Off the Charts Blog | Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on SNAP (formerly food stamps), health reform, housing policy, the federal budget and taxes, and state budgets and taxes.

• On SNAP, Stacy Dean explained that the farm bill that the House Agriculture Committee approved this week would force nearly 2 million low-income people off the program.  Dottie Rosenbaum noted, in the last in our “Facts on SNAP” series, that SNAP responded as designed to the recession and will shrink as the economy improves.  And Chad Stone pointed out that SNAP enrollment remains high because the jobs market remains abnormally weak.

• On health reform, Shannon Spillane listed some of its accomplishments to date.  Judy Solomon explained why the coming cuts to hospitals that serve many low-income and uninsured patients reinforce the importance of health reform’s Medicaid expansion.

• On housing policy, Will Fischer pointed out that a new tax credit to help low-income renters afford housing would be a valuable complement to the existing Low-Income Housing Tax Credit.

• On the federal budget and taxes, Chye-Ching Huang rebutted recent criticisms of estimates of how tax proposals would affect different income groups.

• On state budgets and taxes, Erica Williams emphasized that North Carolina should reinstate its Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

In other news, we released a paper on the SNAP cuts in the House Agriculture Committee farm bill and updated our backgrounder on the number of weeks of unemployment benefits available in each state.

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently.  Here are some highlights:

Renters Face a Housing Squeeze
Bloomberg Businessweek
May 17, 2013

The Facts About Food Stamps Conservatives Don’t Want You to Hear
US News & World Report
May 16, 2013

House Agriculture Committee Approves Farm Bill
New York Times, The Caucus
May 16, 2013

Are Health Care Costs Healing Themselves?
National Journal
May 15, 2013

Hospitals could lose $500M in federal money to pay for uninsured in 2014
Associated Press
May 13, 2013

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on the federal budget and taxes, SNAP (formerly food stamps), health reform, the economy, and state budgets and taxes.

• On the federal budget and taxes, Kathy Ruffing warned that the House-passed “debt prioritization” measure is simply default by another name.  Chye-Ching Huang laid out key issues in reforming international tax rules and explained that a new study from Treasury Department analysts highlights the risks of corporate tax reform.  And, in advance of Mother’s Day, Arloc Sherman noted the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) for mothers and children.

• On SNAP, a series of posts from Stacy Dean and Dottie Rosenbaum explained that the program helps vulnerable people, showed that it encourages and rewards work, and highlighted its strong record of efficiency.

• On health reform, we excerpted Paul Van de Water’s congressional testimony on the law’s tax on insurance providers.  Edwin Park explained why changes promoted by health reform opponents would undermine the law’s Medicaid expansion.  Jesse Cross-Call noted, in advance of Mother’s Day, that state policymakers could better support all women by taking advantage of the Medicaid expansion.

• On the economy, we highlighted a New York Times op-ed by Jared Bernstein on why full employment should be a central policy goal.  Chad Stone reflected on the relationship between U.S. debt and economic growth in light of errors found in the influential paper by economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff.

• On state budgets and taxes, we highlighted a radio interview in which Michael Mazerov made the case for the Senate-passed bill requiring all large Internet retailers to charge any applicable sales taxes.

In other news, we released Paul Van de Water’s testimony on health reform’s insurance provider tax and a fact sheet on how many lower-income working mothers in each state receive the EITC and CTC.  We also updated our state-by-state fact sheets on who benefits from SNAP and updated our backgrounder on Medicaid.

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on the federal budget and taxes, the economy, health reform, and SNAP (formerly food stamps).

• On the federal budget and taxes, Sharon Parrott explained why Congress’ vote to let the Federal Aviation Administration shift funds from other areas to pay air traffic controllers is not a model for addressing sequestration.  Robert Greenstein showed that revenue-neutral tax reform would undermine efforts to reduce long-term deficits, while Chuck Marr noted that Republicans haven’t proposed any tax savings to pay for their desired tax cuts.  We also excerpted a commentary by Joel Friedman and Sharon Parrott on the President’s budget and listed three facts about overpayment issues in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

• On the economy, Chad Stone analyzed the April jobs report, which shows that labor markets still bear the scars of the Great Recession.

• On health reform, Judy Solomon discussed how recent findings from an ongoing study of Oregon’s Medicaid program strengthen the case for expanding Medicaid.  Shelby Gonzales highlighted the revised forms for applying for health coverage through the new health insurance exchanges.

