In Case You Missed It… | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

off the charts

POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

This week at CBPP we focused on the federal budget, Social Security, poverty and inequality, food assistance, health care, family income support, state budgets and taxes, and the economy.

On the federal budget, we excerpted a statement from Robert Greenstein supporting the budget deal crafted by congressional leaders and the White House.
On Social Security, Kathleen Romig pointed out that the budget agreement closes two Social Security loopholes.
On poverty and income inequality, Arloc Sherman explained that safety net programs are even more effective at reducing poverty than previously thought. We updated our guide to historical trends in income inequality.
On food assistance, Dottie Rosenbaum debunked recent criticisms of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
On health care, Sarah Lueck previewed the upcoming open enrollment period for small businesses that want to provide health coverage to their workers. Tara Straw explained that it’s not too late for marketplace enrollees to file taxes and keep their health care subsidies for 2016 coverage. Jesse Cross-Call lauded the success of health reform’s coverage expansions that helped drive uninsured rate among children to a historic low in 2014.
On family income support, we updated our paper that explains how the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program continues to weaken as a safety net and our state fact sheets that show state-by-state trends in caseloads and TANF-to-poverty ratios. Ife Floyd described why TANF is a poor model for other safety net programs, detailed how states have used TANF’s flexibility to weaken its role in improving the lives of America’s poorest families, and listed five steps that the President and Congress should take to strengthen TANF as they consider reauthorizing the program.
On state budgets and taxes, Erica Williams, Michael Leachman, Marlana Wallace, and Nick Albares described how inclusive state policies can benefit unauthorized immigrants and state economies. Erica Williams listed three sensible policies that can help states build a strong foundation for broadly shared prosperity.
On the economy, we updated our chart book on the legacy of the Great Recession

Chart of the Week: TANF’s Role as a Safety Net Continues to Decline

TANF's Role as a Safety Net Continues to Decline

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights:

Budget Deal Ends Key Social Security Claim Strategies
Wall Street Journal
October 28, 2015

The challenge of being Paul Ryan
Washington Post
October 28, 2015

A Strategy to Ignore Poverty
New York Times
October 27, 2015

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