Warren Buffett's Berkshire backs Sears property spinoff with $2B loan

The funds help Seritage refinance debt and boost liquidity, the company said.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180731/CRED03/180739957/warren-buffetts-berkshire-backs-sears-property-spinoff-with-2b-loan?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

SpringCM sells to DocuSign for $220 million

It's the second acquisition of a Chicago tech company by San Francisco-based DocuSign.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/BLOGS11/180739958/springcm-sells-to-docusign-for-220-million?utm_source=BLOGS11&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

DuPage pushes fight for O'Hare western terminal

The DuPage Board Chairman says the county could live with a "virtual" western terminal to start, but while Chicago officials agree to form a panel to monitor growth, doing more is not likely.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/BLOGS02/180739959/dupage-pushes-fight-for-ohare-western-terminal?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

United sheds punching-bag status with biggest U.S. airline rally

In an index of five major carriers, it's the only airline stock to gain this year.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/NEWS10/180739962/united-sheds-punching-bag-status-with-biggest-u-s-airline-rally?utm_source=NEWS10&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Northern Trust looks to get into crypto custody

The Chicago-based company has begun developing a way to secure digital assets held in custody while seeking to charge lower fees than existing crypto custodians.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/NEWS01/180739963/northern-trust-looks-to-get-into-crypto-custody?utm_source=NEWS01&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Ken Griffin gives $20 million to Florida's Norton Museum of Art

The gift from the hedge-fund billionaire and Citadel CEO is the largest in Norton's history.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/NEWS07/180739968/ken-griffin-gives-20-million-to-floridas-norton-museum-of-art?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Pensions sucking up half of property-tax hikes: report

If you think your property taxes have been leaping up but your government services are no better than they were, you're not imagining it.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/BLOGS02/180739969/pensions-sucking-up-half-of-property-tax-hikes-report?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Amadeus in talks with Chicago's Thoma Bravo to buy TravelClick

The Madrid-based operator of a flight-booking system used around the world has its sights set on a Thoma Bravo property that creates software for the hospitality industry.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/NEWS01/180739970/amadeus-in-talks-with-chicagos-thoma-bravo-to-buy-travelclick?utm_source=NEWS01&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Opioid laws hit physicians, patients in unintended ways

New Michigan laws intended to save lives have physicians complaining about unintended consequences.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20180730/NEWS/180739995/opioid-laws-hit-physicians-patients-in-unintended-ways?utm_source=NEWS03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Wisconsin, Maine win federal approval for new reinsurance pools

The states expect the move will lower exchange premiums for this upcoming open enrollment.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20180730/NEWS/180739998/wisconsin-maine-win-federal-approval-for-new-reinsurance-pools?utm_source=NEWS03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Chicago home value growth strengthens in May

Local prices grew more that month than in any other this year, according to a national index. But it was still lower than nearly all the 20 major U.S. cities the index tracks.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180731/CRED0701/180739975/chicago-home-value-growth-strengthens-in-may?utm_source=CRED0701&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

What can we actually say about the MARKET CHOICE Act?

The unveiling of Representative Carlos Curbelo’s Market Choice Act (MCA) has ended the decade long hiatus of a Republican sponsored carbon-pricing bill. The introduction of the MCA bill has been praised by environmental and energy groups, economists, and has even been commended by industry leaders. But the bill has also been deemed by some as a measure that will harm the economy without noticeable environmental benefit.

Curbelo’s carbon pricing proposal is unique in its design, so understanding what its practical impacts might be is an important part of the discussion. Here,we want to keep an updated summary of the best analysis we can find on the environmental and economic effects of the MARKET CHOICE Act.

Reducing Emissions

Multiple studies have recently been published that model the impact the MCA will have on greenhouse gas emissions. A recent RFF study examined the impacts of the MCA’s proposed tax-gasoline swap on energy related US emissions of (CO2) using a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model that accounted for international trade, capital dynamics, and tax interaction effects. The results of this model found that the MCA’s tax-gasoline swap will reduce energy-related CO2 emissions to 27% below 2005 levels in 2025, and 29% below 2005 levels in 2030.

An analysis by Columbia’s SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy results in an even more optimistic view of the emissions performance of Curbelo’s carbon tax proposal. That research used the Rhodium Analysis Group’s version of the NEMS model and found that the MCA will achieve 27-32 percent reductions by 2025 and 30-40 percent reductions in 2030, also compared to 2005 levels, with more than two thirds of the emission reductions occurring in the electric power sector.

Figure 1: Economy-wide emissions reductions from the Columbia SIPA study

Both these studies demonstrate that the MCA will put the U.S. on course to achieve the 26%-28% GHG emission reductions below 2005 levels agreed in Paris at COP 21 and demonstrate a higher level of practical ambition than the regulatory approaches forwarded by the Obama Administration.

Economic Effects

Opponents of any climate change legislation do not hesitate to emphasize the costs that carbon pricing will have on economic performance. Of course, any carbon pricing legislation will increase the costs of fuel and electricity, ultimately increasing total energy expenditures. But measuring them quantitatively is essential.

Fortunately, such analysis is available. The Columbia report also investigates the impact the MCA will have on energy price and expenditures and found that the proposal does increase energy expenditures by approximately $275 in 2020 and by $186-$278 in 2030. Although the MCA does result in increase in energy expenditures, they are extremely modest and remain more than $1,000 lower than the recent historical peak of $5,165 experienced in 2008.

Figure 2: US per capita energy expenditures from Columbia SIPA Analysis

A carbon tax essentially creates a new revenue stream for the federal government. The MCA creates the Rebuilding Infrastructure and Solutions for the Environment (RISE) Trust Fund, which will receive and disburse the revenue from the new carbon price. After accounting for the 25% haircut, as an approximation of the Congressional Budget Office practice for new excise taxes, the revenues into the RISE Trust Fund would be nearly $1 trillion over the first 10 years of operation under the MCA. The MCA sets how the RISE Trust Fund will appropriate the revenues for infrastructure funding (70%), energy assistance for low-income households (10%), energy transition assistance, climate adaptation, and advanced energy R&D.

Investments in infrastructure, energy R&D, and the overall shift of an economy from carbon-intensive to low-carbon production structures will undoubtedly have macroeconomic consequences. However, Columbia’s SIPA study used a Diamond-Zodrow CGE model to assess the MCA’s impact on macroeconomic indicators and found that the proposals impact on GDP is quite insignificant.  The model predicted that annual GDP is 0.1% and 0.2% lower under the proposal when compared to GDP under the current policy scenario. Although GDP under the MCA proposal shrinks “the effects are close to zero, indicating that the drag on economic growth caused by the increase in prices is roughly offset by the positive effects of revenue use.”

Perhaps the most important and debated issue concerning any tax legislation, especially carbon taxes, is their impact on low-income households. Carbon pricing is often criticized for being regressive, implying that low-income households will pay an undue cost compared to the rest of society. However, analysts have known for some time that the regressivity (or proregressivity) of a carbon tax relative to current policy is a matter of policy design.

As noted earlier, a portion of the revenues raised by the MCA will be used as transfers to assist low-income households faced with higher energy expenditures. The question is whether the positive effects of the transfers will be enough to mitigate the negative impacts of the increased in energy prices, and Columbia SIPA’s report demonstrates that the transfers do in fact increase the welfare of most low-income households. The transfer design in the MCA ensures positive welfare effects for all representative households in the lowest two income groups and for most households in the third income group. The age groups that benefit the most are young workers and retirees.

Figure 3: Impact of the Curbelo proposal on welfare of low-income households

The design and implementation of the Market Choice Act set it apart from previous attempts at carbon pricing legislation, and are fundamental to its unique ability to address environmental challenges without having to sacrifice economic output. Although the usual suspects will not hesitate to criticize a carbon tax, it is quite clear that a deeper analysis of Carlos Curbelo’s proposed legislation reveals that the costs of the MCA are smaller than many appreciate, and that they will be heavily outweighed by environmental benefits.  

The post What can we actually say about the MARKET CHOICE Act? appeared first on Niskanen Center.

from nicholemhearn digest https://niskanencenter.org/blog/what-can-we-actually-say-about-the-market-choice-act/

IBM wins $83 million from Groupon in e-commerce patent fight

The verdict is a boon to IBM's intellectual-property licensing business, which last year brought in $1.19 billion for the company, holder of more than 45,000 patents.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180731/NEWS08/180739976/ibm-wins-83-million-from-groupon-in-e-commerce-patent-fight?utm_source=NEWS08&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

We're not taking out many home improvement loans

One reason: the large number of homeowners here who are underwater on their mortgages.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180731/CRED0701/180739977/were-not-taking-out-many-home-improvement-loans?utm_source=CRED0701&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Bank seizes former Barrington home of late modern architect

Don Erickson, Frank Lloyd Wright protege and designer of modern homes, built this house on 10 acres. A buyer rehabbed it for a reported $5 million. It's for sale for a little less than $1 million.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180731/CRED0701/180739980/bank-seizes-former-barrington-home-of-late-modern-architect?utm_source=CRED0701&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Is metro Chicago gaining or losing jobs? Yes.

