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September 20, 2016
Title: Wealth Transfer to Big Grocers
Topic: Plastic Bag Ban
Discussed by Pamela Villarreal
with National Center For Policy Analysis wwwncpa.org
Recent polls indicate the majority of likely voters favor banning plastic bags, but do not want the grocers to pocket the windfall.
But, why should we care? Don’t plastic bags help the environment? Pamela Villarreal, with the
National Center for Policy Analysis, is here today to explain why we should all be paying attention to this issue.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Why do big grocers favor bag bans?
What is the argument from environmentalists in favor of banning plastic bags?
How do voters feel about the plastic bag ban? How do the voters feel about the grocers keeping all of the profit, with none going back into the state of California or even to a private entity which aids the environment?
Are the environmental activists pushing to ban the use of plastic drinking bottles and other plastic soft drink bottles?
Some communities in Texas are catching the madness to ban plastic bags. Listen in as Pamela discusses the true impact plastic bags have on the environment and what she believes the future looks like.
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August 25, 2016
Title: The Minimum Wage Debate Keeps Growing
Topic: Minimum Wage
Discussed by Pamela Villarreal
with National Center For Policy Analysis wwwncpa.org
Do you think that the national minimum wage should be increased?
Guest Pamela Villarreal says, “For several years now, stagnant wage growth
and a sputtering economy have encouraged a movement by labor rights groups to
raise the minimum wage.” However, what is the flip side? That is the focus
of today’s interview with Pamela.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Is the US economy really in a slump? How long has the stagnation been occurring?
The MSM portrays the US as needing more workers. Will more workers just place
more downward pressure on wage growth?
Who earns minimum wage now? NOTE: This is key. Listen in as
Pamela explains.
What are some of the effects of increasing the minimum wage? Who is affected the
most? br />
Why is increasing the minimum wage so appealing to younger voters?
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July 13, 2016
Title: The Minimum Wage Debate Keeps Growing
Topic: Minimum Wage
Discussed by Pamela Villarreal
with National Center For Policy Analysis wwwncpa.org
Do you think that the national minimum wage should be increased?
Guest Pamela Villarreal says, “For several years now, stagnant wage growth
and a sputtering economy have encouraged a movement by labor rights groups to
raise the minimum wage.” However, what is the flip side? That is the focus
of today’s interview with Pamela.
Questions/Issues Discussed:
Is the US economy really in a slump? How long has the stagnation been occurring?
The MSM portrays the US as needing more workers. Will more workers just place
more downward pressure on wage growth?
Who earns minimum wage now? NOTE: This is key. Listen in as
Pamela explains.
What are some of the effects of increasing the minimum wage? Who is affected the
most? br />
Why is increasing the minimum wage so appealing to younger voters?
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August 22, 2011
Title: Why No Jobs?
Topic: Obamanomics
Discussed by Pamela Villarreal
with National Center For Policy Analysis wwwncpa.org
Why aren't businesses hiring? Are they really sitting on billions of dollars
that they could be investing in expanding to use to hire new employees?
What’s causing the continuing stagnation of the U.S. Economy? Sen. Phil Gramm
recently opined that we’ve had recessions before but at this point in the
economic cycle we should be roaring back. So what is holding the economy down?
[Hint: Obamanomics!]
The problem in the current economy is that hiring new workers and committing to
new production has become too risky so businesses are simply sitting on their
cash. Will Obama ever figure out what will encourage businesses to stop sitting
on their cash and start investing in new employees and new production?
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August 13, 2010
Title: News That's Too Good To Be True Part 1 of 2
Topic: Social Security
Discussed by Pamela Villarreal
with National Center For Policy Analysis wwwncpa.org
When President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) he wiped out $53 trillion of unfunded U.S. government liability. With the stroke of a pen, more than 60 percent of Medicare's long-term deficit vanished. It's all in the latest Medicare Trustees report. The news is too good. It's embarrassingly good. It's, well, unbelievable, says John C. Goodman, President, CEO and the Kellye Wright Fellow of the National Center for Policy Analysis. Taking a closer look, we see that not all sectors were treated equally by the PPACA. The pharmaceutical industry made out like bandits. Doctors took a bath. And the hospital industry got creamed. But what if you don't care about the lobbyists, the trade associations and the special interests? What if your main interest is in what kind of health care you're going to get, asks Goodman? (Continued next segment)
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Title: News That's Too Good To Be True Part 2 of 2
Topic: Social Security
Discussed by Pamela Villarreal
with National Center For Policy Analysis wwwncpa.org
Well, that's why there was a need for an alternative report -- one prepared by Medicare's actuaries. And according to this report, there's no such thing as a free lunch, says Goodman. For example:
- The Trustees report assumes Medicare doctor fees will be cut by 30 percent in the next three years and continue to decline in succeeding years.
- By 2019, Medicare fees will be below the fees paid by Medicaid.
- By 2050, Medicare fees will be one-half of what they private sector pays.
- By 2080, they will be one-third.
So, why will doctors continue to see Medicare patients? Why will hospitals admit them? Many won't. And that's why the actuaries say the Trustees report is "unrealistic" and "implausible." According to the alternative report:
- By 2019 one in seven facilities -- hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, home health care agencies and hospices -- will be unprofitable and risk bankruptcy.
- By 2030, one in four will be unprofitable.
- By 2050, it will be 40 percent.
There is no more effective cost control device in the world than the simple expedient of denying people care. And that is what is being forecast for the future of the elderly and the disabled, says Goodman.
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