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POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

In Case You Missed It...

| By CBPP

This week at CBPP, we focused on state budgets and taxes, the federal budget, health care, and working-family tax credits.

  • On state budgets and taxes, Elizabeth McNichol urged states to invest more in infrastructure to create jobs and promote a full economic recovery.  Michael Mazerov reported on a court decision opening the door for states to collect a larger share of the taxes due on online purchases.  Michael Leachman highlighted a new report showing that unauthorized immigrants pay more of their income in state and local taxes than the top 1 percent.   Michael Mitchell explained why tax-cut proposals before Georgia lawmakers are misguided.

  • On the federal budget, Robert Greenstein, Richard Kogan, and Isaac Shapiro showed that low-income programs aren’t driving the nation’s long-term fiscal problem.  Greenstein, Shapiro, and Joel Friedman also showed that program spending outside Social Security and Medicare is historically low as a share of the economy and projected to fall further.  Friedman explained that the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Act already paid for the sequestration relief it provides for fiscal year 2017.

  • On health care, Paul Van de Water summarized proposals from a bipartisan group of policy experts on expanding access to high-quality long-term care.  Sarah Lueck urged tougher scrutiny for insurers’ claims that applicants for marketplace coverage are abusing special enrollment periods (SEPs).  Judith Solomon encouraged the Department of Health and Human Services to reduce the risk that new rules regarding SEPs will create barriers to coverage.

  • On working-family tax credits, we updated our state-by-state fact sheets showing how the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit help low-income workers.

Chart of the Week: State and Local Spending on Infrastructure Is at 30-Year Low

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

As Roads Crumble, Infrastructure Spending Hits a 30-Year Low
The Fiscal Times
February 25, 2016

Proof Needed to Enroll in Health Plan Post-Deadline
The New York Times
February 24, 2016

Delay of New Health Law Forms May Confuse Some Taxpayers
Kaiser Health News
February 16, 2016

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