BEYOND THE NUMBERS
In Case You Missed It…
This week at CBPP, we focused on federal taxes, poverty and inequality, housing, health, food assistance, and the economy.
- On federal taxes, Chuck Marr and Brendan Duke warned that the new House Republican tax proposal fails a fiscal responsibility test and favors the wealthiest. Marr illustrated the plan’s flaws and encouraged policymakers to fix the shortcomings in the 2017 tax law’s Child Tax Credit provision. Chye-Ching Huang and Kathleen Bryant explained that indexing capital gains for inflation would increase budget deficits, disproportionately benefit the very well-off, and create new opportunities for wealthy filers to avoid taxes by gaming the tax code.
- On poverty and inequality, Arloc Sherman and Matt Broaddus indicated what to look for in next week’s Census figures on poverty, income, and health insurance. Shelby Gonzales noted that a growing number of low-income families and children, fearing immigration-related consequences, are going without nutrition and health services. Robert Greenstein, Sharon Parrott, and Huang explained that new legislation from Senator Bernie Sanders and Rep. Ro Khanna risks unintended side effects that could hurt lower-income workers and spur discriminatory hiring practices.
- On housing, Barbara Sard, Douglas Rice, Alison Bell, and Alicia Mazzara outlined federal policy changes that can help more families with housing vouchers live in higher-opportunity areas.
- On health, Sarah Lueck clarified that statements of support for protecting pre-existing medical conditions by top Trump Administration officials and some congressional Republicans ignore efforts they and others are engaging in that would weaken or end these protections. Jessica Schubel recommended extending the successful Money Follows the Person demonstration that helps Medicaid beneficiaries transition from institutions back to their own homes and communities.
- On food assistance, Brynne Keith-Jennings pointed to new Agriculture Department data that show that some 15 million households with 40 million people struggled to afford enough food at some point in 2017.
- On the economy, we updated our chart book on the legacy of the Great Recession.
Chart of the Week: Food Insecurity, Though Down From 2011 Peak, Still Above Pre-Recession Levels
A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights:
The Farm Bill’s Threat to Food Security
The Atlantic
September 6, 2018
Bernie Sanders’s BEZOS Bill Would Hurt the Working Class, Not the Rich
New York
September 6, 2018
The Real Price Tag for Republican Tax Cuts 2.0
Fiscal Times
September 6, 2018
The biggest threat to democracy that nobody is talking about
Washington Post
September 4, 2018
Federal Workers Brace for New Push on Trump Anti-Labor Goals
New York Times
September 2, 2018
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