In Case You Missed It. . .

| By CBPP

Recently at CBPP, we focused on a wide range of issues.

On the economy, Gbenga Ajilore outlined three key facts about recessions.
On Social Security, Devin O’Connor raised concerns over Trump and DOGE claiming the power to falsely list living people as dead in Social Security records.
On health, Allie Gardner explained how Republicans’ claims of fraud are a pretext for drastic Medicaid cuts.
On state budgets and taxes, Michael Mitchell pointed out that a White House executive order on public safety in Washington, D.C. prioritizes failed “tough-on-crime” policies over proven solutions. Anna Phillips emphasized that states can make property taxes fairer without shortchanging local services. We also updated our state tax cut tracker with an entry on how Colorado lawmakers are considering a lawsuit to challenge a state constitutional amendment that severely restricts the state’s ability to raise revenue and manage public spending.
On income security, Victoria Bowden, Diana Azevedo-McCaffrey, and Maria Manansala analyzed states’ income security program caseload and poverty data from 1978 to 2023.
On federal taxes, Brendan Duke and Gbenga Ajilore updated their paper examining Republicans’ harmful “triple threat” agenda of legislation, executive action, and tariffs.
On food assistance, we updated our backgrounder on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
We also updated our resource tracking harmful executive actions with entries on an executive order creating an opening for abuse of the federal payments system and Trump’s retreat from a federal role in disaster preparedness.

Chart of the Week — Black, Hispanic People Fared Worse in “Jobless Recoveries,” Given Labor Market Inequities

The Center was active on social media this week. Here are some of our posts:

Gbenga Ajilore posted a thread on X and Bluesky underscoring the long-term harm caused by recessions.
Kathleen Romig posted a thread on Bluesky addressing the Trump Administration’s claim that it can declare living people dead in Social Security records.
On Tax Day, Wesley Tharpe posted a thread on X and Bluesky highlighting key tax developments across states.
Brendan Duke posted a thread on X and Bluesky highlighting Speaker Mike Johnson’s misleading and harmful comments about Medicaid cuts.

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts this past week. Here are some of the highlights:

Tariffs Are About to Hit Lifesaving Medical Equipment
Mother Jones
April 18, 2025

Trump’s Kafkaesque attack on Social Security--Declaring living people as dead
Los Angeles Times
April 16, 2025

Trump aids Musk's Social Security fraud hunt, despite lack of evidence
Axios
April 15, 2025

Arkansas and Indiana ask USDA to let them ban soda and candy from SNAP
Associated Press
April 15, 2025

Why Elon Musk Hasn’t Come Close to Finding $1 Trillion in Cuts
New York Times
April 13, 2025

Inmigrantes vivos que aparecen como muertos en el Seguro Social: qué se sabe sobre esta maniobra del gobierno de Trump
Univision
April 13, 2025

Trump administration overrode Social Security staff to list immigrants as dead
The Washington Post
April 12, 2025

Hunger assistance, student meal support, take hits in final Ohio House budget draft
Ohio Capital Journal
April 11, 2025

How DOGE may have improperly used Social Security data to push voter fraud narratives
NPR
April 11, 2025

Don’t miss any of our posts, papers, or charts — follow us on BlueSky, Twitter, Facebook, Threads, and Instagram.