ECONOMIC POLICY
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November 6, 2009
"Obamacare's Nasty Surprise"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"...[F]or those who are now privately insured through employers or by direct purchase, there would be substantial incentives to become uninsured until they become sick. The resulting rise in the cost to insurance companies as the insured population becomes sicker would raise the average premium, strengthening that incentive."
October 26, 2009
"The Global Impact of America’s Health Care Debate"
Op-Ed, Daily News Egypt
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
President Obama's health care proposals are meeting strong opposition from fiscally conservative Democrats as well as from Republicans, owing to their potential impact on future fiscal deficits, says Martin Feldstein, member of the Belfer Center's board of directors. "Because those deficits are the primary cause of America's current-account deficit," he says, the "health-care debate's outcome will affect governments and investors around the world."
October 8, 2009
"A Better Way to Health Reform"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"The American health-care system suffers from three serious problems: Health-care costs are rising much faster than our incomes. More than 15 percent of the population has neither private nor public insurance. And the high cost of health care can lead to personal bankruptcy, even for families that do have health insurance," says Martin Feldstein, member of the board at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center.
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September 29, 2009
"A Budapest B-School Teaches Leadership at the Crossroads"
Op-Ed, Harvard Business Review
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"In this era of upheaval, CEU Business School's aspiration - to merge teaching and research on business and society with traditional commercial subjects to train leaders for markets in transition - applies to all nations, developing and developed."
September 11, 2009
"Wall Street’s New Gilded Age"
Op-Ed, Newsweek
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"But now, barely a year after one of the worst crises in all financial history, we seem to have returned to the Gilded Age of the late 19th century-the last time bankers came close to ruling America," argues Niall Ferguson, member of the Belfer Center's board of directors. "A few Wall Street giants, led by none other than JPMorgan, are back to making serious money and paying million-dollar bonuses," Ferguson says, while "every month, hundreds of thousands of ordinary Americans face foreclosure or unemployment because of a crisis caused by ... a few Wall Street giants."
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September 7, 2009
"ObamaCare's Crippling Deficits"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
Martin Feldstein believes that while the deficits caused by the fiscal stimulus package will end in 2011 and will help to sustain a fragile recovery in 2010, the deficits projected for the longer term are a threat to our economic future. The starting point for controlling those future deficits is for Congress to abandon the administration's health-care plan-a plan that will cost more than $1 trillion.
August 27, 2009
"America's Mortgage Meltdown"
Op-Ed, The Age
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
"The bursting of America's housing bubble in the northern summer of 2006 triggered the global financial crisis and recession," argues Martin Feldstein, a member of the board at Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center. "The sharp fall in house prices that followed dramatically reduced household wealth, leading to lower consumer spending and a fall in gross domestic product," Feldstein says.
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August 19, 2009
"ObamaCare Is All About Rationing"
Op-Ed, Wall Street Journal
By Martin Feldstein, George F. Baker Professor of Economics at Harvard University
The best solution to this problem of private overconsumption of health services would be to eliminate the tax rule that is causing the excessive insurance and the resulting rise in health spending. Alternatively, Congress could strengthen the incentives in the existing law for health savings accounts with high insurance copayments. Either way, the result would be more cost-conscious behavior that would lower health-care spending.
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August 17, 2009
"Getting Your Fix"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Corporate Counsel
By Ben Heineman, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The fixed fee is not an easy answer to the economic conflicts between firms and corporate clients. But the current economic crisis makes it imperative to have greater predictability and regularity on billing and payment for both law firms and corporate clients. Beyond economic necessity, the fixed fee provides the opportunity for better cooperation on money, just as the enhancement of in-house lawyers has made for much better cooperation on matters."
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August 11, 2009
"A Runaway Deficit May Soon Test Obama’s Luck"
Op-Ed, Financial Times
By Niall Ferguson, Member of the Board, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
President Barack Obama reminds me of Felix the Cat. One of the best-loved cartoon characters of the 1920s, Felix was not only black. He was also very, very lucky. And that pretty much sums up the 44th president of the US as he takes a well-earned summer break after just over six months in the world’s biggest and toughest job.
