An article on Puerto Rico’s recovery following the widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Maria details how a working paper from August by researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) identified the island as fertile ground for renewal through green rebuilding efforts and a self-sufficient energy system. The paper argues that creating a renewables-based power grid emancipated from the fossil-fuel industry could blaze a path to socially fair and climate-resilient energy sovereignty for the island. PERI calculates that about $2.2 billion in annual investments is needed to establish a more socially equitable, decentralized energy infrastructure that is accessible to all residents. The main financing vehicle would be a carbon tax, starting at $25 per ton, rising incrementally to $150 per ton by 2050. The tax would yield $300 million for new energy investment, which would then be used to leverage private investment promoted through various subsidies, similar to the incentives structures used to boost solar and wind on the mainland. Robert Pollin, co-director of PERI and distinguished professor of economics, is quoted. (The Nation, 10/4/17)
Day: October 5, 2017
Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Political Economy Research Institute, says spending on the military does create jobs, but says her research shows that spending on education, renewable energy and healthcare creates more jobs per $1 million spent and uses less energy. She also notes that military spending is much less transparent than spending in those other sectors. (The Real News Network, 9/29/17)
Gerald C. Friedman, economics, writes in The Conversation how implementing “Medicare for all” would be much less expensive than a single-payer health insurance program for the country. He says this is because Medicare offers modest coverage and already has a funding stream in place, both from taxes and premiums. He says it would also cost less because although it still uses private insurers, administrative costs would be lowered and hospital monopolies would be unable to overcharge what private insurers pay. A columnist writing about why a single-payer system would be better for ordinary Americans cites research done by Friedman that finds 95 percent of households would save money with a single-payer health care system. (UPI.com, Cleveland.com, 9/20/17)
Research by Robert Pollin, distinguished professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is cited in an opinion piece criticizing the $3 billion subsidy that Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is trying to provide to the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Foxconn to have the corporation bring a new facility to his state. The authors say that Walker is overinflating the number of jobs the facility could create, while Pollin’s research shows that a similar $3 billion investment in education would create, on average, 87,300 jobs; in health care it would create 58,800 jobs; and in renewable energy, 51,300 jobs. (Milwaukee Shepherd Express, 9/19/17)
Research done by Heidi Garrett-Peltier, Political Economy Research Institute, is cited in a story about how some residents of Rhode Island and Connecticut are opposed to expansion of Electric Boat’s program to build a new class of nuclear submarines. She says military-related spending generates fewer jobs and supply-chain jobs per $1 million than spending on clean energy, health care, education and infrastructure. “All those other sectors are a lot more labor-intensive,” she says. (Providence Journal, 9/15/17)