Center on Budget: Comprehensive News Feed

Off the Charts Blog Post: Tax and spending decisions: A tale of two states

Fri, 25 May 2012 11:27:27 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Raze the Debt Ceiling

Fri, 25 May 2012 08:35:36 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: State Budgets: Improving, But a Long Recovery Ahead

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:37:59 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Kansas' Big and Damaging Tax Cut

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:09:18 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: After Welfare Reform, the Poorest Families Had More Trouble Paying Bills

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:41:14 -0400

Senate Funding Bill Improves on President's Budget Request for Rental Assistance

Tue, 22 May 2012 11:08:08 -0400

The Senate Committee on Appropriations has approved funding legislation for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that improves upon President Obama's budget request for fiscal year 2013 in several ways, including: Providing $17.5 billion for the renewal of Housing Choice Vouchers, $250 million above the Administration's request and the 2012 funding level.[1] The Senate bill thereby takes a big step toward filling a major gap in the Administration's request, …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Key Tax System Concepts, Explained

Fri, 18 May 2012 15:03:30 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Greenstein's Take on Boehner's Statement

Thu, 17 May 2012 14:34:28 -0400

Testimony of LaDonna Pavetti, Ph.D. Vice President, Family Income Support Policy, Before the House Ways and Means Committee, Subcommittee on Human Resources, Hearing on "State TANF Spending and its Impact on Work Requirements"

Thu, 17 May 2012 15:00:19 -0400

Good afternoon Chairman Davis, Ranking Member Doggett, and distinguished members of the Subcommittee. Thank you for inviting me to testify on the relationship between TANF State maintenance-of-effort (MOE) requirements and their interaction with work requirements. I am Vice President for Family Income Support Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Prior to coming to the Center two and a half years ago, I spent 16 years studying welfare programs, including the …

Statement by Robert Greenstein, President, on Speaker Boehner's Recent Remarks Concerning the Debt Limit

Wed, 16 May 2012 17:21:26 -0400

No one should underestimate the significance of House Speaker John Boehner's declaration yesterday that he will block an increase in the debt limit next winter unless policymakers match each dollar of debt limit increase with at least a dollar in budget cuts, with no revenue increases. This standard, which key Republican leaders have said they will insist on for all future debt limit increases, would both produce extreme policies and repeat these lawmakers' hostage-taking strategy of last …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Light at the End of the Tunnel for State and Local Pensions?

Wed, 16 May 2012 15:44:25 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: North Dakota's Risky Bet to Replace Property Taxes With Oil Revenues

Wed, 16 May 2012 13:51:31 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Senator Lee's Budget Would Sharply Cut Social Security, Medicare, Other Programs While Making Tax System Less Progressive

Wed, 16 May 2012 10:51:51 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Lower Drug Costs Don't Support Ryan Medicare Proposal

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:22:47 -0400

North Dakota's Measure 2: High Risk For Little Reward

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:51:14 -0400

A proposal on the June 12 primary ballot would amend North Dakota's constitution to ban property taxes, a highly imprudent experiment that would fail to maximize the benefits of today's oil-driven economic boom to improve the state for future generations. The list of dangers posed by Measure 2 is long. It would: Lock North Dakota into a course of action that is uncharted and risky. No state has ever placed a constitutional ban on property taxes or otherwise permanently eliminated …

North Dakota's Measure 2 is Reckless and Misguided

Tue, 15 May 2012 09:54:13 -0400

A proposal to amend North Dakota's constitution to ban property taxes would lock North Dakota into a risky, uncharted course of action and leave the state's schools at the mercy of the highly volatile oil industry, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a Washington, DC-based policy research institution. "North Dakota has the opportunity to build upon today's oil-driven economic boom to create a strong economy and quality of life for future …

Off the Charts Blog Post: 230,000 Long-Term Unemployed Lost Jobless Benefits This Week

Mon, 14 May 2012 16:48:25 -0400

Lower-Than-Expected Medicare Drug Costs Mostly Reflect Lower Enrollment and Slowing of Overall Drug Spending, Not Reliance on Private Plans

