding
The U.S. Small Business Administration has announced the availability of two new grant opportunities for established and aspiring Women’s Business Center host organizations to provide outcome-oriented business services for women entrepreneurs. The first grant funding opportunity is the Women’s Business Center Initial Phase Grant (#OWBO-2017-01-1) that will provide $75,000 for up to six eligible nonprofit…
ABA: Report Shows Consumer Delinquencies Mixed in Third Quarter
The delinquency picture was mixed in last year’s third quarter, as delinquencies in closed-end loans (like personal or auto loans) rose while delinquencies in key open-end loans (like credit cards) fell, according to results from the latest American Bankers Association Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin. Overall, delinquencies fell in 5 and rose in 5 of the…
CFPB: Sign Up for Email Course to Get Your Finances in Shape
Do you want to know how to create a budget? Have you ever tried tracking your spending? Are you interested in strategies for paying down your debt? If any of these apply to you, or if you’re interested in finding new ways to meet your financial goals, our Get a Handle on Debt Boot Camp…