Conflicting figures from the U.S. and state show the Chicago area has both more and less jobs than a year ago. Officials say both can be true at the same time—believe it or not.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180730/BLOGS02/180739979/is-metro-chicago-gaining-or-losing-jobs-yes?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

NYSE cuts jobs at Chicago Stock Exchange, CEO departs

“I wish the ICE and the New York Stock Exchange and the employees that remain the very best,” outgoing chief exec John Kerin said of the Chicago bourse's new owners.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180730/NEWS01/180739978/nyse-cuts-jobs-at-chicago-stock-exchange-ceo-departs?utm_source=NEWS01&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Sara Lee unit to be based in Oakbrook Terrace

Nearly two months after Tyson Foods announced it was selling its Sara Lee Frozen Bakery business to a private-equity firm, the new entity today said it will be headquartered in Oakbrook Terrace and has appointed a CEO.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180730/NEWS07/180739981/sara-lee-unit-to-be-based-in-oakbrook-terrace?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Last mile in new police reform plan: Undoing the code of silence

Lisa Madigan and Rahm Emanuel's just-unveiled prescription to revamp the Chicago Police Department from the precinct level on up contains notions the cops union finds very hard to swallow.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180730/BLOGS02/180739982/last-mile-in-new-police-reform-plan-undoing-the-code-of-silence?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Tariffs hurt long-run growth. Carbon taxes will spur it.

In response to the introduction of the MARKET CHOICE Act (MCA), the first Republican-sponsored carbon pricing bill to be introduced in Congress since 2009, several commentators have argued that the economic harms from the carbon tax portion of that bill should make it a nonstarter and, more generally, that carbon taxes are akin to tariffs and should be opposed with equal vigor by free-marketers. While carbon taxes and tariffs superficially resemble each other, they are different in important ways — and those differences explain the case for carbon taxes and the case against tariffs.

Both a tariff on imports and a tax greenhouse gas emissions will affect consumer prices and raise revenue. With a carbon tax, redistribution is used to bolster the policy. In the case of the MCA, revenue goes to funding other tax cuts and to infrastructure spending, both of which offset the costs of the new carbon tax to the poor. MCA revenue also funds research to decrease the long-term costs of transitioning to low-carbon energy. Those are transfers, and would lead to increased government spending, but they are aimed at reducing the burden of carbon pricing and investing in economically productive projects.

Of course, new government spending does not come for free. A carbon price, though levied on producers and emitters, will increase the prices to households of energy and consumer goods whose production leads to carbon emissions. Those increased costs will be real, but small in aggregate. The most comprehensive analysis of the MCA indicates that the negative effect on GDP will be small, reducing annual output in the first decade by a steady 0.1—0.2 percent against current policy.  

That small burden will be worth it in the long term because a carbon tax corrects for a market failure, by creating an artificial price signal to represent the damages expected from today’s carbon emissions that will add up over the next few centuries. While estimates of the future damages from CO2 emissions vary widely, it is hard to argue they are zero and credible estimates reach much higher than the carbon prices imposed by the Market Choice Act (see chart below). By pricing carbon emissions at or below expected damages, thereby reducing emissions at a lower cost than the economy would suffer in the future, we can expect overall welfare to go up in the long term. That is one of the key insights of climate economics.

Estimated climate damages of CO2 emissions from numerous models as reported in Nordhaus 2017, from the 2013 Interagency Working Group Report on the Social Cost of Carbon (green dot), and the carbon tax in the MCA (red dot).

Tariffs work backward to this in almost every meaningful way. A tariff creates a market failure by building an artificial barrier to entry into the marketplace. That causes prices to go up for goods that depend on imports, while some particular industries accumulate short-term gains from the price protection. But while domestic producers get some temporary advantage, overall GDP goes down as trade barriers shift investment to less productive sectors. Unlike the carbon tax, the long-term effect of tariffs is to make overall wealth go down.

And as we’ve seen thus far, rather than being thought out and aiming to work toward broader policy goals with new revenue, imposing tariffs in a trade war builds errors on top of errors. President Trump reportedly plans to spend $12 billion on emergency aid to farmers, who are enjoying fewer sales because of tariffs imposed on their products by China and other countries. Those tariffs were raised in response to the earlier imposition of tariffs on a variety of goods imported into the United States. So far from being a planned measure to offset the impacts of a larger policy with productive expenditures, the new emergency aid is a reactionary move to bolster a group harmed by the tariffs raised by our antagonists in a trade war with nebulous long-term goals.

That is not to say that carbon tax policies don’t have trade implications. The MCA imposes a border adjustment for greenhouse-gas-intensive products, allowing rebates for the cost of the carbon tax on exports and levies on imports. These adjustments have two principle effects: to limit emissions leakage into other countries and maintain the competitiveness of American producers in global markets that do not yet have carbon pricing. Preventing leakage is important to ensuring that emissions reductions in the United States create climate benefits, which would be lessened if production of industrial goods shifted to countries with high emissions. The size of these adjustments will likely go down in tandem with the carbon intensity of U.S. industry, which would fall under a carbon tax.

The case for the free market is that it efficiently allocates resources to where they can be put to use creating wealth. Trade tariffs get in the way of that growth and hurt in the long run. So do carbon emissions.

 

The post Tariffs hurt long-run growth. Carbon taxes will spur it. appeared first on Niskanen Center.

from nicholemhearn digest https://niskanencenter.org/blog/tariffs-hurt-long-run-growth-carbon-taxes-will-spur-it/

Not seen since 2011: A $3M home sale in Naperville

It's been nearly that long since a home in the suburb sold for $2 million or more, as well. In the years 2005 through 2011, there was at least one $2 million sale a year, but since then, nothing until this Oxford Lane property sold Friday.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180730/CRED0701/180739984/not-seen-since-2011-a-3m-home-sale-in-naperville?utm_source=CRED0701&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Mariano's parent considers widening its regional ban on Visa cards

Kroger's Foods Co. Supermarkets division will stop accepting the cards on Aug. 14 at 21 stores and five fuel centers in California in a dispute over fees.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180730/NEWS07/180739987/marianos-parent-considers-widening-its-regional-ban-on-visa-cards?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Investor sells West Loop loft building for double 2014 price

It's a stark example of the growth in investor demand for West Loop properties and particularly vintage, brick-and-timber loft offices.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180730/CRED03/180739990/investor-sells-west-loop-loft-building-for-double-2014-price?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Investor sells West Loop loft for double 2014 price

It's a stark example of the growth in investor demand for West Loop properties and particularly vintage, brick-and-timber loft offices.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180730/CRED03/180739990/investor-sells-west-loop-loft-for-double-2014-price?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

A dense West Loop block could get even denser

Developers made some design changes to their two-tower, 401-apartment plan for 1050 and 1125 W. Van Buren. But residents there are still have some concerns.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.comhttps://chicago.curbed.com/2018/7/27/17620578/west-loop-development-van-buren-tandem-antunovich?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Wells Fargo might sell Eastdil

The San Francisco bank has been talking to private-equity firms to gauge interest in the real estate brokerage.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.comhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/wells-fargo-explores-sale-of-real-estate-broker-eastdil-1532624457?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Hyatt retreats from potential offer for Spanish hotel operator

The Chicago company said a bid now looks impractical.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180730/CRED03/180739997/hyatt-retreats-from-potential-offer-for-spanish-hotel-operator?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Our most-viewed real estate stories in the past week

Facebook and CareerBuilder make the list.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180730/CRED03/180739998/our-most-viewed-real-estate-stories-in-the-past-week?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

The Trump tariff effect locally

The must-read stories to get your day started.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180730/MORNING10/307309999/the-trump-tariff-effect-locally?utm_source=MORNING10&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

US Foods in $1.8 billion deal to buy group of companies

The Rosemont-based distributor has agreed to buy a group of businesses based in Arizona.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180730/NEWS07/180739999/us-foods-in-1-8-billion-deal-to-buy-group-of-companies?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Costs Involved in Opening & Operating a Franchise

Before you invest in and sign a franchise agreement make sure you understand what your total costs will be. I see too many new franchises get in over their head when they do not analyze all the costs. You have to keep in mind that markets are different. Just because a certain franchisee is doing well in Phoenix does not mean you will do well with the same franchise in Austin. For example rental rates in the Phoenix market could be much lower than Austin retail space rents, which allows them to enjoy a lower cost of doing business and higher margins.