Mon, 14 May 2012 14:47:01 -0400

The House-passed budget would convert Medicare to a "premium support" voucher to purchase private health insurance or traditional Medicare.[1] Some supporters of premium support — most notably House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who designed the House proposal — claim that reliance on private insurers would lower Medicare costs. As evidence, they cite the fact that the Medicare Part D drug benefit, which took effect in 2006, has cost less than predicted when Congress enacted it. They …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Comparing the Social Security Shortfall and the Cost of the Bush Tax Cuts

Mon, 14 May 2012 15:25:34 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Myth of the Overpaid Public Worker, Again

Fri, 11 May 2012 11:43:14 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Don't Blame the Safety Net

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:40:22 -0400

What the 2012 Trustees' Report Shows About Social Security

Thu, 10 May 2012 13:30:55 -0400

On April 23, the Social Security Board of Trustees issued its annual report on the program's financial status.[1] The report shows some deterioration in the program's finances since the 2011 report. While that revision — which stems chiefly from lingering economic weakness — is not alarming, it reminds policymakers that they ought to act soon to put the program on a sound footing for the long run. Although the date when the program can no longer pay full benefits …

Are Low-Income Programs Enlarging the Nation's Long-Term Fiscal Problem?

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:25:00 -0400

Several conservative analysts and some journalists lately have cited figures showing substantial growth in recent years in the cost of federal programs for low-income Americans. These figures can create the mistaken impression that growth in low-income programs is a major contributor to the nation’s long-term fiscal problems. In reality, virtually all of the recent growth in spending for means-tested programs is due to two factors: the economic downturn and rising costs …

Off the Charts Blog Post: A “Small Improvement” Worth Making

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:00:56 -0400

Toomey Budget Similar to House-Passed Ryan Budget

Wed, 09 May 2012 13:06:59 -0400

The Senate may take up, as early as this week, a budget proposal from Senator Patrick J. Toomey (R-PA)[1] that is similar in most important respects to the budget resolution from House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI), which the House passed on March 29. [2] Like the Ryan budget, the Toomey plan (S. Con. Res. 37) would protect and extend tax cuts that disproportionately benefit higher-income Americans, while reducing deficits through steep cuts in programs that benefit …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Video: Jared Bernstein and Chye-Ching Huang Discuss Tax Rates and the Economy

Tue, 08 May 2012 16:40:57 -0400

Video: Jared Bernstein and Chye-Ching Huang Discuss Tax Rates and the Economy

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:07:47 -0400

Jared Bernstein and Chye-Ching Huang discuss the Center's new, comprehensive analysis of recent findings on the economic effects of raising federal income taxes on upper-income taxpayers as part of a balanced effort to reduce budget deficits. Duration 8:25

A Closer Look at Chairman Ryan's "Sequestration" Proposal

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:54:17 -0400

On May 7, the House Budget Committee approved a bill designed by Chairman Paul Ryan to alter three aspects of the debt-limit agreement that the President and congressional leaders reached last summer. The bill would produce a total funding level for discretionary programs in fiscal year 2013 that exactly matches the amount in the House-passed budget resolution — and would enable Congress to boost defense funding above the existing, agreed-upon funding cap.[1] The bill (H.R. …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Efforts to Boost Outcomes for Children with Disabilities Should Build Upon SSI's Foundation

Tue, 08 May 2012 10:10:42 -0400

Testimony of Stacy Dean, Vice President for Food Assistance Policy, Before the House Committee on Agriculture's Subcommittee on Nutrition and Horticulture

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:03:35 -0400

Thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am Stacy Dean, Vice President for Food Assistance Policy at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan policy institute located here in Washington. The Center is an independent, non-profit policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of federal and state policy issues affecting low- and moderate-income families. The Center's food assistance work focuses on improving the effectiveness of the major …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Fixing (the) Social Security (Graph)

Mon, 07 May 2012 16:25:29 -0400

House Budget Bills Would Target Programs for Lower-Income Families While Breaking Last Summer's Bipartisan Deal

