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A woman and her four young children unload grocery bags around a kitchen island.
Greg Acs, vice president for the Tax and Income Supports Division at the Urban Institute, spoke with Virginia Public Media about the risks of addressing affordability in a zero-sum context that focuses on who bears the short-term costs of a policy instead of its potential for growth.

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  • An aerial shot of Washington, DC, featuring the United States Capitol Building and several other structures.
    Lucy Dadayan discusses how federal funding cuts may affect states
    Summary
    State and local leaders face uncertainty as the federal funding they rely on for local programs and initiatives is at risk of being cut.
  • An senior woman with short grey hair reads a notice of eviction taped to her front door.
    Katie Fallon discusses proposed funding cuts to housing programs
    Summary
    Proposed cuts to federal housing programs would reduce funding by 43 percent, and states would be responsible for developing and implementing their own programs with the remainder.
  • City skyline in the sunset
    Sara McTarnaghan discusses wildfire recovery in Los Angeles
    Summary
    After the 2018 Woolsey Fire, building permits for rebuilt homes took more than seven months. This year, Los Angeles issued its first permit less than two months after the early January wildfires.
  • A calculator, a paper clip, a pen, a 1040 tax form, and a stack of dollar bills ranging from $50 to $1
    Howard Gleckman discusses potential effects of a SALT cap increase
    Summary
    Increasing the $10,000 limit on the federal state and local tax (SALT) deduction may benefit those with higher incomes more than others, as well as those living in higher-tax states.
  • Electric vehicle charger in a car
    Yonah Freemark discusses potential annual fee for electric vehicle owners
    Summary
    Highways and mass transit are typically funded though the gas tax, and for many years, it was sufficient to cover costs. But today, cars are more fuel efficient, and electric and hybrid vehicles are more prevalent—plus, legislators have not raised the tax for decades
  • Aerial view of a sunny neigborhood with single-family homes
    John Walsh explains how special purpose credit programs support homeownership
    Summary
    The new director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, has terminated the two government-sponsored enterprises from offering special purpose credit programs, or targeted loan products that benefit some groups of Americans who have historically been denied credit because of discrimination.