'Doc Fix' Reforming Pension Plans and the Tax Code the Fed, Dollar
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Subject: Obamacare’s fifth anniversary, reforming pension plans, and the Fed Obamacare’s fifth anniversary and the ‘doc fix’ VIDEO -- Future of Obamacare still uncertain five years later | Timothy P. Carney | Fox News’s ‘Happening Now’ Five years have passed since President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law. Since then, the bill has remained unpopular among many and done little to transform health care. Unpacking the Burr-Hatch-Upton plan | Joseph Antos and James C. Capretta | Health Affairs Blog The Burr-Hatch-Upton plan may not be perfect, but it should lay to rest the argument that there is no viable alternative to the ACA. An unappealing ‘doc fix’ | James C. Capretta | National Review Online New “doc fix” legislation will increase the deficit and pave the way for more regulation of physician services. AUDIO -- Discussing what’s at stake in King v. Burwell | Thomas P. Miller | ‘Real Clear Radio Hour’ King v. Burwell could pose a major setback to the Affordable Care Act. Reforming pension plans and the tax code NEW RESEARCH -- Why Americans don’t face a retirement crisis | Andrew G. Biggs and Sylvester J. Schieber | AEI Economic Perspectives AEI relaunches its Economic Perspectives series with this detailed report on the “retirement crisis” myth. Pension reform doesn't mean higher taxes | Andrew Biggs | The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Annual required contributions to Pennsylvania’s defined-benefit plan have soared from only 4 percent of employee payroll in 2008 to more than 20 percent today. Legislators in the state, like many elected officials nationwide, are looking for a way out. TESTIMONY -- Transition costs and public employee pension reform | Andrew G. Biggs | Pennsylvania House State Government Committee Changes to public-employee pension plans should take into account transition costs. How to cut taxes and help the poor at the same time | Michael R. Strain | The Washington Post We should spend less tax code savings on the rich and use some to encourage work and reduce poverty among low-income Americans. A simple proposal to fund maternity leave | Aparna Mathur | Forbes Providing paid maternity leave may not require a whole new federal program. A simpler approach builds on existing tax credits, but makes them refundable and accessible outside of just tax season. The Fed, dollar drama, and financial news It’s high time to ‘audit’ the Federal Reserve | Alex J. Pollock | The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) Since 2008, the Fed has run extensive and risky economic experiments without effective congressional oversight. Financial crises occur about once every decade | Alex J. Pollock | Financial Times Fed chairman Paul Volcker remarked that “about every 10 years, we have the greatest crisis in 50 years.” On the historical average, 2018 and onwards are looking dangerous. The dollar’s rise is a domestic and global threat | Desmond Lachman | New York Times Room for Debate The rapid appreciation of the dollar will dampen US export growth, further reduce inflation, and likely place financial stress on overseas companies that have borrowed in dollars. The Fed’s dollar question | Desmond Lachman | The Hill As it prepares to normalize interest rates, the Federal Reserve would be well-advised to take into account the high odds of a continued appreciation of the dollar and the resulting drags on growth and inflation. In other news TESTIMONY -- Securing the border: Defining the current population living in the shadows and addressing future flows | Madeline Zavodny | Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Why do people become unauthorized immigrants, what do we know about them in the labor market, and what would be the effects of guest-worker programs? Top four things you didn’t know about the climate | Benjamin Zycher | The American We should question four commonly held assumptions about the temperature record. Mark your calendar 4.1: Rescheduled AEI Event -- Regulatory humility in practice: Remarks by FTC Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen 4.3: Bureau of Labor Statistics releases March jobs report 4.3: Kevin Hassett cohosts CNBC ‘Squawk Box’ to discuss the jobs report 4.14: Bureau of Labor Statistics releases March Producer Price Index estimates 4.17: AEI Event -- Does Greece pose a threat to the euro? 4.17: Bureau of Labor Statistics releases March Consumer Price Index estimates Keep up with AEIecon Get up-to-the-minute updates on Twitter @AEIecon. Read more from the American Enterprise Institute economic policy team at www.aei.org/policy/economics. Contact Kaavya at [email protected] if you have questions for the economics team. Sign up for a weekly copy of the LEDGER here. 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