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 federal taxes, family income support, health care, Social Security, and the economy.

On federal taxes, Chuck Marr and Arloc Sherman detailed the importance of strengthening the Child Tax Credit for the very poorest young children, who only qualify for a very small credit or none at all even though they need it most. Marr and Chye-Ching Huang explained that GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s proposed tax cut for “pass-through” income would mostly benefit the wealthiest Americans. Marr, Huang, and Joel Friedman provided context on several of Trump’s statements on taxes in his economic policy speech this week. Michael Mazerov noted that Kansas’ experience refutes predictions by Trump’s tax advisors that his proposed tax cuts would have big economic effects.
On family income support, Danilo Trisi and Arloc Sherman showed that average incomes fell significantly among the poorest children in single-mother families in the first decade under the 1996 welfare law, reflecting a large drop in cash assistance through Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Sherman also highlighted the rise in the number of children in “deep poverty,” with incomes below half of the poverty line, under TANF.
On health care, Judy Solomon continued our Medicaid Works series, which provides the latest facts and figures on this essential and popular program, by giving examples of how Medicaid’s flexibility allows states to improve access to care and lower costs. Edwin Park, Matt Broaddus, and Jesse Cross-Call answered some frequently asked questions about Medicaid.
On Social Security, Kathleen Romig marked the program’s 81^st birthday by showing that all Americans have a stake in its continued success.
On the economy, we updated our chart book on the legacy of the Great Recession.

Chart of the Week: For Children of Single Mothers, Income Fell for Poorest Tenth

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

What Did Voters Learn From a Week of Economic Promises?
The Atlantic
August 11, 2016

Tax loophole in Trump’s plan would create windfall for the rich
CNBC
August 9, 2016

Obamacare is helping more poor patients get to the doctor even as political battles continue
Los Angeles Times
August 8, 2016