In Case You Missed It...

| By CBPP

This week at CBPP, we focused on the federal budget, state budgets and taxes, food assistance, and the economy.

On the federal budget, Chye-Ching Huang and Chuck Marr explained that states’ failed attempts to reopen their economies before bringing COVID-19 under control highlight the urgent need to build on federal fiscal support for households and states.
On state budgets and taxes, Michael Mazerov summarized his recent paper on why state borrowing can’t substitute for more direct aid to help states cope with the recession. We also updated our report finding that states continue to face large shortfalls due to COVID-19 effects.
On food assistance, Brynne Keith-Jennings outlined why raising SNAP benefits is needed to reduce the long-term effects of hardship on children. We also updated our fact sheet on how states are using their new flexibility in SNAP to respond to COVID-19 challenges.
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.