The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "inequalities" ...
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Our Youngest Killers: Juveniles Serving Life w/o Parole in Massachusetts
An investigation into the incarcerations of Massachusetts teens sentenced to life in prison reveals parole reveal inequities in the 1996 law.
Tags: Parole; Life Sentenve; Juvenile
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"More Money to the U.S. Rich"
In this series, the Finish Broadcasting Company displays the "scope" of the financial inequality in the U.S., where the rich get richer and the middle class income basically remains the same. Investigators trace the "roots of the inequality to the Reagan years."
Tags: Robert M. Solow; Heather Boushey; Dennis Kozlowski; income; Center for American Progress; M.I.T.; Ronald Reagan
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Tax Travesty
Philadelphia property taxes levies were plagued with inequalities aimed at gaining favor of residents with political clout. Overall, the investigation uncovers how the mission of the Board of Revision of Taxes, which is to accurately assess property values, failed because of consistent practice of undervaluing the homes of wealthy residents.
Tags: Philadelphia; homes; property taxes; assessment; Democratic Party; political; wealthy; property owners;
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The $10 Billion Hole
This project, which included three major stories and several smaller pieces, revealed the many problems that plague education funding in Illinois. The investigation found that reliance on property taxes to fund education leads to funding inequalities that keep lower-income neighborhoods at a disadvantage. The story also found that the state loses $10 billion in "social costs" (such as prisons and public assistance) from high school dropouts. Finally, the reporters also found that higher levels of education do not necessarily guarantee higher test scores.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; education; funding; state government; property taxes; statistical analysis; standardized tests; CAR
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Tax Revolt Goes Awry
This investigation exposed inequities in Florida's property tax system, which are unintended consequences of the Save Our Homes tax amendment. The discrepancies have grown so much that millionaires in beachfront homes pay less than middle-class families living in modest houses, costing the state millions in property tax revenue.
Tags: property taxes; real estate; development; tax reform; tax shelters; tax havens; Save Our Homes Amendment; open records
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Mebane Water Inequality
The investigation found that poor communities on the outskirts of Mebane, NC had really poor-quality surface water. Furthermore, the city denied any obligation to help residents of these neighborhoods.
Tags: water; public health; contamination; drinking water; sewers; city government; sewage
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Unbalanced Taxes
This five-article analysis of tax bills and assessments across New Jersey found a loosely regulated, unevenly enforced system allowing municipalities to calculate property tax bills using property assessments that in some cases are decades old. This article explores the implications of the problem and offers possible ways to reform the system. The series also exposes an inequality in the cost of property taxes in white and black neighborhoods. The cause of this imbalance are outdated tax rolls which may be in violation of federal civil rights laws. This tax discrimination can overcharge some homeowners anywhere from $400 to $1,400 per year. The series includes several graphics to illustrate the assessment and tax disparities in many New Jersey towns.
Tags: taxes; real estate; property; discrimination; assessment; revaluation
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Dubious Value: A Haphazard System for Assessing Property Values Produces Huge Differences in Tax Bills for Similar Properties
This investigation unearthed some major issues with property assessment in New Orleans. People who bought homes in New Orleans in 2003 paid, on average, 70 percent more than the value assigned by the assessor. These deficiencies in the appraisal process occur because many valuations have been "...Out of whack for decades, leading to accumulated tax inequities in the tens of thousands of dollars on some properties." The biggest breaks go to homeowners in neighborhoods that have experienced steep price appreciation in the last decade. The implications of this problem manifest themselves in the potholes on the streets and low-quality school buildings -- the city is losing tens of millions of dollars in property tax revenue every year.
Tags: property management; assessment; taxation; education; city programs; homeowners; housing market; garden district
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"Tax Inequity"; Unfair assessments, outdated rolls plague property tax collections
The East Baton Rouge Parish Assessor's Office was found to be incorrectly appraising residential property taxes for new and current homeowners. Whenever property was sold, the new owners paid taxes on current values, and the former homeowners paid taxes on the outdated value of the home. According to the Louisiana Constitution, the assessor's office is required to update the values every four years. The article showed that more than half of the parish's properties had not been assessed in accordance with the constitution, and as a result, many were "being taxed on values that were well below market rates."
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10 Deadly Days: Inside Brentwood
WJLA-TV "examined the deadly 2001 anthrax outbreak at the Brentwood Postal Facility in Washington, D.C. (The station) learned postal officials knew of the anthrax contamination several days before shutting the plant down. During this 'lag time,' many workers continued to fall ill at the plant with anthrax symptoms. (WJLA-TV) also uncovered inequities between the anthrax outbreak at the Brentwood facility and the outbreak on Capitol Hill. While Capitol Hill workers were evacuated and a Senate office building was immediately fumigated and cleansed, Brentwood workers continued to work under suspicious conditions. In fact, the Brentwood facility still has not been cleaned or fumigated to this day."
Tags: Brentwood Postal Facility; mail; Washington; D.C.; anthrax; September 11; Capitol Hill; terrorism; terrorist; fumigated; clean; TAPE; TRANSCRIPT