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Author: Michael Mandel

The Cost of Generating Electric Power (December 2018)

The Cost of Generating Electric Power (December 2018)

Posted by | Dec 27, 2018 | , , |

December 2018: When we compare the cost of generating electricity from coal, nuclear, natural gas, wind and solar, there are several different costs to consider. There is the fixed cost of building and maintaining the generating plant, the wind farm, or the solar panels. There is the variable cost of the fuel, which may be as low as zero in the case of solar and wind. And the average lifetime cost per unit of electricity takes into account both fixed and variable costs. For decades, coal and nuclear plants produced the country’s cheapest power. Their fuel (coal and uranium)...

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The Importance of the Congressional Budget Office

The Importance of the Congressional Budget Office

Posted by | Sep 6, 2017 | , , |

August 2017: If you want to see the real-world importance of economics, look no further than the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). The CBO, a group of about 200 economists and analysts, is in charge of ‘scoring’ legislative proposals. Like an impartial referee, the CBO issues an independent assessment of the fiscal impact that legislation will have over the next ten years, so that members of Congress know what they are voting on. The CBO played a central role in the fight over repealing and replacing Obamacare. As Republicans tried to put together a bill that could pass the House...

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Why Obamacare Repeal Has Failed So Far (April 2017)

Why Obamacare Repeal Has Failed So Far (April 2017)

Posted by | Apr 11, 2017 | , |

April 2017: President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA)–otherwise known as Obamacare–into law in March 2010. The Republican party was strongly opposed to Obamacare, and made overturning the law one of its top priorities, saying that it represented too much government interference in the economy. However, something strange happened. The election of November 2016 gave Republicans control of Congress and the White House, so they had the power, in theory, to enact any legislation that they wanted, including a total repeal of Obamacare. However, after two months of wrangling, the Republican members of the House  could not muster...

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Economic Impact of Trump’s Budget (February 2017, updated March 2017)

Economic Impact of Trump’s Budget (February 2017, updated March 2017)

Posted by | Mar 21, 2017 | |

February 2017 (updated March 2017): In the coming months, Congress and President Trump will be wrestling with the federal budget for the 2018 fiscal year, which starts on October 1, 2017 and ends on September 30, 2018. One big decision they will face is whether to reduce or expand the federal budget deficit. The federal budget deficit is the difference between the amount that the government collects through taxes, and the amount that it spends, while the debt is the total amount it owes, accumulated over time. During his February 28, 2017 address to Congress, President Trump proposed policies that...

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Do CEOs Make for Good Cabinet Officials? (January 2017)

Do CEOs Make for Good Cabinet Officials? (January 2017)

Posted by | Jan 20, 2017 | |

January 2017: Donald J. Trump won the 2016 presidential election, in part, because he argued that his experience as a successful business person qualified him to become head of the federal government. And since his victory, Trump has announced his intentions to nominate more than half a dozen top business executives to run government departments. Most notably, Rex Tillerson, CEO of ExxonMobil, was chosen to be Secretary of State, while Andrew Puzder, CEO of the company that franchises the fast-food outlets Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr, was chosen to be Secretary of Labor. [Ed Note: Pudzer later withdrew from consideration]....

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