• On SNAP, Stacy Dean noted that participants face benefit cuts this year apart from the large cuts that the House Agriculture Committee is expected to propose.

In other news, we issued Chad Stone’s statement on the April jobs report.  We released a paper on addressing overpayments in the EITC and revised papers on the SNAP benefit cuts scheduled for later this year and the impact on charitable giving of the President’s proposal to limit high-income tax breaks.  We also updated our chart book on the legacy of the Great Recession and our backgrounder on Medicaid.

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on the federal budget and taxes, health policy, state budgets and taxes, and Social Security.

• On the federal budget and taxes, we highlighted Robert Greenstein’s commentary on the Medicare savings in President Obama’s budget proposal.  Sharon Parrott noted that while Congress addressed the flight delays that sequestration caused, many other sequestration-related cuts that receive much less attention are far more damaging.

• On health policy, January Angeles refuted Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal’s claims that expanding Medicaid would force people out of private health insurance.  Sarah Lueck explained why the 2014 health insurance rates proposed by Maryland’s largest health insurer, CareFirst, are not evidence of “rate shock.”

• On state budgets and taxes, Liz McNichol responded to Bloomberg News columnist Josh Barro’s thoughtful commentary on ways to address income tax volatility and noted that swapping state income taxes for bigger sales taxes would make state tax systems even less fair.  Michael Mazerov discussed the Senate’s encouraging first steps toward passing the Marketplace Fairness Act, which would make sales tax rules fairer by enabling states to require all large Internet retailers to charge any applicable sales taxes.

• On Social Security, Paul Van de Water explained how the adoption of the chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) would affect Social Security benefits.

In other news, we released a commentary by Robert Greenstein that examines the Medicare savings in President Obama’s budget proposal and a paper on how the chained CPI proposal will affect Social Security benefits.  We revised a paper on the impact of the President’s proposal to limit high-income tax breaks on charitable giving.  We also updated our backgrounders on state supermajority rules to raise revenues and the number of weeks of unemployment benefits available in each state.

A variety of news outlets featured CBPP’s work and experts recently.  Here are some highlights:

Budget Cuts, Minus the Inconvenience
New York Times, Editorial
April 24, 2013

Sequester Cuts Impact Housing Assistance for Most Vulnerable
ABC News
April 23, 2013

Everything you need to know about the Senate’s online sales-tax bill
Washington Post, Wonkblog
April 22, 2013

Tax reform is the worst
The Wichita Eagle
April 17, 2013

This week on Off the Charts, we focused on taxes, the President’s budget, health reform, Social Security, state budgets and taxes, and the economy.

• On taxes, we compiled a Tax Day roundup of our relevant analyses and blog posts.  Chuck Marr highlighted our top ten federal tax charts and discussed new research showing that the benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) extend beyond working parents to their children.  Nicholas Johnson highlighted our top five state tax charts.  And we thanked the many volunteers who help low-income households file their tax returns.

• On the President’s budget, Chad Stone excerpted his US News & World Report column explaining that the budget leaves little room for further compromise if the goal is a balanced package that reduces the deficit while protecting vulnerable Americans.  Douglas Rice noted that the budget holds the ground on housing assistance in a very difficult budget environment.

• On health reform, Shelby Gonzales explained how “navigator” programs will help consumers choose the right health plan under health reform.  Judy Solomon noted that the President’s proposal to delay cuts in payments to hospitals that serve large numbers of low-income patients is no reason for states to opt out of health reform’s Medicaid expansion.  Jesse Cross-Call pointed out that low-wage workers lack health coverage options and will benefit from the Medicaid expansion.

• On Social Security, Kathy Ruffing explained how Supplemental Security Income helps the poorest elderly and disabled Americans and showed why one highly publicized county where many residents receive federal disability benefits is atypical.

• On state budgets and taxes, Liz McNichol laid out five strategies to smooth out the ups and downs of state tax collections.

• On the economy, we highlighted Jared Bernstein’s participation in an Intelligence Squared debate on the minimum wage.

In other news, we released a paper on strategies to address state tax volatility and a fact sheet on receipt of the EITC and the Child Tax Credit in rural areas.  We updated papers on myths and realities about the estate tax and the impact on charitable giving of the President’s proposal to limit high-income tax breaks.  And, for Tax Day, we updated our chart book of top ten tax charts and our backgrounders on deficits, debt, and interest; tax exemptions, deductions, and credits; federal payroll taxes; and marginal and average tax rates.