Mon, 07 May 2012 13:58:51 -0400

The House Budget Committee is expected to approve on May 7 a package of two bills that would alter the bipartisan deal between President Obama and congressional leaders that was reflected in last summer’s Budget Control Act (BCA). It would eliminate the “sequestration” (automatic cuts) in discretionary programs scheduled for 2013 as a result of the failure of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (the “supercommittee”) to achieve $1.2 trillion in …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Health Insurance Exchanges Will Be Net Plus for States

Thu, 03 May 2012 11:52:23 -0400

Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the April Employment Report

Fri, 04 May 2012 10:50:59 -0400

Today’s employment report shows that April’s job growth was disappointing for the second straight month and that the economic costs in terms of fewer jobs, less income, and lower growth remain very high. In particular, the number of workers in the Labor Department’s broadest measure of labor market underutilization — comprising the unemployed, discouraged workers and others “marginally attached” to the labor force who nonetheless have indicated they …

Eliminating Social Services Block Grant Would Weaken Services for Vulnerable Children, Adults, and Disabled

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:45:13 -0400

To help generate the savings required by the House-approved budget, the House Ways and Means Committee voted on April 18 to eliminate the Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), a uniquely flexible funding source that helps states meet the specialized needs of their most vulnerable populations, primarily low- and moderate-income children and people who are elderly or disabled (see Figure 1 and Appendix A).[1] States use the $1.7 billion-a-year grant to support services designed to help people …

Eliminating Social Services Block Grant Would Weaken Services for Vulnerable Children, Adults and Disabled

Thu, 03 May 2012 17:31:07 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: No Bonuses for You, House Committee Tells States That Improve Children's Health Coverage

Wed, 02 May 2012 14:56:15 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Don't Forget Demographics' Role in Rising Disability Costs

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:58:48 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Reality of Raising Taxes at the Top, Part 6: How to Raise Taxes at the Top Consistent with Economic Growth?

Wed, 02 May 2012 10:58:39 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Costly Tax Plan Advances in Kansas

Tue, 01 May 2012 16:22:56 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Reality of Raising Taxes at the Top, Part 5: Can Tax Increases Help Economic Growth?

Tue, 01 May 2012 09:45:00 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: An Easy Call on How to Pay for Student Loan Plan

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:33:44 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Reality of Raising Taxes at the Top, Part 4: Would Tax Increases Affect Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship?

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:38:07 -0400

Policy Basics: Tax Exemptions, Deductions, and Credits

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:31:31 -0400

Tax exemptions, deductions, and credits all can reduce a filer’s tax liability — that is, the amount of taxes that the filer owes. Some of these tax benefits are intended to reflect a taxpayer’s ability to pay tax; the Child Tax Credit, for example, recognizes the costs of raising children. Other tax benefits, such as the deductions for charitable donations and home mortgage interest payments, are incentives intended to advance specific social policy goals.…

Policy Basics: Marginal and Average Tax Rates

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 11:47:32 -0400

Misunderstandings about two different types of tax rates often create confusion in discussions about taxes. A taxpayer's average tax rate (or effective tax rate) is the share of income that he or she pays in taxes. By contrast, a taxpayer's marginal tax rate is the tax rate imposed on his or her last dollar of income. Taxpayers' average tax rates are lower — usually much lower — than their marginal rates. People who confuse the two can end up thinking that taxes …

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Reality of Raising Taxes at the Top, Part 3: Would Tax Increases Affect Savings and Investment?

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:04:13 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Who Really Punted on Pell?

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:21:13 -0400

President's Budget Would Reduce Pell Grant Shortfall; Ryan Budget Would Nearly Triple It

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 15:53:13 -0400

Even though its costs are expected to remain flat over the next decade,[1] the Pell Grant program, which helps students from low-income families pay for college, faces an $8 billion funding gap in fiscal year 2014 and a $58 billion shortfall through 2022 because the way Congress has funded it in recent years has made its cost appear artificially low. The President’s budget and the House-passed budget from Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan provide radically different …

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Reality of Raising Taxes at the Top, Part 2: Would Tax Increases Affect Work Effort?

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 13:16:56 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: The Reality of Raising Taxes at the Top, Part 1: Would Tax Hikes Shrink Taxable Income?

