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Prison Call Order Delays Reform of Market Ripe for Disruption

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This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in the AEIdeas Blog.

Earlier this summer, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) unexpectedly delayed implementation of its 2024 prison call order until 2027. The order, which was mandated by Congress and had bipartisan support in the agency and on Capitol Hill, sought to correct long-standing market distortions through a combination of cost-based pricing and competition-friendly rules. The delay was requested by incumbent providers and correctional facilities based on unexpected implementation challenges. But this postponement is unfortunate, coming right as new entrants such as Ameelio are poised to challenge those incumbents and perpetuating inefficiencies, high costs, and limited innovation in a sector ripe for disruption.

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No Good Answers to Health Insurance Cutbacks at Congressional Town Halls

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Constituents jeer and boo Nebraska lawmaker over healthcare concerns

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

Over the past two weeks, Nebraska constituents grilled a Republican congressman on recent health insurance cutbacks during a pair of town halls. Their angry response — and the congressman’s difficulty in allaying their concerns — signal potential voter backlash as those cutbacks are rolled out.

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The Great Risk Shift 2.0

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The rollbacks to social safety nets in H.R. 1 are just the latest effort in a 50-year campaign to shift financial risk from big institutions and monied interests onto ordinary households.

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

Today, the typical family is worse off economically than it was in the 1960s, due to a concerted campaign by businesses and governments to dump their financial risks onto breadwinners and their families. This column examines how H.R. 1 continues that campaign while undermining some of the newer social safety nets established in recent years.

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The Curious Email From Social Security

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A July 4 email from the Social Security Administration claimed that Congress had eliminated federal income taxes on Social Security benefits, when it had not

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

During last year’s presidential race, President Trump declared: “Seniors should not pay taxes on Social Security and they won’t,” according to CBS News. This promise to end income taxes on Social Security benefits was the single most popular economic proposal of either candidate, according to an ABC News/Ipsos Poll conducted about a month before the election. In fact, voters were so enthralled with his idea that 85% of people polled approved.

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How to Cut Health Benefits and Dis a Majority of Voters in the Process

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New Medicaid red tape and the loss of expanded Obamacare subsidies stand to hurt 93 million households

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

In 2033, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance In H.R. 1, passed on July 4, Congress saddled Medicaid participants with new red tape, while allowing expanded subsidies for Obamacare premiums to lapse at the end of this year. When those changes take effect, they will affect all Medicaid participants (71 million at last count) and 92% of Obamacare policyholders (another 22 million). Together, this is far more than half of the number of people who voted in the latest Presidential election and suggests that the Republican majority in Congress will alienate voters.

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What Would Social Security’s Insolvency Do to Old-Age Benefits?

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Social Security benefits would not drop to $0, but they would be cut by 23 percent unless Congress acts

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

In 2033, the Old-Age and Survivors Insurance Trust Fund will run out of money to pay old-age Social Security benefits. At that point, tax revenues will still be enough to pay 77 percent of monthly checks. But there will be a substantial benefits cut unless Congress takes action. If and when Congress sees fit to act, it will have to choose between higher payroll taxes on the top 6 percent or reforms that make lower-income retirees substantially worse off.

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Curtailing Need-Based Scholarships for College in the Land of Opportunity

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What the proposed cutbacks to Pell Grants would mean

This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

In the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the House of Representatives voted to cut college scholarships for students from lower-income families. Other provisions in the bill would scale back health insurance benefits and food assistance for many of those same households. The fact that these reductions would pay for tax cuts for the wealthy has not been lost on Americans with opinions on the bill, who oppose it 2 to 1.

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Is the Proposed Hike to the Child Tax Credit What It’s Cracked Up to Be?

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This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

In my last two columns, I blasted the House of Representatives for voting to throw millions of people off of health insurance in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is now pending in the Senate. As it is, half of American households live on less than a living wage, as I discuss in my new book Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-being for All. And that’s with layers of social safety nets, ranging from subsidized health insurance and Food Stamps to student loan protections. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act would unravel these safety nets all at once, even though millions of working families depend on them to make ends meet.

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NTIA Streamlines BEAD Program, But Risks Further Delays

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This guest post by BC Law Professor and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Daniel Lyons first appeared in the AEIdeas Blog.

On June 6, the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) issued its long-awaited overhaul of the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program. This new policy notice repeals many administrative burdens imposed by Biden-era NTIA oversight and aligns the program more closely with Congress’s original intent. This revised guidance promises to enhance broadband deployment by increasing flexibility and reducing costs to taxpayers. But it also risks further delays in a program already criticized for its sluggish rollout—and in the meantime, private enterprise is closing many of the coverage gaps BEAD sought to address.

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Tick Tock . . . The Clock Is Running Out on Enhanced Premium Subsidies for Obamacare

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This post has been republished from Professor Patricia McCoy’s Substack. Her new book, “Sharing Risk: The Path to Economic Well-Being for All,” is available from The University of California Press.

Today, financial pressures are a real sore point for ordinary Americans, now that half of U.S. households lack enough income to live on. For earners in the bottom half, homeownership is increasingly unattainable, retirement savings are scant, and college education usually means going into debt. Their wages have been stagnant and their jobs are insecure. Many live lives of quiet financial desperation.

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