Initial Franchise Investment

You initial investment in a franchise includes not only the franchise fee, marketing costs, licensing, attorney fees, but also operating costs (e.g. salaries, training, uniforms, utilities, etc) for the first 12 months AND your commercial real estate costs. In most cases you will have to rent office, retail, or warehouse space. Below is a summary of commercial real estate costs to consider:

• Security deposit and first months rent
• Build-out costs for your retail store or office
• Insurance for commercial space (property and general liability)
• Signage
• Building maintenance and repairs
• Landscaping

Franchises can cost a little or a lot as it depends on the segment you choose and franchise brand. Costs can range from $10,000 to $5 million, however the majority of them range from $50k to $200k.

When starting any business you do not want to go into it undercapitalized. Whatever initial investment range the Franchisor gives you aim for the upper end of that range.

Get Personal Finances in Order

You also need to be realistic about your personal financial situation and ensure that you have enough money to cover your personal expenses while you invest in and grow your franchise. This means that you won’t be taking a salary from the new business for at least a year or until it’s profitable.

Franchise Commercial Real Estate Costs

Commercial real estate rental costs are often under budgeted for. Again just because a franchisee in Phoenix is getting a retail space base rate of $14 sf does not mean you will be able to get that in Austin, Tx where retail rents average $30 to $45 sf gross. Commercial real estate rental rates vary from market to market. You still want to find a good retail space near where people live, shop, work, and/or go to school however make sure you can afford the total costs before signing a lease.

Consider SBA Loan to Start Franchise

Many small business owners should consider taking loans to fund a new business venture. You take out a small business loan and lose money initially however as you scale your business and are profitable you will have an asset that will continue to produce income. Then later on you can sell it at a good valuation.

Many franchisees use Small Business Administration funding borrowing 30% to 70% with 10-15 year loan terms, however end up paying them off sooner. SBA loans are issued by a lender however partially guaranteed by the U.S. government. Government backed loans provide reasonable terms for borrowers and decrease the risk for lenders. The SBA loan process can be long and frustrating however many franchises have great relationships with lenders and this makes the process much easier for franchisees.

Best Austin Breweries & Brewery Tours in Austin Tx

Since the  Austin craft brewery boom started in 2010 more and more Austin breweries have been popping up near the city’s central business district as well as near and around the Austin Round Rock Metropolitan area. If you are looking for the best craft brews and brewery tours look no further. Below is a comprehensive list of the best breweries and brewery tours in and near Austin, Tx. Most of them are located in warehouse spaces in Austin Tx.

List of the Best Breweries in Austin Tx

1. (512) Brewing Company

407 Radam Lane
Austin, Tx 78745
(512) 921-1545
512brewing.com
Fan Favorite – Pecan Porter

2. Argus Cidery

12345 Pauls Vally Rd, #2
Austin, Tx 78737
arguscidery.com
Fan Favorite – Apple Bomb

3. Hi Sign Brewing

1201 Bastrop Hwy
Austin, Tx 78742
(512) 382-5264
hisignbrewing.com
Fan Favorite – The Astronaught Double IPA

4. Independence Brewing Co.

3913 Todd Ln #607
Austin, Tx 78744
(512) 707-0099
independencebrewing.com
Fan Favorite – Stash IPA

5. Jester King Brewery

13187 Fitzhugh Rd
Austin, Tx 78736
jesterkingbrewery.com
Fan Favorite – Le Petit Prince

6. Last Stand Brewing Company

12345 Pauls Valley Rd, Bldg i
Austin, Tx 78737
(512) 373-3629
laststandbrewing.com
Fan Favorite – Smash IPA

7. Orf Brewing

4700 Burleson Rd, F
Austin, Tx 78744
(512) 428-5217
orfbrewing.com
Fan Favorite – Oocheenama

8. Skull Mechanix Brewing

1005 E St Elmo Rd, Building 2
Austin, Tx 78745
(737) 300-1002
skullmechanix.com
Fan Favorite – The Gully Cat

9. South Austin Brewery

415 E St Elmo Rd
Austin, Tx 78745
(512) 354-2337
southaustinbrewery.com
Fan Favorite – Cross Roads

10. St Elmo Brewing Company

440 E St Elmo Rd, G-2
Austin, Tx 78745
(737) 300-1965
stelmobrewing.com
Fan Favorite – Carl Kolsch

11. Thirsty Planet Brewing Company

8201 S Congress Ave
Austin, Tx 78745
(512) 579-0679
thirstyplanet.beer
Fan Favorite – Thirsty Goat

List of Breweries Near Austin Tx

1. Acopon Brewing Co.

211 W. Mercer St
Dripping Springs TX 78620
(512) 829-4723
acoponbrewing.com
Fan Favorite – Gaspipes

2. Family Business Beer Company

19510 Hamilton Pool Rd
Dripping Springs, Tx 78620
(512) 829-4202
familybusinessbeerco.com
Fan Favorite – The Grackle

3. Suds Monkey Brewing Company

1032 Canyon Bend Dr, Suite B
Dripping Springs, Tx 78620
(512) 222-3893
sudsmonkeybrew.com
Fan Favorite – Funky Monkey IPA

4. Treaty Oak Distilling Ranch

16604 Fitzhugh Rd
Dripping Springs, Tx 78620
(512) 599-0335
treatyoakdistilling.com
Fan Favorite – Fitzhugh Ale

5. Twisted X Brewing Company

23455 Ranch to Market Rd 150
Dripping Springs, TX 78620
(512) 829-5323
twistedxbbrewing.com
Fan Favorite – Austin Lager

6. Two Wheel Brewing Company

535 S Loop 4
Buda, Tx 78610
(512) 361-3401
twowheelbrewing.com
Fan Favorite – Race Pointe IPA

7. Vista Brewing

13551 Ranch to Market Rd 150
Driftwood Tx 78619
(512) 766-1842
vistabrewingtx.com
Fan Favorite –

Texas Brewery Regulations

• Senate bills that were passed in 2013 allow brewpubs to have a taproom, sell beer, and/or distribute beer as long as they meet certain barrel production requirements. For more info on liquor and beer licenses in Texas

EPA cites General Iron for air pollution in Lincoln Park

The agency noted "volatile organic compound emissions" at the scrap metal recycler exceeded allowable limits.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/NEWS05/180729896/epa-cites-general-iron-for-air-pollution-in-lincoln-park?utm_source=NEWS05&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Here's what's in the plan for police reform

"The consent decree will fundamentally change how CPD does business," said Supt. Eddie Johnson. The mayor and attorney general say it's an historic deal good for both the city and police.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/BLOGS02/180729897/heres-whats-in-the-plan-for-police-reform?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

How Northwestern went awry

After years of adding students, staff, programs and infrastructure, Northwestern University finds itself in cutback mode, as expenses have risen faster than revenue.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/ISSUE01/180729898/how-northwestern-went-awry?utm_source=ISSUE01&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Stymied developer pitches tallest-ever Clybourn residential tower

A Clybourn Corridor developer whose 2015 residential plan stalled is back with a taller proposal, this one with an affordable-housing component likely to improve its chances.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180727/CRED03/180729899/stymied-developer-pitches-tallest-ever-clybourn-residential-tower?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Roskam hits social issues hard in TV debate with Casten

Amid discussion of President Donald Trump, taxes and health care, the candidates Congress draw sharp differences on abortion, immigration and guns.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/BLOGS02/180729900/roskam-hits-social-issues-hard-in-tv-debate-with-casten?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Alderman fumes about effort to kill Peoples Gas hearings

George Cardenas blames Mayor Rahm Emanuel for attempting to stymie his effort to get answers on soaring heating bills in Chicago. It's not us, says the mayor's office.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/NEWS11/180729903/alderman-fumes-about-effort-to-kill-peoples-gas-hearings?utm_source=NEWS11&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Deutsche Bank cutting workers in Chicago

It's part of a broader plan to shrink its U.S. operations.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/NEWS01/180729904/deutsche-bank-cutting-workers-in-chicago?utm_source=NEWS01&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Two New Bills Will Help with the Kidney Shortage. But Paying Donors Could Help Even More.

