Policy-ish Talk

The U.S. currently enjoys the largest and most productive freight rail network in the world. Yet, there seem to be growing efforts pushing to roll back this success and re-institute some of the same regulations that brought the railroad industry to the brink of collapse forty years ago. Joining me in this episode to discuss the consequences of reregulation and what it means for consumers is Marc Scribner, senior transportation policy analyst at Reason Foundation.

The COVID-19 pandemic really prompted a revolution for telehealth services. At the beginning of 2020, only 0.1% of all medical visits in the US each week were conducted via telemedicine. Fast forward to February this year, the overall telehealth use for office visits and outpatient care was 38 times higher than in 2020. Since the expansion of telehealth is largely dependent on access to high-speed internet service, in this episode FCC's Commissioner Brendan Carr sits down with Kris Pusok to discuss the current challenges in the telehealth landscape and the FCC's efforts in expanding this type of healthcare.

Proposed labor reforms like the PRO Act seek to radically transform parts of the economy and reshape the American workplace. But they do so by boosting unions' power at the expense of workers and job creators. In this episode, Patrice Onwuka, the director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women's Forum, and I take a deep dive into what this legislation entails and how it affects independent workers, women, and small businesses.

The Senate recently passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a bipartisan $1 trillion investment in the country's physical infrastructure, which allocates $65 billion in broadband spending and is awaiting action by the House. In this episode, Kris Pusok sits down with former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai, to discuss what this infrastructure deal means for rural communities and what else policymakers and the industry should be doing to make internet more accessible to unconnected communities. The episode dives into the technology aspect, the public versus private broadband provision, and speed requirements to achieve progress in closing the digital divide.

Many lawmakers seem eager to rein in the power of big tech and there seems to be a wide-spread agreement across the political aisle that something needs to be done. Among the proposed remedies is to restrict mergers and acquisitions. In this episode, Jeff Farrah, General Counsel at the National Venture Capital Association, is sharing his perspective on the intricacies of what antitrust means in the context of the innovation and the startup ecosystem.

The modern workforce is changing. Technology is making it easier for people of all education, skills, and income levels to be part of the sharing economy as independent contractors. Yet, several regulatory and legislative initiatives expose the long-term viability of this working arrangement and the benefits it provides. In this episode, John Chisholm, entrepreneur, CEO, and investor, shares his perspectives on how essential independent contractors are for startups and innovation and how the current legislative and regulatory actions affect the innovation climate.

The U.S. currently has no comprehensive national law governing data collection and privacy, and while experts in Washington have been calling for federal data privacy legislation for a while now, we've seen very little movement on this issue in Congress. In the absence of federal regulation, more states are advancing their own data privacy bills. In this episode, Cameron Kerry, Ann R. and Andrew H. Tisch Distinguished Visiting Fellow at Brooking's Center for Technology Innovation, discusses the need and importance of a federal data privacy and security legislation, and what lessons Congress can learn from states and countries that have already passed legislations.

While Congress banned the sale of tobacco products to anyone under 21, several states across the U.S. have implemented and considered various bans on flavored vaping products and e-cigarettes. What is the impact of these regulatory and legislative actions on the overall public health? In this episode, R Street Institute's research fellow, Chelsea Boyd, shares her perspective on the current state of tobacco harm reduction policy and e-cigarette regulation.

India, South Africa, and other developing countries are leading the push for a waiver of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) under the rationale that it's the only way to ensure equitable and affordable access to COVID vaccines. In this episode, Andrei Iancu, former undersecretary of commerce for intellectual property (IP) and director of the USPTO, discusses the Biden Administration's decision to support the proposed waiver and why waiving certain IP protections for COVID-19 related drugs and products will not deliver the needed equitable and affordable access to COVID vaccines that other countries are hoping for.

While there has been progress to close the digital divide, it is clear that more needs to be done. To address this, some members of Congress and the current administration are advocating for building “future proof” broadband infrastructure in unserved and underserved areas so that we reach 100 percent high-speed broadband coverage, which could suggest widespread fiber deployment. In this episode, I sit down with Doug Brake, Director of Broadband and Spectrum Policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, to discuss what the push for this specific technology means for the average consumer and how the unserved and underserved communities would be affected.

Rising drug prices continue to be a top concern for Americans. In response, members of Congress are floating multiple recycled ideas that revolve around price controls. In this episode, Dr. Robert Popovian, the Founder of the strategic consulting firm Conquest Advisors, Senior Health Policy Fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, and previously the Vice President of U.S. Government Relations at Pfizer, discusses whether price controls make sense or not and alternative policy options for a better path forward.

The role of local government-owned and operated broadband networks in the United States has been the subject of considerable debate for a while now. More recently, the Biden administration has unveiled “The American Jobs Plan,” which proposes $100 billion in spending on broadband to reach 100 percent coverage. The plan, among other things, “prioritizes support for broadband networks owned, operated by, or affiliated with local governments.” Is this a good idea? And what does it mean for the taxpayers? Sarah Oh, Senior Fellow at the Technology Policy Institute, talks about the empirical evidence behind municipal broadband and shares her perspectives on these important questions.

The desire of both conservatives and liberals to use antitrust to resolve a slew of political issues with big tech displays a profound misunderstanding of what antitrust regulation is, its role in protecting consumer welfare, and guaranteeing a competitive market. This episode explores these issues with Joshua Wright, law professor at George Mason University, executive director of the Global Antitrust Institute, and former FTC Commissioner. He also recently co-authored, along with Jan Rybnicek, the National Affairs article, “A Time for Choosing: The Conservative Case Against Weaponizing Antitrust.”

What is the PRO Act? How would it affect independent workers? What are the alternative policies and social safety nets that would make sense and benefit the growing independent workforce? On this episode, Liya Palagashvili, Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, joins Kris to share her perspective on these important questions.

The Consumer Welfare Standard (CWS) has been the bedrock of U.S. antitrust law for the past several decades. Today, there seems to be a bipartisan consensus that Washington should act to rein in big tech's perceived power. In supporting antitrust actions against big tech, policymakers on both the left and right are trying to delegitimize and even do away with the CWS. What role does the CWS play in antitrust and why has it recently come under attack? And what impact would changing it have on everyday consumers? Jennifer Huddleston, the Director of Technology and Innovation Policy at the American Action Forum, sits down with Kris Pusok to discuss these important questions.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the majority of companies to completely readjust to stay in business. For the sharing economy companies, in particular, the pandemic has highlighted that the gig economy has become an integral and necessary part of the American workforce. Yet, several regulatory and legislative initiatives expose the long-term viability of this working arrangement and the benefits it provides. In this episode, Arun Sundararajan, Professor of Entrepreneurship at New York University's Stern School of Business, shares his perspectives on the current legislative and regulatory climate surrounding the gig economy.