Wonkblog: Interview
Why a Romney economic adviser wants the government to just hire people
Kevin Hassett is the John G. Searle Senior Fellow and Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Formerly an associate professor of economics and finance at the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University and a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, he served as an economic adviser to Sen. John McCain's 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns, George W. Bush's 2004 campaign, and Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign.
Diaz-Balart on immigration reform: 'There's pushback on everything'
Mario Diaz-Balart has represented southern Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2003. He has been a leader in the House Gang of Eight, which is working in parallel with the Senate Gang of Eight to develop a bipartisan compromise on comprehensive immigration reform.
We spoke on the phone Thursday afternoon about the future of the House Gang and of immigration reform generally. A lightly edited transcript follows.
Hubbard: 'Both parties are playing the game rationally. But as a country we're not winning.'
What does politics in the United States have in common with that of declining empires of ages past? Too much, argues Glenn Hubbard. The Columbia Business School dean and former adviser to President George W. Bush and would-be president Mitt Romney makes the case in his new book (written with economist Tim Kane), called "Balance: The Economics of Great Powers from Ancient Rome to Modern America." He sees long-simmering failings in the American political system, and the economic policies that result, as risks that ultimately endanger the nation's standing in the world. He discussed why he is not, despite it all, a declinist, in a recent conversation with Wonkblog. This is a lightly edited transcript.
'This is a massive effort to attract cheap labor.' Why Sen. Bernie Sanders is skeptical of guest workers.
Sen. Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (I-Vt.) is the junior U.S. senator from Vermont. We spoke on the phone Friday afternoon about his views on the comprehensive immigration reform legislation that is pending in the Senate. A lightly edited transcript follows.
Dylan Matthews: In 2007, you had some concerns about the immigration bill being weighed by the Senate, and voted against it. Now that the new Gang of Eight bill is out of committee, what do you make of it?
Is the Plan B battle over? Former FDA official Susan Wood hopes so.
Susan Wood resigned as director of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Women's Health in 2005, when the George W. Bush administration chose to delay indefinitely a decision on whether emergency contraceptives should be sold over the counter. She is now an associate professor of health policy at George Washington University and still follows the debate over the morning-after pill closely.
Sen. Angus King on filibuster reform and life as a Senate independent
Angus King is the junior United States senator for Maine. An independent who caucuses with Senate Democrats for committee purposes, he previously served as the state's governor from 1995 to 2003, and succeeded Olympia Snowe at the start of this year.
Filibuster reform was a key plank in his Senate campaign platform, and he was involved in the negotiations that culminated in the first changes to the filibuster since the 1970s (albeit less than Tom Udall and Jeff Merkley, the two senators leading the charge, wanted). He called me from his house in Maine on Friday; a lightly edited transcript follows.
Eugene Jarecki: 'A jailer is as victimized by the drug war as the person he is jailing.'
Eugene Jarecki is a documentary maker whose previous works include "The Trials of Henry Kissinger" and "Why We Fight." His most recent film is "The House I Live In," a blistering critique of the conduct of the drug war and especially of its impact on poor and minority communities. We spoke in Shiloh Baptist Church in Shaw, Washington, D.C., where today he is hosting a screening of his film at 1 p.m., which will be live-streamed to churches and other venues across the nation. A lightly edited transcript follows.
Sen. Tom Coburn: I'm all for the very wealthy paying more taxes'
Wonkblog is running aseriesofinterviewswith key lawmakers and stakeholders on the "fiscal cliff." On Wednesday, I talked with Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), a long-standing fiscal conservative and member of the Gang of Eight, about the state of play since the election has ended. Our conversation is below, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Sen. Conrad: No way to get the revenue necessary without significant changes on capital gains and dividends
Wonkblog is running a series of interviews with key lawmakers and stakeholders on the fiscal cliff. On Wednesday, I talked to Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.), outgoing chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, about the state of play since the election has ended. Our conversation is below, lightly edited for length and clarity.
Joel Slemrod: We shouldnt kid ourselves that cutting a few credits will solve this.
Joel Slemrod is thePaul W. McCracken Collegiate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy and the chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Michigan. He is an expert on tax policy, known for his empirical studies of the effects of changes in the tax code. His new book, coauthored with Syracuse's Len Burman, is
Taxes in America: What Everyone Needs to Know. We spoke on the phone Sunday afternoon; an edited transcript follows.
Weekend interview: Peter Diamond on Social Security, privatization proposals and the grand bargain he’d like to see
Peter Diamond is an Institute professor emeritus of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught from 1966 to 2011. In 2010, he was nominated to be a governor of the Federal Reserve, but withdrew his nomination after he drew Republican opposition in the Senate. He shared the 2010 Nobel prize in economics with Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides for their work on “search costs” in labor markets — or the frictions that arise when employers need to find new workers,and vice versa.
Volcker biographer: Bernanke needs to embrace lessons of 1970s
The ideas and legacy of Paul A. Volcker loom as large in contemporary economic debates as his 6’7″ frame. From the merits of the most recent Federal Reserve actions to boost the economy to how to regulate Wall Street, many of the challenges of today have echoes of those that the former Fed chief grappled with in a five-decade career. William L. Silber has written a rich and detailed new biography of a man who has left as deep an imprint on the world economy as anyone of his generation. Silber, a professor at New York University and author of a bestselling textbook on money and banking, discussed the lessons for the present from his new book, “Volcker: The Triumph of Persistenc e.”
Public hospital exec: ‘A grim menu of choices’ for Medicaid opt-outs
Bruce Siegel is the chief executive of the National Association of Public Hospitals, which represents the nation’s safety-net hospitals. His members include more than 60 hospital systems, largely in urban areas. As public institutions, they tend to see a greater share of Medicaid and uninsured patients, and also provide more medical services that ultimately do not prove profitable.
The American Medical Association’s president-elect on the future of health care
Ardis Hoven is an HIV specialist-based in Lexington, Ky. who, last month, became president-elect of the American Medical Association. Earlier this week, she learned of the Supreme Court decision the same way the rest of us did: from TV.
“I was in my home in Lexington and watching television,” Hoven said. “Luckily I wasn’t on CNN, so I didn’t go through the back and forth.”
Blog Contributors
Ezra Klein
Ezra Klein is the editor of Wonkblog and a columnist at the Washington Post, as well as a contributor to MSNBC and Bloomberg. His work focuses on domestic and economic policymaking, as well as the political system that’s constantly screwing it up. He really likes graphs, and is on Twitter, Google+ and Facebook. E-mail him here.
Neil Irwin
Neil Irwin is a Washington Post columnist and the economics editor of Wonkblog. Each weekday morning his Econ Agenda column reports and explains the latest trends in economics, finance, and the policies that shape both. He is the author of “The Alchemists: Three Central Bankers and a World on Fire.” Follow him on Twitter here. Email him here.
Sarah Kliff
Sarah Kliff covers health policy, focusing on Medicare, Medicaid and the health reform law. She tries to fit in some reproductive health and education policy coverage, too, alongside an occasional hockey reference. Her work has appeared in Newsweek, Politico, and the BBC. She is on Twitter and Facebook.
Brad Plumer
Brad Plumer is a reporter focusing on energy and environmental issues. He was previously an associate editor at The New Republic. Follow him on Twitter. Email him here.
Dylan Matthews
Dylan Matthews covers taxes, poverty, campaign finance, higher education, and all things data. He has also written for The New Republic, Salon, Slate, and The American Prospect. Follow him on Twitter here. Email him here.
Interview, Interviews