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:30:48 -0400

Testimony of Paul N. Van de Water - Senior Fellow, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - Before the Subcommittee on Oversight Committee on Ways and Means U.S. House of Representatives

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:31:06 -0400

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Lewis, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the invitation to appear before you today. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) includes a number of spending reductions and tax increases designed to assure that expanding health coverage does not drive up the deficit. Some provisions limit the use of tax-advantaged accounts to pay for health-related expenses. These limitations make sense both as tax policy and as health policy, and repealing any of them would …

Media Briefing: The Effect on the Economy of Raising Tax Rates on High-Income Households as Part of a Balanced Effort to Reduce Deficits - What the Evidence Shows

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:10:16 -0400

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities held a conference call briefing on Wednesday, April 25 to discuss the Center’s new, comprehensive analysis of recent findings on the economic effects of raising federal income taxes on upper-income taxpayers. The panel featured leading authorities on tax policy, Leonard E. Burman, Daniel Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and William G. Gale, Co-Director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, and Chye-Ching …

Off the Charts Blog Post: No, Social Security and Medicare Aren't Going “Bankrupt”

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 13:10:40 -0400

House Bill Would Cut Medicaid Funding for Puerto Rico by About $5.5 Billion Through 2019

Wed, 25 Apr 2012 09:18:23 -0400

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is scheduled to pass legislation on April 25 that would cut federal Medicaid funding for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by about $5.5 billion through 2019, relative to current law. The provision is part of legislation that House Republicans are assembling, and plan to bring to the House floor in May, to make $261 billion in budget cuts, as an alternative to automatic cuts in various programs now scheduled to take effect in January 2013. The …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Defunding State Health Insurance Exchanges Would Slow Health Reform

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 16:12:19 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Social Security: It's Not 1983

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 14:49:54 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Repealing Health Reform's Medicaid Provision Would Weaken Coverage, Not Fight Fraud

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:04:46 -0400

Recent Studies Find Raising Taxes on High-Income Households Would Not Harm the Economy

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:09:10 -0400

Many policymakers and pundits assume that raising federal income taxes on high-income households would have serious adverse consequences for the economy. Yet this belief, which has been subject to extensive research and analysis, does not fare well under scrutiny. As three leading tax economists recently concluded in a comprehensive review of the empirical evidence, “there is no compelling evidence to date of real responses of upper income taxpayers to changes in tax rates.”[1] …

Media Briefing: Understanding the Annual Reports of the Social Security and Medicare Trustees

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:54:11 -0400

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities held a conference call briefing on Monday, April 23 at 4:00 pm (ET) to discuss the 2012 reports of the Social Security and Medicare Trustees. Paul Van de Water, Senior Fellow at the Center and one of Washington’s leading experts on both Social Security and Medicare, and Robert Greenstein, President of CBPP discussed what the reports say about the long-term financial status of Social Security and Medicare.

Statement of Robert Greenstein on the 2012 Social Security Trustees' Report

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:43:15 -0400

The trustees’ report, with its projection that, in the absence of policy changes, Social Security will be able to pay full benefits only until 2033 — and about 75 percent of scheduled benefits after that — indicates Congress should act soon to address the program’s long-term financing shortfall. The projected 2033 date is three years earlier than the date in last year’s trustees’ report, although it is consistent with various earlier trustees’ …

Statement of Paul Van de Water, Senior Fellow, on the 2012 Medicare Trustees' Report

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 17:43:57 -0400

The new report from Medicare’s trustees shows little change from last year’s report in the near-term outlook for the program, while indicating that the program continues to face significant financing challenges in the long run. The projected date of insolvency for Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) trust fund is 2024 — the same as projected last year. Medicare spending overall is projected to grow slightly faster than the trustees forecast previously. …

The False Choice of National Defense Versus Helping the Poor

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:31:30 -0400

House committees this week approved sharp cuts in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps), the elimination of the Social Services Block Grant, and other cuts that would harm large numbers of low- and moderate-income Americans.[1] Proponents claim the cuts are needed to generate enough savings to avert an automatic cut in defense spending of nearly $55 billion scheduled for next January, which they say would harm national security. (Last …

What if Chairman Ryan's Medicaid Block Grant Had Taken Effect in 2001?

