Monthly Archives: June 2016

Press Interviews and Quotes

Partly just to keep track of them for my BU annual report, this post links to my press interviews and quotes.

Meeting basic needs under Trump

Fed funds key for landlords, affordable tenants; Trump’s health secretary opposes Obamacare

Bay State Banner Jule Pattison-Gordon | 12/7/2016, 1:13 p.m.

Effects of Brexit on the world economy and Iran.

Tasnim News Agency Interview, Iran (translated into Persian), June 28, 2016.

Farm Animal Ballot Initiative.

posted on Youtube. By  Brittany Comak, BU School of Communication. November 29, 2015

Inspector General criticizes Red Sox, BRA deal

Massachusetts Inspector General Glenn Cunha criticized a 2013 deal by Boston Redevelopment Authority that granted the Boston […]

by · October 29, 2015 · 0 comments · City, News
According to a New England Economic Partnership report released Thursday, Massachusetts is creating jobs at the fastest pace in 15 years. GRAPHIC BY KATELYN PILLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Mass. experiencing economic boom, study finds

In the past year, Massachusetts has seen an economic boom unlike any since the 1990s, a […]

by · October 20, 2015 · 0 comments · City, News
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill Friday authorizing $200 million in transportation funds. PHOTO BY STUX/PIXABAY

$200 million in extra funding approved for infrastructure repairs

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker approved an additional $200 million in funding for infrastructure contributing to a […]

by · April 14, 2015 · 0 comments · City, News
Massachusetts lawmakers announced their support Friday for a bill that would allow the legalization and taxation of marijuana. PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Mass. lawmakers support bill that would legalize and tax marijuana

Fifteen Massachusetts lawmakers are supporting a bill, pushed by the Marijuana Policy Project, that would regulate […]

by · March 18, 2015

MBTA late-night service threatened by lack of sponsorship Daily Free Press. by Paige Smith · January 27, 2015

Part time BU employees now eligible for health, dental benefits Daily Free Press. by Rachel Legon · October 30, 2014

Student loan report shows complaints, problems with private lenders Daily Free Press by Meiling Bedard · October 21, 2014

Greater Boston GDP declining, report finds Daily Free Press. by Mina Corpuz  September 18, 2014

Small businesses get extension for ACA in Massachusetts by Daily Free Press Admin · April 27, 2014

STUDY: Grad student loan debt on the rise. by Daily Free Press Admin · March 26, 2014 

College worthwhile investment, study suggests by Daily Free Press Admin · February 26, 2014

Bitcoin ATM installed in South Station by Daily Free Press Admin · February 23, 2014

Cost of student loan programs difficult for federal government to determine, study suggests  by Daily Free Press Admin · February 4, 2014

Universities see an increase in endowments, study suggests by Daily Free Press Admin · January 29, 2014

“South Shore Hospital, Partners HealthCare defend merger plan” The Patriot Ledger. by Christian Schiavone.  1/17/2014

“The Healing Begins for Healthcare.gov”  TechNewsWorld By Erika Morphy 12/04/13 4:12 PM PT

“Financial squeeze awaits W.Pa. hospitals”, TribLive. By Alex Nixon. Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013.

Wenermaar aan, Obamacare blijft“, Trouw Buitenlandredactie. (Article on ObamaCare in Dutch Newspaper) In Dutch. October 4. 2013

Menino plans to build about 30,000 housing units by 2020. Daily Free Press, Boston University, Sep 11, 2013

“Boston welcomes startups, entrepreneurship, despite study results” Daily Free Press, Boston University, Sep 11, 2013

Mass. residents driving less since 2004, study suggests. Daily Free Press, Boston University, Sept 4, 2013.

Medical Costs Register First Decline Since 1970s. Wall Street Journal Blog.  June 18, 2013,

Employers fear economic climate, fail to make hires, new study suggests. Daily Free Press, Boston University, April 24, 2013.

Outside spending in Senate race tops $1.25 million. Daily Free Press, Boston University, April 9, 2013.

New delayed-start loan repayment plan may help grads.Daily Free Press, Boston University, April 3, 2013.

Years after recession, Mass. job numbers finally bounce back. Daily Free Press, Boston University, April 2, 2013.

Popeye’s President Unconcerned About Obamacare, Says Health Insurance ‘Just Not Affordable’ Huffington Post. March 28th, 2013

Tax-based aid needs reform, report suggests. The Daily Free Press. Boston University. Feb 27, 2013.

