New Republican budget plan calls for big changes to Medicare. CEO Howard Schultz on rescuing Starbucks. Arizona proposes fee for obese or smoking Medicaid recipients. Aerotropolis: A new economic paradigm for the future?
New Republican budget plan calls for big changes to Medicare
Republican leaders have put a budget plan on the table, and this time, they’re not shying away from politically unpopular cuts to entitlement spending. They’re proposing cutting a trillion dollars from Medicaid over the next ten years but the cornerstone of the Republican plan, put together by Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, would give seniors vouchers with which to buy insurance on the open market. We’ll explore how Medicare works now, what changes the GOP plan would make, and how it will affect the rising costs of healthcare. We’ll also look into the questions the GOP budget plan is raising. For instance, does Ryan’s proposal amounts to a privatization of Medicare? And how will the plan effect an aging population?
Guests:
Gerald Kominski, Associate Director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Joseph Antos, Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy, American Enterprise Institute
CEO Howard Schultz on rescuing Starbucks
Howard Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982 as director of operations and marketing when Starbucks had just four stores. At the time the idea of coffee shop as a public square and a daily destination between office and home was unheard of. As CEO he steered the company through an epic spurt and today there are more than 16,000 outlets around the world. Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2000, but in 2008 he made another unlikely move by returning to the CEO position. Schultz felt he had no other choice as he watched the company lose money and move away from its core values. One of his first efforts involved closing thousands of stores for one day to retrain it employees even though it meant the loss of millions of dollars. Schultz joins guest host David Lazarus to share the remarkable story of his return and the company’s ongoing transformation under his leadership, revealing how, during one of the most tumultuous economic times in history, Starbucks again achieved profitability and sustain¬ability without sacrificing humanity.
Guest:
Howard Schultz, President and CEO of Starbucks and author of Onward: How Starbucks Fought for its Life Without Losing its Soul
Arizona proposes fee for obese or smoking Medicaid recipients
For the first time ever, the Arizona legislature will vote on a proposal by Governor Jan Brewer, to tax Medicaid recipients for leading an unhealthy life style. The plan would enforce that childless, obese, adults who receive Medicaid, would be required to follow a doctor’s weight loss plan or be charged an additional $50 a year for coverage. Smokers would be subject to the same requirement. Based on many medical studies, obese people and smokers do cost more in the health care system. The tax is supposed to be covering that extra health care. But, will a plan like this create healthy behavior? Is it fair to levy such a ‘sin tax’ on the poor, where no such tax is imposed on the rich? What about taxing other unhealthy behaviors?
Guests:
Art Caplan, Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania
Micheal Tanner, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute
Aerotropolis: A new economic paradigm for the future?
Airports used to be basic transportation hubs with little or no commerce located on the outskirts of large cities. These days the most modern and competitive airport is known as an “aerotropolis,” a state-of-the-art airport surrounded by high-end shopping, fine dining, customized transit links and corporate suburbs that connect people to the global marketplace. In Greg Lindsey and John Kasarda’s new book “Aerotropolis” the authors posit that this urban, suburban and transportation configuration is indispensible to a region’s economic success. Los Angeles, they argue, is ignoring the trend and putting itself at considerable competitive disadvantage by not upgrading LAX to keep pace with a successful aerotropolis like Dallas-Fort Worth. Whether we like it or not, say the authors, the aerotropolis is the next phase of globalization. It’s currently reshaping life in Seoul and Amsterdam, Dallas and D.C. Are we ready for the changes that living in the aerotropolis will bring?
Guest:
Greg Lindsay, co-author of Aerotropolis: The Way We'll Live Next