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 12:00:02 -0400

House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan’s proposal to convert Medicaid to a block grant, which the House recently passed as part of Chairman Ryan’s overall budget plan, would have cut federal Medicaid funds to most states by more than 35 percent by 2010 — and to several of them by more than 50 percent — if it had been in effect starting in 2001. Every state would have received substantially less from the federal government than it actually received under current law, …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Greenstein on the Safety Net, Part 3

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:12:25 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: States Leaning Heavily on Spending Cuts to Balance Budgets

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:23:41 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: The House Considers Food Stamps and Taxes

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 16:56:40 -0400

House Agriculture Committee Proposal Would Cut 2 Million Off Food Stamps, Reduce Benefits for More Than 44 Million Others

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:10:10 -0400

The House Agriculture Committee, which the House-approved budget requires to quickly produce $33 billion in savings over the next decade, approved a proposal today that would obtain the entire amount from cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.[1] The cuts — which would come on top of another proposal in the House budget to cut SNAP by $133 billion over the next decade and convert it to a block grant — would reduce or …

Statement by Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on Pending House Tax Cut and House Committee SNAP Benefit Cuts

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:50:58 -0400

The House majority is pursuing legislation this week that makes no economic sense. The full House will pass a $46 billion tax cut that’s advertised as a “job-creating” measure, while the House Agriculture Committee approved a plan today to save $36 billion by cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as food stamps). Virtually the entire tax cut as well as about $8 billion of the SNAP cuts would take place in 2012-2013.…

Provision in House Reconciliation Bill Would Cause 350,000 People to Forgo Health Coverage and Could Jeopardize Health Reform

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 12:52:38 -0400

The package of changes that the House Ways and Means Committee approved today in response to reconciliation instructions in the House budget resolution includes a change in the Affordable Care Act’s subsidies that would cause 350,000 people to forgo coverage and make it more difficult for the health reform law’s insurance exchanges to function effectively. The provision in question, which will be considered by the full House in early May as part of a larger package of budget …

Letter: Improving the Strength and Solvency of Medicare

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:14:51 -0400

The Honorable Phil Gingrey, M.D. U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 202515 Dear Congressman: We are pleased to respond to the letter of March 22 from you and your colleagues asking our views on how to improve the “strength and solvency of Medicare.” We divide our response into three parts: some background information to clarify the discussion, specific suggestions for strengthening the Medicare program without imposing burdensome costs on its beneficiaries, and …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Protecting Medicare's Future

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:15:56 -0400

Out of Balance

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:52:30 -0400

The state budget gaps of the last five years led to $290 billion in cuts to public services and $100 billion in tax and fee increases. Those actions lengthened the recession and delayed the recovery. Because spending reductions were dominant, hundreds of thousands of jobs were lost; undermining education, health care and other state priorities, which likely will cause future economic harm to states. Federal aid mitigated the harmful effects of the spending cuts in the early …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Top Ten Federal Tax Charts

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:34:15 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Greenstein on the Safety Net, Part 1

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 12:11:18 -0400

Testimony: Robert Greenstein Before the House Budget Committee Hearing on Strengthening the Safety Net

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:26:09 -0400

Thank you for the invitation to testify today. I am Bob Greenstein, head of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a policy institute located here in Washington. I also served many years ago as Administrator of the Food and Nutrition Service at USDA, which operates SNAP (then called food stamps) and other domestic food assistance programs My testimony covers several related issues: a look at the functioning of the safety net as a whole; a more intensive focus on …

Off the Charts Blog Post: A Guide to Understanding U.S. Taxes in One Place

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:33:18 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Thinking About Tax Policy, Part 5: Three Good First Steps

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:23:16 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Thinking About Tax Policy, Part 4: Ryan Plan a Costly Step in the Wrong Direction

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:19:39 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Ryan Budget Would Raise Some Taxes; Guess Who Gets Hit?

