This week at CBPP, we focused on state budgets and taxes, family income support, poverty and inequality, and health.

• On state budgets and taxes, Cortney Sanders discussed how a repeal of some criminal fees and fines in California is a victory for fiscal policy and racial justice. Wesley Tharpe explained how an Arizona ballot measure would make the state’s tax system fairer by raising taxes on high-income earners. Nicholas Johnson pointed out that the ballot measure would help more kids thrive.
   
• On family income support, Ife Floyd called on states to repeal racist “family cap” policies in their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs.
   
• On poverty and inequality, we updated our tracker of the COVID-19 recession’s effects on food, housing, and employment hardships.
   
• On health, we released a fact sheet on options for states to reduce Medicaid prescription drug costs.

Chart of the Week — 12 States Still Have Racist Policies Denying Benefits to Children Born in Families Already on TANF

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

Unemployment aid is running out for millions: "Making absolute zero."
CBS News
October 16, 2020

8 Million Have Slipped Into Poverty Since May as Federal Aid Has Dried Up
New York Times
October 15, 2020

States seek more federal funds as Medicaid enrollment grows
Roll Call
October 15, 2020

Mitch McConnell torpedoes a stimulus-package compromise between the White House and Democrats
Business Insider
October 15, 2020

Landlords, lobbyists launch legal war against Trump’s eviction moratorium, aiming to unwind renter protections
Washington Post
October 12, 2020

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