off the charts POLICY INSIGHT BEYOND THE NUMBERS Home Blog In Case You Missed It... In Case You Missed It... May 1, 2020, 4:45 pm | By CBPP The Center mourns the loss of Paul Rudd, an esteemed member of CBPP’s Board of Directors since 2008, who passed away this week at age 47. This week at CBPP, we focused on COVID-19 and the economy. On COVID-19, Michael Leachman explained that new economic projections from the Congressional Budget Office suggest even bigger state shortfalls. LaDonna Pavetti and Peggy Bailey urged policymakers to boost the safety net to help people with the fewest resources pay for basics during the crisis. Michael Mazerov stressed that loans are no substitute for direct aid to help states weather the COVID recession. Samantha Washington pointed out that the IRS’ challenges in issuing stimulus checks make clear that years of ill-advised funding cuts have left the agency understaffed and technologically out of date. We updated our fact sheet finding that most states are easing SNAP participation rules and providing added benefits in response to COVID-19. On the economy, we updated our backgrounder on how many weeks of unemployment compensation are available and our chart book tracking the post-Great Recession economy. Chart of the Week — COVID-19 State Budget Shortfalls Could Be Largest on Record Share Chart on Facebook Share Chart on Twitter Chart A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts this past week. Here are some of the highlights: State Unemployment Funds Going Broke From Flood of Claims Bloomberg April 30, 2020 White House seeking tax breaks for business, consumers in COVID-19 stimulus package McClatchy April 30, 2020 Why the US shouldn’t let states go bankrupt Vox April 29, 2020 Coronavirus-hammered state budgets worse off than fearedRoll Call April 29, 2020 Editorial: Letting state governments go bankrupt is a terrible ideaLos Angeles Times April 28, 2020 As Trump puts partisan spin on federal aid for states, Republicans and Democrats warn of coming financial calamityWashington Post April 27, 2020 Don’t miss any of our posts, papers, or charts — follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. CBPP Share Facebook Twitter Print Email PreviousLoans No Substitute for Direct Aid to Help States Weather COVID Recession NextRed, Blue States Alike Need More Federal Support Stay up to date Email address Submit Receive the latest news and reports from the Center