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off the charts

POLICY INSIGHT
BEYOND THE NUMBERS

This week at CBPP, we focused on jobs, food assistance, housing, the safety net, state budgets and taxes, the federal budget and taxes, and health reform.

On jobs, Chad Stone illustrated his statement on the April employment report. We also updated our chart book on the legacy of the Great Recession.
On food assistance, Zoë Neuberger testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee on improving accuracy in the school meal programs. She also highlighted our new paper showing that WIC is a cost-effective investment to improve the health of low-income mothers and children. Our fact sheets point out some of WIC’s benefits.
On housing, Douglas Rice referenced two groundbreaking studies showing long-term gains for children whose families move to better neighborhoods. He also explained why expanding housing vouchers can help moms raise their children in safer, higher-opportunity areas. Alicia Mazzara summarized our updated state fact sheets on federal rental assistance and housing vouchers.
On the safety net, Arloc Sherman unveiled a new CBPP analysis finding that the safety net is even more effective at reducing poverty and deep poverty than previously thought. Kathy Ruffing listed key facts from our report showing that Social Security benefits are quite modest.
On state budgets and taxes, Michael Mazerov rebutted the claim that economists all recommend shifting states’ revenue mix away from income taxes and toward sales taxes.
On the federal budget and taxes, Robert Greenstein and Richard Kogan listed ten serious flaws in the congressional budget plan that the Senate approved this week. Bryann DaSilva highlighted new fact sheets showing that 21 million mothers and 13 million fathers benefit from the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, powerful tools to promote work and reduce poverty.
On health reform, Jesse Cross-Call pointed out that 1.8 million uninsured non-elderly women are caught in a “coverage gap” in states that haven’t adopted health reform’s Medicaid expansion.

Chart of the Week – Just One Reason Why WIC Works:

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

States Look to Boost Taxes
The Wall Street Journal
May 5, 2015

Safety net does more to ease poverty than previously thought, new study finds
The Washington Post
May 6, 2015

Bobby Jindal, Budget Cuts, and the Uncertain Fate of Louisiana's Universities
The Atlantic
May 7, 2015

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