Follow the Money: Your Tax Dollars Bought Jonathan Gruber’s Services

[flyarm]

Follow the Money: Your Tax Dollars Bought Jonathan Gruber’s Services
By: Rayne Sunday January 10, 2010 10:30 am http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/23174

Firedoglake has been researching the relationship of MIT economist Jonathan Gruber with the Obama administration with regard to health care reform. You’ll find posts by emptywheel, dday and Jon Walker about the apparent conflicts of interest on Gruber’s part, that of the Obama administration and the media covering health care reform.

We’re still looking at the money – yes, follow the money, as Deep Throat once said – paid out to Gruber by the government. OUR MONEY, our tax dollars, paid out to Gruber under three administrations. You can view the numbers at this link, at which you’ll find a published spreadsheet with all information compiled from USASpending.gov and NIH websites (links to sources at the end of this post).

But there are more questions after looking at the data; perhaps the answers are innocuous and amount to nothing, but it would certainly be nice to have some answers.

What permits Gruber to be offered “non-compete” contracts?

What does it mean that a substantive number of the contracts offered to Gruber were let under classification, “Available only for groups such as disabled persons, prisoners, and regulated utilities”?

Why does Gruber have two business identities documented by two DUNS numbers, one of which is a nonprofit entity?

Why are the 2009 contracts for HHS paid to the nonprofit?

Why are there so many fields with “invalid” content or no content where one would reasonably expect some information?

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edit to add: please take the time to read the comments section..much is disclosed here that should make every American suspect to what is going on!

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Jonathan Gruber Failed to Disclose His $392,600 Contracts with HHS (Updated)
By: emptywheel Thursday January 7, 2010 8:35 pm
http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2010/01/07/jonathan-grubers-rent-a-scholarship/

MIT health economist Jonathan Gruber has been the go-to source that all the health care bill apologists point to to defend otherwise dubious arguments. But he has consistently failed to disclose that he has had a sole-source contract with the Department of Health and Human Services since June 19, 2009 to consult on the “President’s health reform proposal.”

He is one source for the claim that the excise tax will result in raises for workers (though his underlying study is in-apt to the excise tax question). He is the basis for the argument that the Senate bill reduces families’ risk–even if it remains totally unaffordable. Even Politico stenographer Mike Allen points to Gruber’s research.

But none of the references to Gruber I’ve seen have revealed that Gruber has a $297,600 contract with HHS to produce,

a technical memorandum on the estimated changes in health insurance coverage and associated costs and impacts to the government under alternative specifications of health system reform. The requirement includes developing estimates of various health reform proposals on health insurance coverage and cost. The alternative specifications to be considered will be derived from the President’s health reform proposal.

(h/t Mote Dai)

The President’s health reform proposal? But I thought this was the Senate’s health reform proposal?!?!? (wink!)

Now, HHS says they had to put Dr. Gruber in charge of evaluating health care reform proposals because he’s got,



go to link to read the rest!!!

but note in comments section..Emptywheels comment here:

emptywheel January 7th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
7
In response to WilliamOckham @ 1
Actually, the problem is much greater than that. People have repeatedly used Gruber’s work to support arguments that they don’t actually support (his only “proof” that the excise tax will raise wages is a study on how employers raise wages on non-fertile women after maternity care is mandated, and on that EVERYONE has based their claims).

So you have to ask–did a bunch of “intelligent” people just lose all their critical thinking skills? Or is someone feeding a bunch of other nominally independent “journalists” Gruber’s claims, and they’re publishing it for some reason or another?

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[ima_sinnic]

1. kick & rec

[slipslidingaway]

2. knr - see also the DK diary by slinkerwink ...

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/1/8/10519/56727?new=true

"Dr. Gruber, has been quoted extensively by the White House as an 'objective voice' on health care reform. He also has been cited five times on the White House blog."


http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2009/11/29/mit-economist-confirms-senate-health-reform-bill-reduces-costs-and-improves-coverage

MIT Economist Confirms Senate Health Reform Bill Reduces Costs and Improves Coverage
Posted by Nancy-Ann DeParle on November 29, 2009 at 03:14 PM EST

"Jonathan Gruber, PhD, a MIT Economist who has been closely following the health insurance reform process, issued a compelling new report based on data from the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office..."

[izzybeans]

3. This whole episode is a bit confusing.

What's the trouble again? The government pays experts all the time to weigh in on issues regarding their expertise. Do we not like his conclusions? Is he lying? what is the issue?

This blog posting is oddly filled with innuendo.

[intheflow]

4. No more confusing than Armstrong Williams' getting paid by the government

to promote No Child Left Behind.

[WeCanWorkItOut]

5. I can't think what they wanted in Gruber. He doesn't bring any good ideas.

For that matter, neither does Orzsag.

Somehow this is seeming more and more like the financial crisis,
the whole show being run by a tight little crowd of people,
all with the same serious limitations and biases.