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 14:31:45 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Thinking About Tax Policy, Part 3: In the Search for More Revenue, Start at the Top

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 12:03:29 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Reality Check on Who Pays Taxes

Wed, 11 Apr 2012 15:05:47 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Thinking About Tax Policy, Part 1: The Most Important Tax Reform Chart

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:32:29 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: "Double-Counting" Canard Quacks Again

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 14:44:29 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: SNAP Reduces Poverty – and More

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:25:13 -0400

Chartbook: SNAP Helps Struggling Families Put Food On The Table

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 11:38:38 -0400

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the nation's most important anti-hunger program. SNAP reaches millions of people in need of food assistance. It is one of the few means-tested government benefit programs available to almost all households with low incomes. For more detail on the program's basics, see http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226. SNAP is an efficient part of the nationwide safety net. Payment accuracy – the delivery of the …

Video: Chad Stone and Hannah Shaw Discuss the March Employment Report

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 16:03:49 -0400

Chad Stone, Chief Economist, and Hannah Shaw, Research Associate, discuss the disappointing jobs report for March and what it indicates about job creation and economic growth. Click the video for the full discussion.

Off the Charts Blog Post: Wall Street Journal's Endorsement of Rhode Island Medicaid Full of Holes

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:35:14 -0400

Chad Stone and Hannah Shaw Discuss the March Employment Report

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 15:24:03 -0400

Statement: Chad Stone, Chief Economist, on the March Employment Report

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 11:58:53 -0400

Today's jobs report disappointed expectations, with employers adding only 120,000 jobs in March, making clear that a strong jobs recovery remains elusive. The unemployment rate dipped to 8.2 percent, but that decline reflected people leaving the labor force, not finding jobs. The combination of high unemployment and depressed labor force participation leaves the share of Americans with a job at levels last seen in the mid-1980s (see chart). Though the …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Myths on Spending, Debt, and Taxes Fuel Ryan Vision

Thu, 05 Apr 2012 11:22:38 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Where Do Our Federal Tax Dollars Go?

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 16:24:29 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Bipartisan Effort to Help Low-Income Families Work Toward Middle Class Falters

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 13:57:53 -0400

The Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families in 2011

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:38:46 -0400

Summary The successful bipartisan effort over the last two decades to reduce state income taxes on working-poor families has stalled and is in danger of reversing. No new states exempted working-poor families of four from income taxes in 2011, and in almost all of the 15 states where such families still pay income taxes, they saw their income taxes increase. Taxing the incomes of working-poor families runs counter to decades of efforts by policymakers across the political spectrum to …

Press Release: Hawaii Among Worst States in Nation on Taxing the Working Poor

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:54:24 -0400

Unlike most states, Hawaii taxes working-poor families deeper into poverty, and it charges them higher tax bills than all but four other states, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. "Hawaii should help working families work toward the middle class rather than undermine their efforts with steep tax bills," said Phil Oliff, policy analyst at the Center and co-author of the report. "When people strive to better themselves and the lives of their …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Hard for States to Follow Texas' Footsteps

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:46:28 -0400

The Texas Economic Model: Hard for Other States to Follow and Not All It Seems

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:42:53 -0400

Whatever its boosters may say, Texas is not a helpful model for economic growth for the rest of the country. True, the number of people and jobs in Texas has been expanding, causing other states to wonder whether Texas holds important lessons for state policies that can generate similar growth elsewhere. The answer is no. Texas has unique geographic and demographic characteristics that have helped lift its economy in recent years. Its border location encourages trade and immigration and …

Off the Charts Blog Post: Tax Foundation's State “Tax Freedom Days” No More Valid than the Federal Version

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 18:20:14 -0400

Tax Foundation Figures Do Not Represent Typical Households' Tax Burdens

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 16:55:02 -0400

The Tax Foundation released its annual “Tax Freedom Day” report today that, once again, leaves a strikingly misleading impression of tax burdens — announcing an “average” tax rate across the United States that’s likely higher than the tax rate that 80 percent of U.S. households actually pay. To project the day when Americans will have “earned enough money to pay this year’s tax obligations at the federal, …

Off the Charts Blog Post: What's Wrong with the Tax Foundation's “Tax Freedom Day” report?

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:59:54 -0400

Off the Charts Blog Post: Putting a Price on Carbon Can Be a Budget Policy/Energy Policy "Two-Fer"

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:17:39 -0400