Last week, the Organ Donation Clarification Act was released by Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) with 14 cosponsors. The bill would clarify the National Organ Transplant Act’s (NOTA) definition of “valuable consideration,” making it clear that donors can be compensated for medical expenses and lost wages. It would also permit the U.S. government to run pilot programs to test the viability of noncash rewards to incentivize donors. And now this week, Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) has announced a set of amendments to NOTA that seek to orient the Health Resources and Services Administration toward increasing organ procurement, rather than simply distributing an inadequate supply.

Both are important contributions to what should be a national discussion: How do we address the growing shortage in kidneys? Yet with the population aging and the number of transplants flatlining, the kidney shortage has reached crisis levels, demanding we take even bolder steps.

Source: United States Renal Data System

Keeping someone on dialysis costs upwards of $87,000 per year, while the estimated “market clearing price” for kidneys is closer to a one-off cost of $25,000-$50,000. Given that Medicare spends nearly 7 percent of its budget treating kidney disease, tackling the shortage presents a clear opportunity to save lives and taxpayer dollars simultaneously. If Congress wants to get serious about addressing the kidney shortage, it should consider legislation that exempts Medicare from NOTA’s limitations altogether. This would allow the creation of a Medicare “Heroism Award Program” to provide significant cash grants to donors, above and beyond lost wages or expenses. The savings would be so great that Medicare could easily reimburse the expenses for a public event celebrating the donor’s sacrifice. The concept of a “heroism award” comes from economists Muriel Niederle and Alvin Roth, who argue that framing the grant as a prize rather than a payment can help to bypass our psychological repugnance toward donor compensation more generally.

But why does a place like the Niskanen Center care about donor compensation in the first place?

It stems from what our Vice President of Research Will Wilkinson has dubbed the “Rawlsekian” approach to social policy, referring to a philosophical fusion of John Rawls and F.A. Hayek. From Rawls we get a concern for distributive justice, based on the notion that economic systems must win the buy-in of society’s least advantaged. From Hayek we get a love for the rule of law, markets, and decentralized, evolutionary social systems. And from both, we get a deep respect for individual liberty, economic rights as human rights, and a skepticism of “perfectionist” laws that would force others to adopt a contested view of the good life.

While this may sound abstract, it lives and breathes in our work, including our successful push to legalize compensation for bone marrow donors. Simply put, laws prohibiting the buying and selling of organs are an affront to personal autonomy and distributive justice simultaneously. On the demand side, would-be recipients tend to be marginalized populations for whom matching donors are harder to come by. And on the supply side, would-be donors who could use the extra income (as seen in the case of low-income plasma donors) are blocked from exercising their individual autonomy due a vicarious concern for their exploitation. Indeed, beneath the surface of arguments against buying and selling organs — that it violates “human dignity,” for example — is more often than not a deeply perfectionist view of the good life, as demonstrated by the number of compensation opponents who write from contested religious, Aristotelian or communitarian perspectives.

At the same time, the Niskanen Center’s overall mission eschews ideal theories in favor of pragmatic policy change. Thus, as much as I’d love to see someone like Al Roth appointed as the organ transplant czar, with a mandate to design an optimal market in organs, politics is a long game of persuasion and compromise. That’s why the two new bills from Reps. Cartwright and Rice remain immensely important, even if they don’t nearly go far enough.

The post Two New Bills Will Help with the Kidney Shortage. But Paying Donors Could Help Even More. appeared first on Niskanen Center.

from nicholemhearn digest https://niskanencenter.org/blog/two-new-bills-will-help-with-the-kidney-shortage-but-paying-donors-could-help-even-more/

U.S. rejects Winklevoss bitcoin ETF for Cboe trading

The SEC said the platform that would have listed the fund failed to prove that the underlying market was “resistant to manipulation.”

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/NEWS01/180729905/u-s-rejects-winklevoss-bitcoin-etf-for-cboe-trading?utm_source=NEWS01&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Hyatt interested in buying Spanish hotel operator

The Chicago company is “pivoting to an asset-lighter business model” and sees an opportunity to separate NH Hotel Group's real estate from its hotel-management business.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180727/CRED03/180729906/hyatt-interested-in-buying-spanish-hotel-operator?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Economic growth fastest since 2014

The GDP figure lets President Donald Trump claim a win for his policies even though most analysts see the high as temporary.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/NEWS07/180729907/economic-growth-fastest-since-2014?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

What is Trump really protecting with tariffs?

The simple fact is that tariffs are nothing more than a tax levied on American families, consumers and job creators, including car dealers in suburban Chicago.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/OPINION/180729908/what-is-trump-really-protecting-with-tariffs?utm_source=OPINION&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Boeing botches another new plane launch

Boeing fought for a decade to win a multibillion-dollar contract to build refueling tankers for the U.S. Air Force. Seven years later, the aircraft is a blot on the company's performance.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/ISSUE10/180729910/boeing-botches-another-new-plane-launch?utm_source=ISSUE10&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

We have a crisis in Chicago. Where's our mayor?

City residents paid 80 percent more for heat last winter than homeowners and renters in the suburbs. Mayor Emanuel can do something about that.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/ISSUE07/180729917/we-have-a-crisis-in-chicago-wheres-our-mayor?utm_source=ISSUE07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Why you should rethink working from home

Like everything we think makes our lives better nowadays, there's a downside to remote work. It can reduce our creativity and leave us feeling isolated.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180727/OPINION/180729911/why-you-should-rethink-working-from-home?utm_source=OPINION&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

CME will take 'wait and see' approach on bitcoin

CEO Terry Duffy he reiterated that the company's not in a hurry to list more cryptocurrency-related contracts.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/NEWS01/180729912/cme-will-take-wait-and-see-approach-on-bitcoin?utm_source=NEWS01&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

City Council plan challenges CPD's 'gang list'

A proposal by Ald. Munoz would allow suspected gang members to appeal their listing on a CPD "gang affilated" list—sometimes many years after changing their lives. Should it pass?

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/BLOGS02/180729913/city-council-plan-challenges-cpds-gang-list?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

How are Illinois finances doing compared to other states?

S&P takes a snapshot look at state revenues and the impact of a looming trade war. The bottom line: Illinois is better than it was, but still lagging.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/BLOGS02/180729915/how-are-illinois-finances-doing-compared-to-other-states?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

CareerBuilder moving HQ to West Loop

The company is also slashing its office space after cutting back on headcount last year.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180726/CRED03/180729919/careerbuilder-moving-hq-to-west-loop?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Legal innovation often is an oxymoron—and bad for society

The number of Illinois attorneys has increased by more than 10 percent over the past decade. And yet, studies show record numbers of low- and middle-income people go without legal help.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/OPINION/180729935/legal-innovation-often-is-an-oxymoron-x2014-and-bad-for-society?utm_source=OPINION&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Cushman selling stake to Chinese firm

The Chicago-based real estate company is preparing to go public.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.comCushman selling stake to Chinese firm?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

CMS proposes slashing clinic visit payments as part of site-neutral policy

The move will save Medicare $610 million.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20180725/NEWS/180729939/cms-proposes-slashing-clinic-visit-payments-as-part-of-site-neutral?utm_source=NEWS03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

McDonald’s U.S. sales growth slows

Competitors like Starbucks are increasingly elbowing into what used to be the chain's territory.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/NEWS07/180729922/mcdonald-s-u-s-sales-growth-slows?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

A surer way to diagnose ear infections?

A Champaign startup has developed an imaging tool that uses advanced light-based technology to see through the eardrum to the middle ear.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/NEWS03/180729923/a-surer-way-to-diagnose-ear-infections?utm_source=NEWS03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Think you have strep? Walgreens' new platform wants to help.