Minimum wage-earners face hardship paying rent. The Daily Free Press, Boston University, Feb 5, 2013

Gas prices in Mass. shoot up 14 cents a gallon. The Daily Free Press, Boston University. Feb 5, 2013

Freshmen see college as necessary to riches, study suggests. The Daily Free Press, Boston University. Jan 30, 2013.

College debt high despite lower credit card, general debt. The Daily Free Press, Boston University. Dec 3, 2012

Government officials demand sales tax for items bought online. The Daily Free Press, Boston University. Nov 27, 2012

Interview with ASHEcon President Randy Ellis. American Society of Health Economists (ASHEcon) Newsletter Vol. 4 Fall 2010.

 

 

Insurers are doing well under ObamaCare

Much was made recently about how UnitedHealth decided to drop out of the ACA Federal Exchange in several states. It is important to realize that far from being a failure to large insurers (UnitedHealth is the largest insurer in the US), health insurance remains extremely profitably under ObamaCare. Below is a bar chart of the percentage change in stock prices of the five largest publicly traded health insurers in the US from March 23, 2010 when the ACA was signed to today (6/6/2016).

Top Five Health Insurer Stock Prices under ObamaCare

 

Hillary Clinton’s Memorial Day speech 2016 will be a classic.

My previous post was discouraging in that it was all about the techniques Donald Trump is using to build support. This one is much more upbeat.

I had heard about but not actually watched or listened to Hillary Clinton's Memorial day speech, which has been getting a lot of favorable reviews. I just finished listening to it while checking email and it was indeed very inspiring, hopeful, and the best speech year from Hillary. I recommend it very highly, even if it is 34 minutes long. Here is one link from the Daily Kos on which you can watch or listen to the entire speech.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/6/2/1533764/-The-PRESS-responds-to-Hillary-s-EPIC-speech-today-and-it-is-awesome

I also like that they post links to how it was received from various sites. Choose your favorite one to get a perspective.

If enough voters could watch this clip, it would change the entire discussion.

 

Sobering Scott Adams interview about Trump on Real Time

This email will interest people who are closely following the US presidential election.

I invite you to watch the following four minute video on Trump and Hillary when you have time. It changed my thinking.

On the Friday June 2  Real Time with Bill Mayer, Scott Adams (who is the genius creator of the Dilbert comic strip) gave a very sober assessment of why Trump has been so successful. Adams is a trained hypnotist and has written several books on the art of persuasion.  Adams has a blog and LAST SUMMER he predicted Trump would win by a landslide. This, plus his careful comments were very real to me. According to Adams, Trump is not a fool, but rather he is a high IQ master persuader.

The Real Time clip was taken down on YouTube, where they want you to subscribe to Real Time, but it is still linked here.

http://lastnighton.com/2016/05/31/dilbert-creator-tells-bill-maher-why-trump-will-win-election/

Here is a link to his the Scott Adams blog.

http://blog.dilbert.com/tagged/RealTime

Here is  a link to his October 2015 blog where he predicted Trump will win in a landslide.

http://blog.dilbert.com/post/131749156346/the-case-for-a-trump-landslide-part-1

Here are the first three sentences from this blog from last October

“The latest poll out of Iowa shows Carson ahead of Trump. And you know what that means?

It means Iowa is about to become irrelevant. Here I am assuming evangelicals will band together to give Carson the win in Iowa before Trump goes on to run the table everywhere else.”

I also liked this review from the Washington Post in March 2016. It summarizes the six principles Trump is using to win.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-will-win-in-a-landslide-the-mind-behind-dilbert-explains-why/

Here are his principles in list form.

  1. Trump knows people are basically irrational.
  2. Knowing that people are irrational, Trump aims to appeal on an emotional level.
  3. By running on emotion, facts don’t matter.
  4. If facts don’t matter, you can’t really be “wrong.”
  5. With fewer facts in play, it’s easier to bend reality.
  6. To bend reality, Trump is a master of identity politics — and identity is the strongest persuader.

Here are the final lines from that Washington Post article.

Writes Adams: “Identity is always the strongest level of persuasion. The only way to beat it is with dirty tricks or a stronger identity play. … [And] Trump is well on his way to owning the identities of American, Alpha Males, and Women Who Like Alpha Males. Clinton is well on her way to owning the identities of angry women, beta males, immigrants, and disenfranchised minorities.

“If this were poker, which hand looks stronger to you for a national election?”

http://lastnighton.com/2016/05/31/dilbert-creator-tells-bill-maher-why-trump-will-win-election/

Watch the Real Time interview. And think about how you can get your favorite politician - local, state or national - to be better at persuasion and the use of modern media.

Randy