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off the charts
POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

In Case You Missed It…

| By CBPP

This week on Off the Charts, we discussed the economy, why President Bush’s tax cuts for high-income households should expire on schedule, the tough budget choices states are making, Social Security, and the health reform law.

  • On the economy, Chad Stone explained why new GDP figures show the economic recovery is not yet on solid footing.  Stone also highlighted a new chartbook, The Legacy of the Great Recession.  Michael Leachman commented on a new Congressional Budget Office analysis finding that up to 3.3 million people owe their jobs to the federal Recovery Act.  Donna Pavetti highlighted an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal (“Our Blue-Collar Great Depression”), where Rockefeller Foundation executive Janice Nittoli made a compelling argument for extending the TANF Emergency Fund.
  • On the tax cuts for high-income households, Chuck Marr explained how extending the tax cuts may exacerbate a stunning shift in income away from the middle class and towards the highest-income people in the country over the last three decades.  We also posted a joint op-ed from Robert Greenstein, the Center’s executive director, and John Podesta, president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, on why the tax cuts should expire on schedule.
  • On the state level, Elizabeth McNichol explained why most states have rejected a cuts-only approach to addressing budget shortfalls.  McNichol also sat down with us to discuss why the state budget crisis continues even though some states are reporting year-end surpluses.
  • On Social Security, we showcased a new report from our colleague Kathy Ruffing outlining the program’s outlook over the short and long term.
  • Lastly, on health reform, we highlighted a recent opinion piece on an element of the Affordable Care Act: a new insurance program for long-term care.  Paul Van de Water is one of the authors.

In other news, the Center released a podcast on why the state budget crisis continues even though some states are reporting year-end surpluses.  Find it on iTunes here.