Find Care Now is an early example of the pharmacy giant's attempt to improve its omnichannel offerings as customers' habits change and the Amazon threat looms.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/NEWS07/180729925/think-you-have-strep-walgreens-new-platform-wants-to-help?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

New Walgreens platform will connect customers, care providers

Find Care Now is an early example of the pharmacy giant's attempt to improve its omnichannel offerings as customers' habits change and the Amazon threat looms.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/NEWS07/180729925/new-walgreens-platform-will-connect-customers-care-providers?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Illinois politics is now a plaything of the rich

This year's race for governor is the King Kong vs. Godzilla of big-money politics, rendering small donors irrelevant and impacting races down the ballot as well.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/NEWS02/180729927/illinois-politics-is-now-a-plaything-of-the-rich?utm_source=NEWS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Here's what Chicago's higher minimum wage really did

When Chicago raised the city's minimum wage in 2014, there were plenty of voices in the business community who seemed certain the sky would fall. Instead, incomes and employment are up.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180726/ISSUE07/180729930/heres-what-chicagos-higher-minimum-wage-really-did?utm_source=ISSUE07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

North Branch market Stanley's up for sale

The owner of a longtime North Side staple is looking to capitalize on developers' appetites for land along the Chicago River's North Branch.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180726/CRED03/180729926/north-branch-market-stanleys-up-for-sale?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

One reason so few houses are on the market

Sellers of Chicago-area homes reap some of the smallest proceeds at sale time among sellers in any of the 20 biggest U.S. cities.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180726/CRED0701/180729928/one-reason-so-few-houses-are-on-the-market?utm_source=CRED0701&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Chuy Garcia pulls county revenue commission plan

Amid opposition from Toni Preckwinkle, Garcia says he needs more time to line up votes on his idea to have an independent panel regularly review county finances and taxes.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180725/BLOGS02/180729932/chuy-garcia-pulls-county-revenue-commission-plan?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Garcia pulls county revenue commission plan

Amid opposition from Preckwinkle, Garcia says he needs more time to line up votes on his idea to have an independent panel regularly review county finances and taxes.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180725/BLOGS02/180729932/garcia-pulls-county-revenue-commission-plan?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Grubhub stock soars after sales skyrocket

The online restaurant and delivery service reported a surge in second-quarter revenue and said it would buy restaurant payment and loyalty mobile app LevelUp.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180725/NEWS07/180729933/grubhub-stock-soars-after-sales-skyrocket?utm_source=NEWS07&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Park Tower condo goes for almost $4.7 million

The seller is a former lieutenant of tech high-flier Andrew "Flip" Filipowski. It's the second unit in the building to sell for $4 million or more this month.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180725/CRED0701/180729936/park-tower-condo-goes-for-almost-4-7-million?utm_source=CRED0701&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Facts and fiction after another TIF report

What the county clerk's annual report on TIF revenues says—and doesn't say—about good tax policy and the need for change.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180725/BLOGS02/180729938/facts-and-fiction-after-another-tif-report?utm_source=BLOGS02&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Zell's last Chicago office property to be sold to Hawaiian investor

Equity Commonwealth stands to net a tidy profit from the sale of Triangle Plaza.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180725/CRED03/180729942/zells-last-chicago-office-property-to-be-sold-to-hawaiian-investor?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Boeing's $418 million tanker writedown rattles investorsa

The stumble marred an otherwise strong quarter for Boeing, with profit and sales exceeding Wall Street's estimates.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20180725/NEWS05/180729944/boeings-418-million-tanker-writedown-rattles-investorsa?utm_source=NEWS05&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Law and Border

The rule of law and risk of lawlessness

In public law and politics, the core meaning of the rule of law is this: that the executive branch of the government, in control of the violent agencies of state power and the tools of punishment, shall not use them lawlessly. It shall not imprison, execute, or otherwise punish except in accordance with prospective, promulgated law and trial conducted through fair and regular procedures. The writ of habeas corpus is the most famous instantiation of this value in the Anglo-American tradition, with medieval roots that early modern, protoliberal Whigs exaggerated into a full-blown centuries-old legal rule.

If their history of the rule was flawed, their judgment of its importance was sound. A century or so later, the French theorist Montesquieu built one of the first political theories recognizable as classical liberalism on foundations that included a separation of powers that distinguished judicial trial from executive punishment and an understanding of liberty as security from extrajudicial punishment. Montesquieu’s comment that liberty consisted in the ability to do what the law permits was a source of 20th century confusion; many misread him as defining liberty away. In fact, the key insight was that despotic states punish people even though they have broken no law, or never been properly convicted of it. The idea travelled to America not only in the constitutional guarantee of habeas corpus and the Fifth Amendment guarantee of due process, but also in the broad aspiration to erect “a government of laws, not men” (Adams) and to ensure that “in America, the law is king” (Paine).

In postwar debates about the value of the rule of law, many critics pointed out that it’s possible to pass terribly restrictive, unjust, and illiberal legislation, and then to enforce it with procedural correctness. But a reply suggested by the work of rule-of-law theorists such as Lon Fuller and Judith Shklar is: This is not how terror states and totalitarian regimes function. They deliberately leave their whole populations at the mercy of the executive with its police, secret police, and paramilitary agencies. And while the rule of law so conceived is not sufficient for a free and liberal society, it surely is necessary — and it goes some way toward preventing some of the greatest of political evils. Where people are constantly subject to the whim of the police and related agencies, they are not free. Even notionally very liberal laws do little good if state violence can be inflicted and bodies imprisoned without crimes or trials. The politicization of law enforcement or the military or paramilitary is always a threat to liberty, whatever the content of the formal law. And, we generally understand, the semi-oxymoronic condition of “martial law” imposed on a civilian population is, by its nature, a suspension of civil liberty.

There is a real tension between the rule of law and what happens at or outside a country’s borders. No trial precedes killing an enemy soldier in combat or taking him or her as a prisoner of war. But it does not follow that the rule of law disappears outside the domestic sphere. The creation of Guantanamo as a juridical (as well as a literal) black hole, allowing both torture and permanent extrajudicial imprisonment outside the rules governing POWs, wasn’t a foregone conclusion or the application of the necessary logic of the international situation. It was a decision to gravely undermine the American commitment to the rule of law. It stretched the complicated problem of how to apply the rule of law outside the domestic setting to the breaking point.

So we have the aspiration to the domestic rule of law, an international arena where it is only ever partly at work, and the problem of what happens — literally and figuratively — at the border between the two. Those borderline cases could be approached through the strategy of projecting the rule of law and liberal values out onto them as far as possible. But all too often the influence goes the other way: the lawlessness of the border undermines the rule of law and civil liberty within.

Children in cages

Any system of mostly-closed borders and immigration control, as became common from the early 20th century onward, and as characterizes the US today — will be a regime of only imperfect and partial protection of the rule of law. But, as with the difference between law-governed POW imprisonment and Guantanamo, there are degrees of lawlessness that matter profoundly.

Note that the way restrictionists talk about law and lawlessness is, from the perspective of the liberal rule of law, basically backward. Even at the best of times border policing veers toward lawlessness: at the point of entry, the enforcement officer makes a basically unreviewable and processless decision to exclude by armed force.

And these are not the best of times. As both Amy Erica Smith and Dara Lind have argued, the supposed “law and order” agenda noisily proclaimed by President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions is very different from, and in important ways opposed to, the rule of law.

Restrictionists treat the fact that some people overstay their visas (a civil offense) and others enter the United States between official points of entry (a misdemeanor) as a breakdown of lawfulness. This circumstance is  no more corrosive of the rule of law, however, than the fact that millions of American drivers speed on the highway every day without getting a ticket. The threat of lawlessness comes instead from a president who makes demands like this:

We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country. When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order. Most children come without parents…

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 24, 2018

Or this (2):

Congress must pass smart, fast and reasonable Immigration Laws now. Law Enforcement at the Border is doing a great job, but the laws they are forced to work with are insane. When people, with or without children, enter our Country, they must be told to leave without our……..

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2018

…..Country being forced to endure a long and costly trial. Tell the people “OUT,” and they must leave, just as they would if they were standing on your front lawn. Hiring thousands of “judges” does not work and is not acceptable – only Country in the World that does this!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 5, 2018

As was widely noted when Trump wrote these tweets over the last month, due process is how we ensure that citizens and legal residents aren’t among those swept up and deported. Mass expulsions without judicial oversight or procedural protection would be not only a violation of international law and of the U.S. Constitution (which guarantees due process to persons, not only citizens). It would also be a grave threat to the liberty-as-security of all American residents. It stands as starkly as anything this side of Guantanamo as a rejection of the rule of law and its underlying values. For the sake of a militarized “order” on the border, Trump proposes to undermine law and liberty alike. In the most obvious way, Trump proposed to let the lawlessness of border control seep into domestic American space.

But the threat is not only hypothetical.

As it is, constitutional protections and civil liberties are weakened within a 100-mile zone from all borders, including coastlines, an area where about two-thirds of all Americans live. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) holds expanded authority in that zone to conduct searches and seizures, create checkpoints, and ask for papers, in ways that would be illegal for ordinary police. The only-partial rule of law at the border has already been projected inward.

Throughout the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has wide discretionary authority to target whom and where they like for raids, detentions, and deportations. There seems to be good reason to believe that they are targeting immigration activists and opponents of administration policy. And in states and localities without the protection of sanctuary status, residents of Latino neighborhoods often fear calling the police even to protect themselves against violence lest the police begin checking citizenship status.

