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John Goodman

Who Pays the Corporate Income Tax?

Who Pays the Corporate Income Tax?

What about Joe Biden’s promise that the next big spending bill won’t cost anyone a dime if they make less than $400,000? All economists think that the corporate income tax is partly paid for by lower wages for workers. The only question is: How much of the cost is born by labor? Larry Kotlikoff and his colleagues, using the most sophisticated model of international financial flows that exists, have concluded that the full burden of the corporate income tax falls on workers. Not just in this country. But in every country. The editorial board of the says they agreed with him. 

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How to Reform Obamacare

How to Reform Obamacare

John Goodman was the first person to note that health plans would respond to Obamacare incentives by imposing high deductibles (three times what is normal for employer plans) and narrow networks (as bad or worse than under Medicaid). Along with Boston University economist Laurence Kotlikoff, he has now proposed simple, straightforward reforms to both problems in an editorial published in the Hill.

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Minimum Wage

Minimum Wage

Suppose Congress were considering a bill that would do the following: either your employer must double your wage or fire you. Is that the kind of law you would like to see passed? Most people wouldn’t. But then why are they willing to inflict the same threatening edict on those at the bottom of the income ladder?

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Who is Getting the Vaccine?

Who is Getting the Vaccine?

Two things are obvious. Access to the Covid-19 vaccine has not been equal. And in many cases, the distribution is unrelated to medical need or medical risk.

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Goodman: Conservatism Needs a Reset

Goodman: Conservatism Needs a Reset

William F. Buckley is best known for promoting a fusionist approach on the right – uniting traditionalists and classical liberals in a common cause — especially in National Review. Yet in the latest, Buckley’s former debating partner, John C. Goodman says this approach is not working. Those who believe “We should stand athwart history yelling stop” have no appeal for the young, he says. “They generate none of the energy and enthusiasm needed for a successful political movement.”

Goodman says conservatives should focus instead on reforming institutions, liberating people and making the world a better place. “The classical liberals were reformers,” he says.” To be successful, modern conservatives must follow in their footsteps.”

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Father of Health Savings Accounts Says We need One, Universal Account

Father of Health Savings Accounts Says We need One, Universal Account

More than 80 million people have some kind of savings account targeted for health care. But the system needs reform:

·     By law, seniors cannot make deposits to an HSA

·     Almost no one with Obamacare insurance has an HSA

·     Among those who have an account, money cannot be used to pay the fees of “direct primary care” doctors – who are available by phone, email and Skype and as an alternative to emergency room care at nights and on weekends.

·     It is impossible to structure HSAs for diabetes and other chronic conditions

Writing in, John C. Goodman says there should be one, easy-to-use account available to everybody. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) has introduced a plan to move in this direction.

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Why Trump lost the Election: Health Care

Why Trump lost the Election: Health Care

The editors of the Wall Street Journal, the editor of National Review (Rich Lowry) and John Goodman all agree: Trump didn’t endorse the plan outlined by Goodman and Heritage Foundation scholar, Marie Fishpaw.… Oops…. Trump actually did the things Goodman and Fishpaw recommended, including allowing people to talk to their doctors by phone, email, and Skype; allowing employees to have access to 24/7 primary care as an alternative to the emergency room, and allowing employer-provided health insurance to be personal and portable. But Trump never talked about any of this. So, he didn’t get credit for any of it.

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Tax Reform on the Ballot in Georgia

Tax Reform on the Ballot in Georgia

A new study of the 2017 federal tax cuts has found that, although controversial when adopted, the tax reform law will lead to lower taxes and higher wages as the average Georgia household will enjoy more than $39,000 in economic benefits over their lifetime. That’s the conclusion of a new study by Boston University professor Laurence Kotlikoff and funded by the Goodman Institute for Public Policy Research. An earlier study by Kotlikoff and economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta estimated the gain at $22,676 because of personal income tax cuts. The new study adds the impact of lower corporate taxes.

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Four years of Argument Ad Hominem

Four years of Argument Ad Hominem

Donald Trump is probably the most consequential president of our lifetime. Yet in the four years of his presidency, I can recall very few instances where one of his major policy changes was rationally discussed on the editorial pages of the New York Times. Instead, it’s been four years of a steady stream of name calling. 

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Q & A on the Labor Market

Q & A on the Labor Market

Finance and accounting are probably the easiest health care services to outsource. But the potential list is growing. It’s estimated that one-third of all physician visits could be replaced by consultations using Zoom, Skype or Facebook – and the incidence of such remote consultations is soaring.

In the future, your doctor could be in India. So could your accountant, your lawyer and dozens of others who produce goods and services you consume.

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