Reporting on a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation that finds support for a Medicare-for-all plan drops when people are told that such a system could result in delays getting health care and in higher taxes, cites research from UMass Amherst’s Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) that Medicare-for-all would cost the government about $1.1 trillion in its first year, far less than the $25-35 trillion over 10 years cited in other studies. (Associated Press, 1/123/19)
Author: rebeccaschwa
Robert Pollin, distinguished professor of economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI), says a “Green New Deal” that shifts the United States from fossil fuels to clean energy has the potential to create millions of new jobs for people with all levels of education. (Earther, 1/21/19)
A column advocating a permanent tax credit for employees such as firefighters, nurses, law enforcement personnel, teachers and active-duty military who make less than $100,000 a year quotes Gerald C. Friedman, economics, who says that such a credit might cause employers in other industries to raise wages to keep workers from leaving for jobs that offer the tax credit. (Washington Post, 1/15/19)
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is the lead author of a report saying that implementing a “Medicare for All” single-payer health care system could reduce the nation’s health care costs by nearly 10 percent and provide medical coverage for everyone. The proposal calls for eliminating private insurance companies and getting savings from reducing redundant administrative expenses. The co-authors of the report are PERI researchers James Heintz, Peter Arno, Jeannette Wicks-Lim and Michael Ash. (Recorder, 1/11/19)
Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, is interviewed about Medicare for All and what he says the program would cost compared to the projected cost of the current health care system. Pollin argues that Medicare for All would provide health care for all Americans, at lower cost and without out-of-pocket expenses. (Jacobin magazine, 12/26/18)
Gerald C. Friedman, economics, says although Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez self-identify as democratic socialists, their views are neither radical nor outside the traditions of the Democratic Party, despite statements of outrage from conservative commentators. He says, for example, “[Sanders] is a left-liberal Democrat, a New Dealer and a social democrat. If you look at his platform in 2016, basically what he wanted was to go back and review the New Deal and complete it. It’s really on the right edge of anything people should call socialism,” Friedman says. (The Globe Post, 1/3/19)
Workers on Corporate Boards? Germany’s Had Them for Decades. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to give workers a voice on corporate boards isn’t radical. “Co-determination” has a long history, and America should embrace it. By Dr. Susan R. Holmberg, a political economist and a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/06/opinion/warren-workers-boards.html)
Leonce Ndikumana, economics and the Political Economy Research Institute, comments in a story about how Zambia is losing billions of dollars because of theft, embezzlement and underreporting of income. He says this capital flight hampers the government’s efforts at developing the country and also says these factors boost the nation’s debt. (Lusaka Times, 1/2/18)
In a news story on National Public Radio about how the minimum wage is rising in the new year in 20 states and 21 cities, Arindrajit Dube, economics, offers comments on the impact on employment of the higher wages. “I think the weight of the evidence to date suggests that employment effects from minimum-wage increases in the U.S. have been pretty small, much smaller than the wage increases. For example, 30 years ago, most economists expressed confidence in surveys that minimum wages had a clear negative impact on jobs. That is no longer true today,” Dube says. (NPR, WAMC, 12/30/18)
A news story notes that legislation to establish a single-payer health care plan is under consideration in Ohio and the financial underpinning of the bill is a report done by Gerald C. Friedman, economics. Friedman recently provided testimony to Ohio lawmakers when he appeared before the House Insurance Committee. (The Press, 12/10/18)