And, of course, the Trump administration, having eased the path with a record of dehumanizing language directed against migrants (“animals,” “catch and release”), saw its way clear to separating thousands of children from their families and locking them in cages without charge. The supposed necessity to do so arose out of a determination to detain their parents for improper entry between official points of entry — even if the parents claimed asylum, as is their legal right. In fact, the administration has sought to crack down on asylum claims at regular border crossings, pushing asylum-seekers into crossing at other points, and making them vulnerable to indefinite detention and family breakup. As is so often the case with violations of the rule of law, that vulnerability is the point: to put people at the mercy of the armed agents of the state, put them in fear, try to scare them out of claiming a day in court where they might vindicate their rights.

In response to the outcry against family breakups and pictures of children in cages, the administration embarked on a new lawless policy: a plan to detain families together, indefinitely, in defiance of the so-called “Flores settlement,” a consent decree that concluded a round of lawsuits in the 1990s. The Flores settlement prohibits holding children in such cases longer than 20 days. The administration is seeking to have the Flores settlement suspended or overturned, but seems to be making no preparation for what will happen if they fail. Indefinite, whole-family detention is the administration’s preferred outcome. Even if they succeed in changing the legal rules to make that permissible, it will not be an outcome that a free people should welcome.

The judicial road to lawlessness

Consider, finally, the Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling in Trump v. Hawaii, upholding the administration’s travel ban. (On this, see Scott Lemieux and Ilya Somin.) The ban is mostly on people coming from several Muslim-majority countries, and was preceded by many comments from Trump making clear that he viewed it as a partial version of the “complete and total shutdown” of Muslim immigration he called for on the campaign trail.

Chief Justice John Roberts’ opinion held that the overwhelming evidence that the ban was motivated by anti-Muslim animus was not enough to outweigh the traditional deference to the president in matters of national security and border enforcement. But the court had never held that deference to be absolute, saying even in the notorious Korematsu v. United States (1944) that the internment of Japanese-Americans purely on the grounds of race would not pass constitutional muster under ordinary circumstances. Only the necessity of military emergency allowed it.

In order to keep the taint of Korematsu off the travel ban, Roberts misstated this holding. He purported to — finally — overrule Korematsu, writing that it was wrong when decided and had no place in ongoing constitutional law. But he described this as recognizing that the internment of U.S. citizens, “solely and explicitly on the basis of race,” was unlawful. Korematsu had not held otherwise! Rather, like the court in Trump v. Hawaii, the Korematsu court allowed a transparent and pretextual excuse of “real military dangers” to overcome what is said would be the “simple” and “clear” outcome if “racial prejudice” were at work.

For many years Korematsu has been a zombie opinion in American law: neither overruled nor accepted as good law, but discreetly ignored as an embarrassment. For the sake of upholding Trump’s travel ban, the court gave it new life. It authorized new and continued end-runs around such constitutional protections as those against religious establishment and racial discrimination, provided that they are covered with a thin, neutral-sounding appeal to national security. Rather than allow presidential policymaking about immigration to be subject to any meaningful constitutional constraint, the court allowed the supposed need for discretion at the border to overcome core principles of American constitutional law itself.

Law, liberty, and migration

I have recently argued in the pages of Foreign Policy (and do so at greater length in the pages of the Cambridge Handbook of Classical Liberal Thought, coming out in a few weeks) that the time is right to be thinking about the political thought of Judith Shklar and F.A. Hayek together. For all their serious differences, both developed Montesquieuian accounts of liberalism that emphasized the rule of law over abstract theories of rights or social contract narratives. And I think it is not a coincidence that they both spent most of their lives as exiled emigrants from homelands that were swallowed up by the midcentury expansionist totalitarianism (Hayek from Austria, Shklar from Latvia). Neither indulged nationalism or could ignore the importance of the ability to cross borders, seeking refuge and liberty.

Hayek was the more legalistic of the two, concerned with protecting an open and neutral system of law from politicization, instrumentalization, and militarization. Shklar was the more acutely attentive to state violence and the threat posed by the armed policing and military agencies. But we see here how closely the concerns dovetail. Not only does the cruelty, arbitrariness, and militarization of border policing undermine the rule of law within — through the sacrifice of civil liberties within the hundred-mile zone, the authorization of a terrorizing internal police force outside the normal boundaries of law in ICE, the imprisonment of the innocent, and the threat of deportations without due process. The contortions of formal law we see in Trump v. Hawaii in turn authorize greater cruelty, arbitrariness, and lawlessness, with a new instruction manual for how executives can get away with them in the future.

——

Jacob T. Levy is Tomlinson Professor of Political Theory and Director of the Yan P. Lin Centre for the Study of Freedom and Global Orders in the Ancient and Modern Worlds at McGill University; author of Rationalism, Pluralism, and Freedom and scholarly articles including, most recently,”Contra Politanism”; a blogger at Bleeding Heart Libertarians; and a Niskanen Center Senior Fellow and Advisory Board Member.

The post Law and Border appeared first on Niskanen Center.

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Contractor plans factory-built apartment project in West Loop

Skender is opening a factory in South Lawndale that will employ 100 people and make modules for apartment, hotel and other developments.

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Republicans pan Trump’s $12 billion farm aid plan

"My thoughts are the thoughts of farmers. They want trade, not aid. It’s really just that simple," said Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.

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AbbVie's Humira dilemma

AbbVie CEO Richard Gonzalez has a tough choice: hold down prices of its best-selling drug and depress growth or turn AbbVie into a whipping boy for anger over high prescription costs.

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Medline CEO buys lakefront Winnetka home

A trust in the name of Charlie Mills, fourth generation to head the family firm, paid more than $4.1 million for the home, on six-tenths of an acre.

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A gas tax for area roads and transit gains some D.C. momentum

Rep. Dan Lipinski says a plan from the chairman of the U.S. House Transportation Committee faces an uphill battle—but it could mean an extra $1 billion a year for Illinois roads and transit.

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Chicago's sole black-owned bank has a new name and eye-opening expansion plans

The former Illinois Service Federal is now GN Bank and has plans to enter new markets in the next three years. It's a far cry from two years ago when the lender was saved from the brink of failure by a Ghanian-American family.

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Sears prevails in patent dispute with local inventor

A federal judge has thrown out a jury's verdict and ruled that Sears and its tool supplier did not infringe on the patents of a father-and-son company that created the Bionic Wrench.

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McCann moves to take back state's $180 million for Obama Center

The gubernatorial hopeful says the money deserves to be in roads in downstate Illinois, not Chicago's Jackson Park. But the city points to state spending on Springfield's Lincoln Library.

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Should Lightfoot's GOP work be an issue in mayor's race?

Lori Lightfoot is running as a progressive candidate against Emanuel. But as a lawyer, her clients included GOP congressman trying to fend off a Democratic-drawn map. What's the truth?

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Developer Freed faces lawsuit over Vic Theatre investment

An investor in the Lakeview theater has accused Freed, who will soon begin serving a three-year sentence in federal prison, of diverting money from the theater to third parties, among other abuses.

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AbbVie gets OK for potential blockbuster endometriosis treatment

The approval is a step toward giving the maker of blockbuster arthritis treatment Humira another potential billion-dollar sales hit.

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Trump administration to announce plan to shield farmers from trade war

Soybeans, the second-most valuable U.S. crop after corn, have been especially hard-hit in Illinois—the country's largest producer of them.

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As health care IPO boom continues, Wall Street tells investors to buy

Health care companies are going public at a startling rate and analysts are as bullish as ever as they kick off initiations of five companies today.

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A smaller Equinox Hotel plan gets panel approval

The Plan Commission OKd the West Look project at 52 stories, down from 58 in the original plan.

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Niskanen Center Signs onto Amicus Brief in Support of DACA

800,000 individuals (Dreamers) who “were brought to this country as children and know only this country as home” could for the first time live in America and participate fully in all aspects of our society without the constant and crippling fear of deportation. DACA is a concrete and essential example of America fulfilling its centuries-old promise to welcome people from around the world seeking a better and a freer life. And no group is more deserving of that welcome than the Dreamers.

In addition to these invaluable intangible benefits, DACA has produced—and is continuing to produce—important benefits for America’s companies and for our economy as a whole. Employment of Dreamers expands work opportunities for everyone, because employment is not a zero-sum game. Dreamers are filling vacancies at companies that cannot find enough workers to fill their needs. And Dreamers’ wages lead to higher tax revenues and expansion of our national GDP—producing new jobs for all Americans. Enjoining DACA will inflict serious harm on U.S. companies, all workers, and the American economy as a whole. Every day DACA is enjoined, approximately 1,700 people will lose their jobs.

