Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, comments in a news story about the degrowth movement that seeks to have people work fewer hours in an effort to shrink the economy and reduce the strains caused by global warming and the consumption of finite energy resources. Pollin says while he agrees with the movement’s sentiments, he doesn’t think such a system would work in time to prevent damage from climate change. He also suggests applying the degrowth policies to parts of the economy rather than trying to slow down the entire global economy. Pollin is also featured on the podcast “Start Making Sense” where he describes how to pay for Medicare for All. (Vice, 5/29/19; The Nation, 5/30/19)
Month: May 2019
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, says he is frustrated by both sides in the debate over Medicare for All. He says opponents exaggerate the job losses the program would create but backers also fail to be candid that there will be large numbers of people whose jobs will disappear. He says a plan to offer salaries and training for people displaced by the new system might be a way to deal with job losses. (The Fiscal Times, 5/24/19)
An article about the rising cost of health insurance premiums, coupled with increased co-pays, deductibles and other expenses, quotes Gerald Friedman, economics, who says people often don’t notice the declining quality of their health insurance until they need it. (The Herald News [Fall River], 5/14/19)
Professor emerita Nancy Folbre is one of eight economists quoted in a story about how to close the gender pay gap. Folbre says stronger social insurance, including paid family leave, more public subsidies for care of children and the elderly, changes in the length of the school day, and Medicare for All are some ways to close the gap. (CNBC, 5/9/19)
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, writes a column where he discusses a new report from the Congressional Budget Office that lays out the framework for establishing a single-payer health care system for the U.S. He says while the report doesn’t specifically answer key questions about costs and levels of health coverage, it is a valuable tool for understanding how to build a fair and workable health care system. (Commondreams.com, 5/4/19)
Arindrajit Dube, economics, says a new report that finds a link between increasing the minimum wage and decreases in the suicide rate, provides valuable new information. He called it, “important additional evidence on the possible impact of a higher minimum wage on the standard of living – or living at all.” (Deseret News [Utah], 5/5/19)
Arnidrajit Dube, economics, say there is a lot of interest in seeing how high a minimum wage can be set before it begins to create negative impacts on the job market. He suggests setting a minimum wage at around 50 percent or 60 percent of the median pay is in line with what many countries are doing. He says there is also interest in trying to push that a little bit higher. (Wall Street Journal, 5/4/19)
An article discussing promises made by some Democratic presidential candidates to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour cites an upcoming paper by Arindrajit Dube, economics, which says raising the minimum wage significantly reduces the number of families living in poverty. (Vox, 4/30/19)