Views on Economics and Budgeting

Many of the economic and budget sites available on the web represent various partisan and ideological perspectives. Explore the sites and try to identify the partisan or ideological orientation of the organization that sponsors each of them. You can usually find this information in the site’s “mission” or “about” links. A short comment from each organization’s website follows below. You can choose 3 out of 5 websites

·      How evident are their differences in political orientation?

·      What kind of information tells you most reliably what each organization’s political leanings are?

o   www.cbpp.org Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

“. . . is one of the nation’s premier policy organizations working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low and moderate-income families and individuals.”

o   www.concordcoalition.org Concord Coalition

“. . . a nationwide, non-partisan, grassroots organization advocating fiscal responsibility.”

o   www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/cea/ Council of Economic Advisers. A government council

o   www.nber.org National Bureau of Economic Research

“. . . is a private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of how the economy works. The NBER is committed to undertaking and disseminating unbiased economic research among public policymakers, business professionals, and the academic community.”

o   www.taxfoundation.org Tax Foundation

“. . . is the nation’s leading independent tax policy research organization . . . Informed smarter tax policy at the federal, state, and local levels.”

·      What cautions would you give to policymakers who rely upon these websites for the information upon which to develop policy?