02/12/2018: The federal budget doesn’t work the way you think it does
The fiscal year 2019 budget the White House released today isn't what you might call an "operative" piece of fiscal policy. Congress hammered out a two-year spending plan just last week, after all. But the budget is still worth a read for some of the assumptions the Trump administration's making — like a decade of economic growth at 3 percent or more. We'll start the show by unpacking that and the White House's new infrastructure plan, and the math issues therein. Plus: Purdue Pharma, which makes the blockbuster opioid painkiller OxyContin, said it'll no longer send sales reps to doctors to sell them on opioids. For a drug company known for its aggressive marketing, that's a big deal. Our podcast The Uncertain Hour has been investigating Purdue and the regulatory roots of the opioid epidemic, and producer Caitlin Esch is back to talk us through the news.
The fiscal year 2019 budget the White House released today isn’t what you might call an “operative” piece of fiscal policy. Congress hammered out a two-year spending plan just last week, after all. But the budget is still worth a read for some of the assumptions the Trump administration’s making — like a decade of economic growth at 3 percent or more. We’ll start the show by unpacking that and the White House’s new infrastructure plan, and the math issues therein. Plus: Purdue Pharma, which makes the blockbuster opioid painkiller OxyContin, said it’ll no longer send sales reps to doctors to sell them on opioids. For a drug company known for its aggressive marketing, that’s a big deal. Our podcast The Uncertain Hour has been investigating Purdue and the regulatory roots of the opioid epidemic, and producer Caitlin Esch is back to talk us through the news.
