BEYOND THE NUMBERS
In Case You Missed It...
This week at CBPP, we focused on the federal budget, federal taxes, state budgets and taxes, food assistance, health, housing, and the economy.
- On the federal budget, Paul Van de Water outlined recommendations to improve the budget process. David Reich argued that the funding bill for the rest of fiscal 2018 should boost Pell Grants. Arloc Sherman warned that underfunding the 2020 census would harm a diverse range of communities, including many rural Americans.
- On federal taxes, Chye-Ching Huang showed that Council of Economic Advisers Chair Kevin Hassett has changed his position on how companies would use their repatriated foreign profits under the new tax law.
- On state budgets and taxes, Michael Leachman pointed out that North Carolina’s tax cuts have not resulted in a surge of economic growth. Eric Figueroa found that the tax cuts created a looming budget shortfall for the state, and Samantha Waxman detailed how the cuts have worsened racial wealth inequities. Waxman also noted how the new federal tax law reduces the value of state-level Earned Income Tax Credits.
- On food assistance, we published two reports detailing how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps millions of Latinos and African Americans. Stacy Dean, Ed Bolen, and Brynne Keith-Jennings warned that harsher work requirements for SNAP would not improve outcomes for low-income Americans. We also updated our interactive showing how SNAP has responded to changes in the economy over time, as it was designed to do.
- On health, Matt Broaddus, Peggy Bailey, and Aviva Aron-Dine pointed to recent data showing that the Affordable Care Act’s Medicaid expansion dramatically increased coverage for people with opioid use disorders. Hannah Katch explained how work requirements for Medicaid will harm families, including workers. Sarah Lueck found that Iowa’s health plan proposal would raise costs and weaken protections for consumers.
- On housing, Will Fischer explained that President Trump’s proposal to increase rents for some low-income recipients of federal housing assistance wouldn’t offset the rental assistance funding cuts he’s also proposing.
- On the economy, we updated our Policy Basics on the number of weeks of unemployment compensation available and our chart book on the legacy of the Great Recession.
Chart of the Week – ACA Medicaid Expansion Reduced Share of Opioid-Related Hospitalizations in Which the Patient Was Uninsured
A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently. Here are some highlights:
Public skeptical about Medicaid work requirement rationale
Modern Healthcare
March 1, 2018
New evidence that work requirements do not work
Washington Post
February 26, 2018
Medicaid Changes Require Tens of Millions in Upfront Costs
Roll Call
February 26, 2018
Heirs Inherit Uncertainty With New Estate Tax
New York Times
February 23, 2018
Trump moves to stiffen work requirements for food stamps
NBC News
February 23, 2018
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