In case you missed it...

This week on Off the Charts, we examined the new Senate climate change proposal, fact-checked claims about health reform, and discussed federal and state tax policies and their effects on deficits.

Chad Stone, chief economist, took a look at the Kerry-Lieberman climate change bill and found that the senators did “a good job protecting vulnerable low-income households.”

Paul Van de Water, senior fellow, dispelled myths about what a recent CBO letter on the health reform law means. Shannon Spillane, deputy director of communications for strategic initiatives, highlighted our new series on how health reform will work, and January Angeles, policy analyst, sat down with us to discuss its effect on states.

Congress will soon have to decide what to do about the estate tax. Chuck Marr, director of federal tax policy, pointed to some key numbers on the tax. The bottom line is that cutting it below last year’s already-low level will worsen deficits and debt while only benefiting the very richest households.

Michael Mazerov, senior fellow, discussed the ongoing battle over sales tax collection between some states and Amazon.com. We also highlighted the reaction from David Brunori at State Tax Notes to our report on states taxing low-income residents.

Lastly, we posted Robert Greenstein’s remarks upon receiving the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize last night from the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

In other news, the Center released a report on how health reform helps reduce the deficit and a podcast about why health reform is a good deal for states.