Robert N. Pollin, Distinguished Professor in economics and co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute, says if Hillary Clinton is relying on her husband, President Bill Clinton, for economic advice, that’s bad news for ordinary Americans. He argues that the Clinton administration policies favored the wealthy and Wall Street investors and made life more difficult for working people. (The Nation, 1/26/16)
From CNN article by Tami Luhby (1/25/16):
Doctors would be paid 10.7% less and hospitals 9.4% less than what they receive from Medicare now, according to an analysis done for the Sanders campaign by Gerald Friedman, a University of Massachusetts at Amherst economics professor. He argues that providers will be able to handle the cuts because they’ll be able to save money on billing and insurance-related work.
Friedman pointed to a 2011 study in industry journal, Health Affairs, that estimated the average physician in Ontario spent about $22,200 per year interacting with Canada’s single-payer agency, while American doctors spend close to $83,000 a year, on average, dealing with insurers.
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There is continued national news coverage of the work of Gerald C. Friedman, economics, and his economic analysis of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders’ single-payer health care plan. Sanders released details of the plan just prior to the Jan. 7 Democratic presidential debate and it has caused a lively debate about the overall cost and potential savings for Americans. Friedman says under the Sanders plan, spending would rise but there would also be huge savings for Americans because the plan would eliminate the cost of private insurers and control prices. (USA Today, 1/24/16; CNNMoney, 1/25/16)
James K. Boyce, economics and the Political Economy Research Institute, discusses recent news that global CO2 emissions have declined at the same time that the global economy has grown. He says it has long been accepted that rising incomes and declining CO2 could not happen at the same time, but now clearly that’s not true. Boyce says it’s good news that reducing CO2 in the atmosphere doesn’t automatically restrict growth in the economy. (The Real News Network, 12/14/15)