Slideshow: What Can We Learn about the Ryan Medicare Plan from German Experience?

The recently approved Republican plan for reform of Medicare, conceived by Representative Paul Ryan, proposes to replace the current single-payer, government-run Medicare system with one under which seniors would choose from a list of approved private health care plans, with the cost to be paid partly by the government and partly by beneficiaries. This slideshow compares the Ryan plan with the German health care system, which uses a similar system of competing private insurance options with cost split between beneficiaries and the government.

Keywords: Health care economics, Republican Plan for Prosperity, Paul Ryan, Medicare.

Slideshow: Tax Reform as a Path to Growth-Friendly Fiscal Consolidation

Raising tax rates or cutting expenditures are policies that can help reduce deficits, but they can slow economic growth, especially if they are implemented during a cyclical downturn. This sideshow discusses how tax reform that broadens the tax base while reducing marginal tax rates represents a path to growth-friendly fiscal consolidation.

Keywords: Fiscal consolidation, deficit reduction, economic growth, tax reform.

Slideshow: Is Financial Reform Working or Will It Make Things Worse?

Recent financial reforms, including the Dodd-Frank act and the new Basel III capital standards, are encountering a backlash. Some observers, like former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, and some members of Congress, think they are making things worse. Others, like Representative Barney Frank himself, are sure they will work. This slideshow provides a simple graphical framework intended to clarify the issues.

Keywords: Financial reform, financial regulation, banking, Dodd-Frank, Basel III.