A news analysis on projects the U.S. government could have funded with just part of the $1.46 trillion spent on war-related costs between 2001 and June 2017 includes a reference to a study done by Gerald C. Friedman, economics, that says paying for expanded Medicare for more than 16 million people would cost about $5,527 per person. Friedman is incorrectly identified as being from the University of Amherst. (Newsweek, 11/6/17)
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, says despite promises made by President Donald J. Trump that he will bring jobs back to the coal industry, that isn’t going to happen. He says people in coal mining regions need to be trained for new, cleaner jobs that provide them with the same security and financial support they need. (The Real News Network, 11/12/17)
Robert N. Pollin, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute and Distinguished Professor in economics, is cited in two news stories. A new report from the PERI says New York is going to need to make some big investments in renewable energy to meet its climate goals. The PERI study says the state needs to spend between $4.5 billion and $5 billion in addition to what is already planned. The study says this would create 150,000 news jobs and could be paid for with a fee on climate pollution, a carbon tax. Pollin also is identified in a column as a supporter of a “Green New Deal” where public sector jobs would be created to build a new green energy infrastructure for the country funded in part by a carbon tax. (The American Prospect, 11/16/17; Public News Services, 11/15/17)
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, talks about a new report “Clean Energy Investment for New York State” co-authored by Pollin, Heidi Garrett-Peltier and Jeannette Wicks-Lim, also faculty at PERI. (The Real News Network, 11/19/17)
In America and Around the World, the Poor Will Pay for the GOP Tax Plan
A large cut in corporate rate in the U.S. would be perceived internationally as a full throttle acceleration of the global race to the bottom on corporate taxation.
By Léonce Ndikumana (Published by Common Dreams, 11/21/17)
It is Donald Trump’s main promise as a candidate: convincing American firms to come back home, creating millions of jobs, and launching a growth that would reverse two decades of sluggish investment and stagnant wages. It is in the name of this promise that Congress is legislating on tax, especially its corporate part.
Among other things, the tax bills now being considered in Congress, would cut the corporate tax rate from 35% to 20% and allow multinational corporations to repatriate trillions of dollars they are holding abroad at a low tax rate. This is, according to the White House, a strategy to boost the competitiveness of American companies.
The argument has no empirical foundation. READ MORE….
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, discusses why he believes investing in clean energy will produce both more jobs and a cleaner environment. He opposed moves by the Trump administration to roll back the Clean Power Plan put in place by the Obama administration. (The Real News Network, 10/13/17)
Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and columnist for The New York Times gave the annual Philip Gamble Memorial Lecture Oct. 26 at the Mullins Center to an audience of more than 1,100 people. He says people are not as rational as many economists and contemporary economic models believe. Krugman says economic models that were used in the in the past that rely less on mathematical certainty are worth using because they are more accurate. (Gazette, Republican, 10/26/17; News Office assistance and release)
Gerald C. Friedman, economics, says critics of single-payer health care for the U.S. are missing an important point about the existing system, that is, that the U.S. is falling further and further behind other countries that currently provide health insurance. He says Americans pay four times as much for care as other comparable countries and life expectancy is 31 months shorter. Friedman also says while our health care system does come up with new technologies and cures, that isn’t helpful to people who don’t have access to care. (Huffiington Post, 10/18/17)
Gerald A. Epstein, economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is interviewed about claims that the tax cut program being promoted by President Donald J. Trump and congressional Republicans will boost the economy or create jobs. He says tax cuts for the middle class could boost the economy because people will spend the extra money but what Trump and Republicans are pushing is a cut for the very top earners and not consumers or small businesses. Epstein argues there is little evidence that cutting taxes for the top 1 percent will do anything for the overall economy. (The Real News Network, 10/24/17)
A political news story about how Democrats in Congress are missing an opportunity to exploit the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle environmental regulations related to climate change notes that Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director for the Political Economy Research Institute, has for years been making the argument that clean energy is a potent job creator, something conservatives don’t recognize or admit. (The Intercept, 10/23/17)