The One Big Beautiful Bill Act creates punitive new ‘work requirements’ for many Medicaid recipients, which will cause millions of people who are eligible for the program to lose coverage. And these cuts will also hammer state budgets. But Eileen Appelbaum writes that there may be a way out: States can hire navigators to help assist Medicaid recipients with the paperwork to keep them covered. In a followup piece, Appelbaum notes that there are already states and cities that are creating policies to protect health care benefits.
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Trump’s Intervention in Colombia’s Election Risks Renewed Violence
Mark Weisbrot writes in the Los Angeles Times, in Spanish here, that President Trump’s endorsement of right-wing candidate Abelardo de la Espriella in Colombia’s presidential runoff is a violation of international norms. A potential De la Espriella presidency, in alliance with Trump, would, Weisbrot warns, “carry a high risk of death and destruction, in a country that has suffered enormously for decades from violence and armed conflict.”
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| The $2.13 Subminimum Wage: When is Enough Enough?
The debates over raising the minimum wage often gloss over the existence of the subminimum wage, which has been stuck at $2.13 since 1991. Sylvia Allegretto traces the history of this policy in a new Data Bytes piece, and reminds us that the public doesn’t just want to increase the subminimum wage – they want to eliminate it entirely. As our Majority Agenda series shows, the public strongly backs a range of progressive economic policies. What are political elites waiting for?
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Bolivia’s Protests Grow After Government Embraces IMF-Style Austerity Measures
Andrés Arauz argues in The Nation that Bolivia’s growing unrest is a response to IMF-style austerity measures that follow a campaign that had been focused on “stability.” “When governments dress up austerity as a technical necessity rather than a political choice, the streets become the last remaining arena of democracy,” he writes.
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Mostly Economics: More Money, Less Problems
On the CEPR podcast, economist Arindrajit Dube joined Dean Baker to discuss his book The Wage Standard, which examines why the federal minimum wage has stagnated for so long, how outsourcing reshaped worker pay, and why sectoral wage standards may be the key to rebuilding middle-class wages. Watch it on the CEPR YouTube channel or on any other podcasting platform.
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| Two Letters Challenge the Ecuador-UAE Investment Treaty's Reintroduction of ISDS, Prohibited by the Constitution and Rejected by Voters
Former high-level Ecuadorian officials urged the UAE this week not to ratify a new investment agreement with Ecuador, due to its inclusion of investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS). International jurists condemned the backdoor inclusion of ISDS in the agreement in a separate letter to Ecuador’s Constitutional Court.
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AI Bubble Monitor: Is SpaceX Elon Musk’s Greatest Scam?
In the latest installment of CEPR’s new AI Bubble Monitor, Dean Baker takes a look at the SpaceX IPO, what it means for the state of the stock bubble, and how it can be that someone with Musk’s track record can still attract investors. |
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Know someone who would want to work at what The Washington Post calls one “of the most prominent think tanks on the left?” CEPR has an opening for a Director of Development and an International Program Intern. See details and how to apply here.
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El País, citing Jake Johnston, Democratic Lawmakers Denounce Trump’s Support for Colombia’s Far-Right Candidate De la Espriella and Call for an Investigation
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Vox, citing Dean Baker, Trump’s Strange Flirtation with AI Socialism, Explained
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The American Conservative, quoting Mark Weisbrot, Economic Warfare, Militarized Diplomacy Are Brutal and Malfunctioning Tools
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MS NOW, citing Dean Baker, OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX Going Public Feels Ominous
- La Jornada, citing CEPR, Asedio medieval
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Wired, citing Matt Sedlar, Traditional Home Insurance Is Collapsing. Here’s What Could Fill the Gap
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Subscribe to Dean Baker's commentary on economic reporting on Patreon to support Dean's work and for early access to special content. Or, sign up for a weekly email roundup of Beat the Press. |
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