Congress is in the middle of a high-stakes budget debate that includes fighting over tax policy and funding for many vital public programs. But what’s often missing from that budget debate is a focus on the people these decisions affect, especially kids. Professor Jean Junior explains how tax policy choices made on Capitol Hill directly affect health and well-being, and why taxes can be a powerful tool to improve health outcomes for everyone. Drawing from her experience as a pediatrician, Professor Junior challenges us to see policy choices through the eyes of a doctor by putting people’s well-being first.

For more on this topic:

• Read Junior’s SSN brief, Tax Policy as a Potential Tool for Reducing Infant Mortality.

• Check out her study, Association of State-Level Tax Policy and Infant Mortality in the United States, 1996-2019.