NYPD officers (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)

Budgets, as the saying goes, reflect our values. Take a closer look at where the money goes – or doesn’t – and you can readily see our nation’s priorities.

This is perhaps never truer than during an economic downturn. At FPWA, we’ve examined the trends in federal spending for human services using our online Federal Funds Tracker. We know that since the Great Recession ten years ago, the federal government’s austere budgets have left human service

protesting unused vacant property (via @pthny)

In New York City, the demand for affordable housing far exceeds supply. Seventy percent of the city’s homeless shelter residents are families. Families who should be in homes.

Now, as the United States House of Representatives and Senate look to

Sen. Schumer (photo via @SenSchumer)

New York's Charles Schumer has suddenly become the most important Democratic leader in the country through his selection as Minority Leader in the United States Senate. Schumer’s role over the next few years will be critical in shaping the nation's future.

Leading 46 Democrats, Schumer looks back on a net loss of several Senate seats since 2009 and forward to 2018, when 10 Senate Democrats will be up for re-election in states won by Donald Trump. Schumer is said to get along well with Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,