Author and former health insurance executive Wendell Potter explains to ProMarket why the employer-based health care system in the US is “collapsing” and why health insurance companies see the Covid-19 crisis as a “net saving.”
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The Stimulus Package Is Too Expensive and Poorly Targeted: The Waste Contained in the CARES Act
A cost-effective stimulus to mend the effects of a 24 percent drop in GDP would cost no more than $1.3 trillion over a 6-month period. The bill that Congress just approved is much bigger because it allocates resources to people who are not necessarily affected and rescuing businesses, like Boeing, that are in trouble for pre-existing reasons.
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From Most No-Brainer to Most Complicated: A List of Policy Proposals to Mitigate the Virus’ Impact
Policymakers need to figure out which sectors we wish to keep up and running (food, health care), which sectors we want to contract rapidly but bounce back rapidly as well (education), and which sectors we do not want to protect at all and would be willing to see perish.
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America’s Broken Health Care System Is the Biggest Obstacle to Containing the Coronavirus
Over the past few weeks, it has become abundantly clear that the US health care system is uniquely ill-equipped to deal with a crisis of this magnitude. For years, physicians, economists, and health advocates have warned that the American health care system is a disaster in waiting. Now the disaster is here.
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Please, Don’t Use Taxpayer Money to Bailout Investors Like Me
When we invested in stocks and bonds, we knew we might have to face a storm or two. The high returns we received on our investments compensated us for this risk. When the government bails out a corporation, it is letting investors like me keep all the profits in good times without bearing the losses in bad times.
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The Covid-19 Bailout That Big Business Is Lobbying for Could Make America Unrecognizable
Supporting industries is necessary to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic. But using the coronavirus as an excuse, Boeing and other companies are trying to get taxpayers to foot the bill for their managerial errors. It is not too late to put a limit on corporate subsidies.
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Stick, Carrot, and Evergreen Loans: A Policy Proposal to Save Small and Medium-Sized Firms
Restaurant owners, retailers, and the like employ more than 50 percent of the US workforce, yet neither have cash buffers nor access to Federal Reserve support. In the present situation, we do not need to stimulate new business and spending. Instead, policy nowadays should be aimed at stabilizing impaired balance sheets and avoiding business closures via evergreening.
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“Monetary Awards Are Not the Only Reason Why Whistleblowers Report Corporate Malpractice”
At the SEC, Jordan Thomas had a leadership role in developing the program to protect and reward employees who report corporate wrongdoing. Now, he is a lawyer who exclusively represents SEC whistleblowers: “The award is not the only driver, nor the primary driver, but it is an important factor to help people feel comfortable in coming forward”.
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“This Crisis Is Different: the Coronavirus Is a Social Disease Which We Need to Tackle as a Community”
In an extensive interview, former Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Chicago Booth professor Raghuram Rajan discusses the pandemic’s impact on financial markets and policy reactions. “Monetary policy can be useful in providing some confidence. But targeted measures, both against the spread of the virus and against the consequences of the disease, are really the first element of government action”.
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Allowing Digital Platforms to Continue Picking the Winners and Losers of Our Economy Is Un-American
Antitrust law aims to stop established companies from shutting out competitors. We should revive enforcement against exclusionary conduct, as well as structurally eliminate the platforms’ conflicts of interest and remove their incentive and ability to self-preference.
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How US Regulators Allowed Google and Facebook to Become Dominant
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority recently criticized Google and Facebook’s excessive market power. American regulators, on the other hand, have allowed them to consolidate their influence with almost no restrictions, and the Justice Department’s chief antitrust enforcement official has recused himself from the Google investigation because he used to be a Google lobbyist.
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Five Conditions for Corporations About to Receive Coronavirus Bailouts
Wall Street and the Federal Reserve are getting ready for massive bailouts, so here are the conditions to put on large corporations who need cash from the government: 1) No bailouts for shareholders; 2) No more buybacks ever and no more dividends for five years; 3) Strict executive compensation limits; 4) No more lobbying and limits on public relations spending; 5) No more mergers and acquisitions for five years.
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