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How U.S. Congress Spends Federal Tax Revenue

Chart showing how the United States Congress spends the federal tax revenue. (31 January 2008)... Read More...

Illinois Initiative Process

The fight for I&R in Illinois began in 1897, when 250 delegates met in Chicago to form the Direct Legislation Union. Encouraged by this organization, the state Democratic Party endorsed I&R, and governor John Peter Altgeld endorsed it in a Labor Day speech in 1899. Read More...

Taxes by State

We pay Uncle Sam the same no matter where we live, but property, gasoline, tobacco, sales and state income taxes are all over the map... Read More...

The Progressives and Direct Democracy

The 1890's are often viewed today as a happy time period when Americans lived uncomplicated lives with few problems to worry about. But, time has a way of covering up the negative and the ugly. Rather than being a "happy time," the 1890's may have been one of the worst times for Americans... Read More...

The Indirect Effects of Ballot Initiatives

A number of academic studies have found that states with ballot initiatives and direct democracy have lower taxes and less spending than other states (Matsusaka, 1996)... academic literature has spent little time examining why this is the case. Some have argued anecdotally that ballot initiatives are used to enact large tax reductions at the state level... California's Proposition 13 continues to receive a great deal of attention... Read More...

American Tax Research

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