Since the nation’s founding, immigrants have been an integral part of the fabric of our country, enhancing the lives and prosperity of all Americans. Immigrants’ contributions to the U.S. economy are well-recognized: For example, companies founded by immigrants or their children generate over $4.8 trillion in annual revenue, and employ approximately one in 10 American workers.

For these reasons, the Niskanen Center is pleased to sign onto this amicus brief filed in the Southern District of Texas in support of DACA. You may access the full brief here.

By Jnn13 [CC BY-SA 3.0 or GFDL], from Wikimedia Commons

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Now you can rent a stranger's Cadillac

Chicago is one of three beta-test sites for General Motors' new peer-to-peer car-sharing service.

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Holland & Knight moving to Riverside tower

The law firm is moving to a new building and cutting back on space, following in the footsteps of many of its peers.

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South Side dominates list of hot city housing markets in first half

Much of the heat comes from the rehab wave that is renewing foreclosures and other rundown properties.

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Physician pay increases may be slowing

Physician compensation rose only slightly for most medical specialties in 2017 indicating the steady growth in pay seen over the past several years may have started to slow.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20180721/NEWS/180719883/physician-pay-increases-may-be-slowing?utm_source=NEWS03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Medical students play a high-stakes game to match into residency programs

Physicians are beginning to question how fair the match program is and whether it meets the needs of doctors-in-training and patients.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20180721/NEWS/180719881/medical-students-play-a-high-stakes-game-8232-to-match-into?utm_source=NEWS03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

Big money starts to show up in Roskam-Casten race

A $209,000 expenditure by the American Chemistry Council likely is the first of a flood of outside cash headed into a congressional race that national Dems consider a must-win.

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UnitedHealth could drop Northwestern docs from network

The insurer and the medical group are negotiating to replace a contract that expires Jan. 1.

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Facebook inks deal for big Chicago office

The social media giant is opening a massive new office in Chicago, giving a big boost to the local tech scene and downtown office market.

from nicholemhearn digest http://www.chicagobusiness.com/realestate/20180723/CRED03/180729974/facebook-inks-deal-for-big-chicago-office?utm_source=CRED03&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=chicagobusiness

GOP pushes merger of Illinois comptroller, treasurer posts

Republican candidates say a merger could save up to $14 million a year, but Democrats see politics in an idea that's been debated on and off for decades.

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Widow of McDonald's CEO sells Park Tower condo for $4.25 million

JoAnn Cantalupo, whose husband, Jim, was the burger chain's CEO when he died in 2004, bought the condo in 2005 and built it out with "five-star" finishes.

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Legislative Analysis: The MARKET CHOICE Act

The MARKET CHOICE Act (MCA) was introduced by Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) on July 23, 2018. The legislation would eliminate the federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel (the “gas tax”), in favor of a tax on GHG emissions, i.e., a carbon tax, levied on fossil fuels and certain industrial facilities and products.

The MCA’s goals are 1) to fund infrastructure by taxing GHG pollution; 2) spur significant reductions in GHG emissions; 3) and to offer a market alternative to the expansion of federal GHG regulations.

Read a legislative analysis from the Niskanen Center here.

Executive Summary

The MARKET CHOICE Act (MCA) proposes a tax swap to fund maintenance and new investment for roads, bridges, airports, and other infrastructure. The bill would abolish the federal excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel while levying a tax on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil fuels and certain large industrial facilities and products. The GHG tax would start at $24 per ton of CO2-equivalent emissions and increase at a real rate of 2 percent per year. It would cover about 85 percent of U.S. GHG emissions. Modeling estimates indicate such a swap would reduce taxed GHG emissions by about 30 percent against 2005 baseline levels and raise nearly $1 trillion in the first 10 years.

Seventy percent of revenue from the tax swap goes toward the Highway Trust Fund, with the remainder going toward climate adaptation, energy research and development, and measures to mitigate the impacts of the tax. For consumers, the burden of the GHG tax at the pump will be partially offset by the elimination of the fuel excise tax. Additionally, the MCA amends the Clean Air Act to impose a 12-year rolling moratorium on EPA regulation of GHG emissions from stationary sources as long as emissions are below specific targets for 2020-2030. If the targets are missed, the MCA requires automatic increases in the carbon price to give the market approach another chance before regulatory authority returns.

The post Legislative Analysis: The MARKET CHOICE Act appeared first on Niskanen Center.

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William Blair drops lawsuit against breakaway group

The dismissal of the case follows an agreement the firms reached this month to resolve the matter.

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Hideout, DMK plan to stay as Lincoln Yards developed

But Stanley's Grill owner says he would probably sell the business if he got a good enough offer.

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Do We Really Want Expanded Work Requirements in Non-cash Welfare Programs?

On July 12, the President Trump’s Council of Economic Advisers released a report titled “Expanding Work Requirements in Non-Cash Welfare Programs” in response to an April 2018 executive order on reducing poverty in America.

The CEA’s basic argument is simple: The war on poverty has been won — the properly measured, the poverty rate is just 3 percent, a historic low. However, victory has left an ever-increasing number of able-bodied working-age adults dependent on in-kind welfare, especially on Medicaid, SNAP (formerly food stamps), and housing assistance. This problem can best be addressed by expanding work requirements for non-cash welfare programs. Work requirements will encourage self-sufficiency, strengthen the economy, and ultimately benefit the welfare recipients themselves.

The CEA is right, at least in part, in its critique of current in-kind public assistance programs. However, the picture it draws is misleading in a number of ways, and the case it makes for work requirements is unconvincing. There are better ways to address the weaknesses of the current welfare system. Here are some questions that need to be addressed before undertaking a wholesale expansion of work requirements.

Is the war on poverty really over?

Let’s begin with the CEA’s controversial assertion that the war on poverty is over, as implied by the following chart from the report.

The blue line in the chart shows the official poverty rate, while the red line shows a consumption-based poverty measure devised by Bruce D. Meyer of the University of Chicago and James X. Sullivan of Notre Dame. By using consumption reported from consumer expenditure surveys, consumption-based poverty measures help overcome the problem of under-reported income, and arguably give a better picture of the wellbeing of the poor. (See here and here for samples of these authors’ many publications on the subject.) As we see, the official rate has changed little since the late 1960s. In the chart, the Meyer-Sullivan consumption poverty rate is calibrated to make the two series equal in 1980, which is the earliest date for which consistent data are available. From that point, consumption-based poverty appears to have fallen to about 3 percent today.

Can such a low poverty rate — less than a quarter of the official measure — be in any way credible? The answer is both “yes” and “no.”

On the “yes” side, we should note that the Meyer-Sullivan measure is based on academically respectable research published in credible journals. The authors’ critique of the official poverty rate is largely mainstream: First, the official rate uses an after-tax cash measure of income that omits benefits from some of the largest antipoverty programs, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), SNAP, housing assistance, and Medicare. Second, it is adjusted for changes in purchasing power using the standard consumer price index, which is widely thought to overstate the rate of inflation. Third, its data sources undercount some resources that may be more accurately captured by consumption data.

That does not mean, however, that 3 percent should be treated as the definitive poverty rate, as it is by the CEA report. The Meyer-Sullivan approach, too, is open to criticism on grounds of methodology and data sources. (See here and here for examples.) It should properly be seen as just one of many alternative measures of poverty, each of which highlights some aspects of being poor and downplays others. In fact, Meyer and Sullivan themselves offer variants of their consumption poverty measure that show rates much higher than 3 percent, depending on whether they use an absolute or relative definition of poverty, and depending on the year used to link their series to the official one.

The most important point, however, is not whether the Meyer and Sullivan measure of poverty is too low, but rather, why it is so much lower than the official rate. In large part, the reason is that in-kind welfare programs, especially the expansion of Medicaid and SNAP, really have made substantial improvements to the living standards of the poor. But those gains are fragile. They could easily be reversed if ill-advised reformers withdrew the support offered by existing in-kind programs without putting something better in their place.

Who are the nondisabled working-age adult in-kind welfare recipients, and why do they work so little?

The CEA report draws a sharp distinction between welfare recipients whom “society expects to work,” and those not expected to work. It refers to the former as “nondisabled working-age adults,” whom it defines as people aged 18 to 64 who have not qualified for Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Benefits, or Veterans Disability Compensation. In a key chart, it notes that this group has far lower employment rates than nondisabled, working-age adults in the general population.

As of 2013, nondisabled working-age adults accounted for a majority of recipients of all three forms of in-kind welfare. Of those, 60 percent of Medicaid and SNAP beneficiaries and 52 percent of housing beneficiaries worked fewer than 20 hours per week. Those rates of nonwork are considerably higher than the 28 percent of nondisabled working age adults among the nonwelfare population who worked fewer than 20 hours per week.

