A new study finds that more than a third of the silver plans offered on healthcare.gov may be displaying incorrect or incomplete drug cost sharing information. The website presents drug information using four categories. At times, individual companies on the exchange use five or six confusing customers. The problem is that without correct information, consumers will have a difficult time predicting out of pocket costs before selecting a plan.

Yesterday, the president detailed his $80 billion plan for free child care. The plan would expand tax credits for families with young children. As Speaker Boehner’s office pointed out, one way the White House proposed to raise revenue for this plan was to tax college savings plans, not the way to expand education. AAF has a new insight showing how the president's free college plan guarantees higher taxes. Free from the federal government always comes at a cost.

Eakinomics: The Left Revolts on Trade

For the second straight year, President Obama’s State of the Union address included a call for Congress to grant him Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The revolt on the left has been nearly instantaneous.  As reported by the Hill newspaper, Sierra Club Director Michael Brune lashed out: “With fast track, we would be trading away clean air, clean water, and safe communities,” Brune said in a statement. “Trade should be done right – not just fast – to protect our families and neighbors from pollution and climate disruption.”

Unfortunately, that’s just not right. TPA permits the president to negotiate trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP, which would affect 40 percent of the world’s GDP) or the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). These carry important benefits for the U.S. economy, but they take a long time. There is nothing “fast track” about the negotiations. And Congress is far from out of the picture. Congress can use TPA to limit the executive branch and protect its constitutional authority by requiring regular consultations. 

And, of course, Congress has the final approval of any trade agreement, which is where the “fast track” notion genuinely enters. Congress can not amend the trade agreements negotiated under TPA, but instead they are subject to a (fast) up or down vote.

As I’ve argued in Eakinomics previously, trade is important to the future of the U.S. economy. Opposing trade agreements and the TPA needed to negotiate them most effectively is a vote against a better future. It does nothing to endanger the air, water or U.S. communities.

From the Forum

Testimony: The Affordable Care Act and the Labor Market by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, AAF President

“Free” College and Higher Taxes: The Guarantees Under Obama’s Proposals by Scott Fleming, AAF Education Expert