Meaningful discussion in the age of COVID-19 requires accurate and reliable information. We deliver trustworthy, timely, and transparent data so that you are armed with key facts and analysis about the economy and our nation.
MORTALITY DATA
Mortality by Year
To learn more about U.S. mortality rates during COVID-19, we are comparing 2020 deaths with deaths in previous years as new data is released.
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Mortality by Age
The Right Facts is examining data on COVID related deaths to find which population demographics have been affected the most.
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Mortality by State
Mortality rates vary by state naturally. The Right Facts is following mortality data as it is released by the CDC.
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- Week 16 Mortality
- Week 14 Mortality
- Week 13 Mortality
- Week 12 Mortality
- Week 10 Mortality
- Week 10 Mortality by Age
State Highlights
Surprisingly, some states’ mortality rates have declined in 2020 so far. Additionally, some states saw fewer hospitalizations than were initially projected. The Right Facts will continue to monitor this data and provide regular updates.
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ECONOMIC RELIEF PACKAGES
Economic Impact Payments
The federal government has a number of programs intended to mitigate the economic fallout during COVID-19. One such program, Economic Impact Payments, involves payments to households. The Right Facts anticipates updating this data as it is released, following payments per capita by state. The calculations use EIP data from the IRS and state-level population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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Payment Protection Program
The Right Facts is examining the distribution of the federal stimulus package and its effects on small businesses and individuals. We also looked at how the money was used and how consumer behaviors changed as a result.
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- $2 Trillion Stimulus Includes Relief for Small Businesses
- For Some, Unemployment Pays More Than Employment
IMPACT ON STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
State Deficits
The advent of COVID-19 raised concerns about state budgets and deficits. The Right Facts is taking an in-depth look at different states’ historic fiscal behavior to better understand the present-day situation.
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Salt Cap Repeal
In May, House Democrats unveiled a new $3 trillion stimulus package, dubbed the Heroes Act, which includes a temporary suspension on SALT cap deductions for two years.
The SALT deduction effectively subsidized high tax states by lowering the taxes paid in those states, leaving people in relatively low tax jurisdictions to pick up the difference. This was particularly true for taxes on high-income individuals who had high federal tax rates. A taxpayer in the 39.6% bracket got a rebate of 39.6% of their state and local taxes through a reduction in their federal taxes.
The effect of this was to encourage states to tax and spend more than they otherwise would and to have more steeply progressive state income tax schedules than they otherwise would. This analysis shows just how skewed the SALT deduction was to high-income taxpayers in just a very few states.
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IMPACT ON EMPLOYMENT
State-by-State Unemployment Claims
Many Americans suddenly became unemployed as a result of COVID-19. The Right Facts is tracking the numbers of unemployed Americans in each state over the course of several weeks and months as the data is released.
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The Historic Collapse of American Work
Official labor force metrics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) come out with a lag. However, a group of economists have constructed estimates intended to replicate the BLS methodology using higher-frequency private survey data. One labor force metric they estimated for April is the employment-to-population ratio. The metric indicates the percentage of America’s population that is employed. If their estimate is correct, the BLS data for April will show the lowest share of Americans employed ever recorded in the data, which started in January of 1948.