Gerald C. Friedman, economics, the author of a 2013 report for the Physicians for a National Health Program that calls for an expansion of Medicare to cover all Americans that would generate huge savings in health care costs, is cited by a columnist arguing against the current Republican health care bill before the U.S. House. (Idaho Statesman, 3/21/17)
Month: March 2017
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in Economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is interviewed about how proposed cuts to the federal budget suggested by the administration of President Donald J. Trump will have a negative impact on efforts to deal with climate change. Pollin also says the proposed budget cuts will harm most of the non-defense parts of the federal government. (The Real News Network, 3/22/17)
The UMass Amherst department of economics formally opened Crotty Hall at a ceremony on March 22. The 16,800-square-foot academic building houses 35 offices and four conference rooms. Designed by architect Sigrid Miller Pollin of the architecture department and built with a $10 million gift from an anonymous donor, the building is designed to produce as much energy as it consumes and is the first net-zero building on campus. (Energy Manager Today, 3/24/17; News Office release)
Gerald C. Friedman, economics, says while it is unclear whether the Republican health care reform bill will pass the U.S. House, it is clear that it is intended to shift costs for the Medicaid program that benefits the poor. (WWLP-TV 22, 3/23/17)
James K. Boyce, economics and the Political Economy Research Institute, is co-author of an op-ed that argues that the Republican health care bill before Congress will not only shift income to wealthy people, it will also shorten the lives of people who lose their health insurance. (Dollars & Sense, March 2017)
An economic columnist writing about the negative impact a rise in the national living wage in the U.K. is having notes that Arindrajit Dube, economics, argues that a minimum wage should be set at 50 percent of the median wage in any market area. The national living wage in the U.K. is 60 percent of the median wage. (Forbes, 3/20/17)
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, says it is good news that global CO2 emissions remained flat for the third year in a row even as the global economy grew. “It shows that if you switch technologies, you can continue to grow…but it will not get us very far down the line because we need much more dramatic cuts in emissions,” Pollin says. (Marketplace, 3/17/17)
Gerald Friedman, economics, comments on the plan presented by Speaker of the House Paul Ryan to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Friedman, an expert on the economics of health care, finds numerous serious flaws with the Ryan proposal, is quoted as saying that the plan does not offer “meaningful access through meaningful insurance,” and ultimately declares “I can’t figure this thing out.” His past research on the economic viability of single-payer plans is also referenced in a separate syndicated opinion piece. (Republican, 3/16/17; The Market Oracle, Dissident Voice, 3/15/17)
From A Matter of Life and Death:
“This week Republicans in Congress introduced a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Since then, debate in Washington has centered on the costs of the Republicans’ plan. But while money will move around if this plan is passed, it is really about life and death.
The core of the Republican plan is an end to a tax on investment income, a tax that has been used for the last seven years to pay for health insurance for about 20 million Americans (one in 12 of us).
No health insurance program — public or private — is perfect. But people who have health insurance are more likely to get the preventive care, screenings and medical care they need.” READ MORE….
“Over the last decade, Latin American countries have enacted some of the most ambitious environmental and social protections in the world. But these hard-won protections faced their first serious test in the recent China-led commodities boom, as growth exploded in intrinsically-risky sectors like mining and oil.” Read more…