Why do the nondisabled, working-age welfare recipients work so little? The CEA report attributes their low employment rates to the work disincentives of in-kind welfare programs, which systematically reduce benefits as earned income rises. When benefit reductions are combined with income and payroll taxes, the CEA report estimates the effective marginal tax rates facing in-kind welfare recipients to range from 20 to 90 percent.

Like most economists who have studied the matter, I agree that antipoverty programs are rife with disincentives to work. (See here and here, for example.) However, high effective marginal tax rates are only part of the story. A balanced analysis must also take into account other causes of weak labor-market attachment among welfare recipients.

A study of nonworking Medicaid recipients by the Kaiser Family Foundation provides some perspective. Like the CEA report, the KFF study excluded Medicaid recipients who had qualified for SSI or SSDI disability payments. It found that just 39 percent of officially nondisabled Medicaid recipients did not work at all. Of the 39 percent who did not work, 31 percent reported caretaking duties as the reason. Fifteen percent reported that they did not work because they were in school, 36 percent cited poor health or disability, and 18 percent gave other reasons.

Each of these categories raises issues not adequately discussed by the CEA report. The CEA does discuss child care as a factor in low work rates, but not caregiving duties toward other family members, such as disabled spouses or elderly parents. It altogether ignores study as a reason for nonemployment. But that is not all.

The CEA report pays no attention to the large number of in-kind welfare recipients who do not qualify for SSI or SSDI benefits, but still report illness or disability as their reasons for not working. That is a major red flag. It is simply not true that enrollment in official disability programs is an accurate indicator of “disability” in any sense that is relevant to labor-market behavior. According to other data supplied by KFF, a quarter of nonworking Medicaid adults without SSI have mobility or physical limitations such as difficulty going up or down stairs (24 percent), walking 100 yards (25 percent), sitting or standing for extended periods (27 percent), or stooping, kneeling or bending (24 percent). Many live with daily, activity-limiting pain. The official SSI and SSDI programs are not tailored to such partial disabilities, nor to illness or injuries that are temporarily disabling, but from which full recovery is likely.

Furthermore, even for people who do develop permanent disabilities, getting accepted into disability programs can take months or years. Enrolling in these programs often requires expensive legal assistance to navigate multiple rounds of rejection and appeal. Some who are truly disabled are discouraged from applying at all. At any time, then, there is a pool of fully disabled persons who have not yet qualified for SSI or SSDI, but who are unlikely candidates for employment regardless of effective tax rates, work requirements, or other policy details.

Finally, consider the people who give other, unspecified reasons for not working. Many of them have one or more other characteristics that are not technically “disabilities,” but that make it difficult for them to find and hold jobs. Substance abuse and criminal records are two of the most important. Other people have borderline mental issues such as depression, anxiety, and mild forms of autism that may fall short of diagnosed mental illness but still make them hard to employ.

In short, it is not reasonable to compare “nondisabled working-age adults” who are on welfare with those who are not. Some of the difference in their employment does reflect the disincentives of high benefit-reduction rates, but not all. Part also reflects a natural sorting according to employability. Better policy would help, but the fact remains that we are dealing with a population that is always going to be at risk of being the last to be hired and the first to be fired.

Are work requirements really effective?

According to the CEA, the available evidence shows work requirements to be effective. Specifically, it says that “the most relevant historical corollary — welfare reform in the 1990s — provides evidence that applying work requirements to existing welfare programs can increase employment and reduce dependency.”

Yet, that is not what the data actually say. The gold standard for evaluating the 1990s reform of cash welfare is a set of 11 controlled experiments known as the National Evaluation of Welfare-to-Work Strategies (NEWWS). The experiments each lasted five years and were conducted in various cities around the country. Each experiment compared a group of people whose benefits were conditioned on work requirements with a control group who continued to receive welfare as usual. Here are some of the key points from a detailed discussion of those experiments in the Milken Institute Review earlier this year:

• First, any employment gains were modest. In the most successful experiment (Portland, Oregon), 85.8 percent of those in the group subject to work requirements worked during at least one of the 20 quarters of the study period — only slightly more than the 81.7 percent for the control group. In five of the 11 experiments, the differences in employment were not statistically significant, and in one case, employment was actually lower after imposition of work requirements. Note that even these modest gains are based on a far lower standard for “employment” (some kind of job in at least one calendar quarter over a five-year period) than the standard used in the CEA report (20 hours of work every week).
• Second, where the imposition of work requirements did result in work, most of the gains accrued to taxpayers rather than participants. Ten of the NEWWS experiments tracked combined wage and benefit income over the five-year period. In six of them, the increase in wages earned was less than the decrease in benefits. Averaged across all ten experiments, participants subject to work requirements experienced about a 1 percent reduction in total income. In the light of those data, it is a stretch to say that work requirements moved large numbers of people to meaningful self-sufficiency.
• Third, and most importantly, the NEWWS experiments produced positive results only where work requirements were backed by intensive administrative support. Running a successful welfare-to-work program requires adequate funding and well-trained staff. Case workers and other administrators must do more than simply monitor eligibility and compliance. In the successful Portland experiment, case workers interacted one-on-one with participants to cajole them into jobs or training programs, or to coerce them to make greater efforts by threatening withdrawal of benefits. Experiments in cities like Oklahoma City and Detroit, where staffing and administrative funding were lower, reported no statistically significant increase in employment.

The CEA report makes only the most off-hand references to the need for administrative support, even though without it, there is little hope of moving large numbers of people from welfare to self-sufficiency. But perhaps the very neglect of this topic gives us a hint as to the real agenda of those pushing for the expansion of work requirements.

What is the real agenda?

If the objective is true self-sufficiency, work requirements are unlikely to be effective. However, if the objective, instead, is simply to cut in-kind welfare rolls, work requirements hold out greater prospects for success.

Think of it this way. As currently configured, the message to in-kind welfare beneficiaries is, “We encourage you to work, but if you do work, we will take your benefits away.” Not surprisingly, that tends to discourage employment and encourage people to stay on the programs. Adding work requirements changes the message so that it becomes, “If you work, we will take your benefits away, but we will also take them away if you don’t work.”

You don’t need a Ph.D. in economics to understand that this change in the message is likely to reduce the number of people receiving benefits. Furthermore, if the objective is simply to cut the number of beneficiaries, it becomes irrelevant whether those leaving Medicaid, SNAP, or housing assistance actually become employed or simply disappear into the streets. In either case the amount of required administrative support is greatly reduced.

The struggle between these alternatives — programs with low administrative budgets designed to thin out the welfare rolls or administratively more costly programs that actually encourage self-sufficiency — is being played out right now as many states seek federal waivers to impose work requirements for Medicaid.

Some states have looked at the issue and blinked. In the words of still another KFF report,

Some states have decided to not implement the waiver authority that they have received due to administrative costs. For example, Arkansas did not implement its health savings accounts after considering a number of factors, including the administrative expense of the accounts and the size of the monthly contributions members would make.  Indiana is seeking to amend its waiver that originally set premiums at 2 percent of income and wants to change to a tiered structure instead, citing administrative complexity and costs. Kentucky amended its waiver application seeking to move from a tiered hour work requirement (depending on length of program enrollment) to a flat hourly requirement, also citing administrative concerns.  Unlike TANF agencies or workforce development agencies, state Medicaid agencies are generally not currently equipped to develop, provide, and administer work support programs.

On the other hand, here is what happens when states prioritize disenrollment over self-sufficiency, as described in a policy brief from the Center for Law and Social Policy, a Washington-based nonpartisan, nonprofit organization:

We know that for every additional piece of paperwork that is required, fewer people are able to secure or retain coverage. A work requirement compels people to submit documentation of their hours worked (sometimes from multiple jobs) on a regular basis. Failing to submit paperwork — even when they are working and meeting the work requirements — will cause people to lose their Medicaid coverage.

 

Work requirements do not reflect the realities of today’s low-wage jobs. For example, seasonal workers may have a period of time each year when they are not working enough hours to meet a work requirement and, as a result, will churn on and off the program during that time of year. Or, some may have a reduction in their work hours at the last minute and therefore not meet the minimum numbers of hours needed to retain Medicaid. Many low-wage jobs are subject to last-minute scheduling, meaning that workers do not have advance notice of how many hours they will be able to work. This not only jeopardizes their health coverage if Medicaid has a work requirement but also makes it challenging to hold a second job. If you are constantly at the wh

from nicholemhearn digest https://niskanencenter.org/blog/expanded-work-requirements-in-non-cash-welfare-programs/