10-16-17 Policy Digest: Iran, Clean Power Plan, and Obamacare

There was so much that happened last week in the world of public policy that I am taking a slightly different format. Rather than go in-depth on one issue, I will briefly cover three issues: the Iran Deal, the Clean Power Plan, and Obamacare. Aside from the time crunch on my end, the reason for covering it in an abridged digest format is because I have already covered these topics in further detail. With that, let's begin.

The Iran Deal
Last Friday, President Trump announced that he is going to decertify the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, more colloquially known as the Iran Deal. This decertification will give Congress 60 days to determine if they want to re-impose sanctions on Iran. This position is a compromise on Trump's end since he despises the Iran deal while his aides like it. The basis of the Iran Deal is to make sure that Iran does not become a North Korea-like nuclear power threatening the world. Trump's assertion is that it is not working. I took a look at the Iran Deal both when it first came out and one year after in 2016. My conclusion? The Iran Deal is doing what it is supposed to be doing. If Congress reimposes sanctions, there is legitimate concern that the United States' trust in the international sphere will be eroded as a result. Not only that, but Iran could shift blame towards the United States since Iran has been complying with the Iran Deal. Since the Iran Deal is succeeding at keeping Iran's nuclear capabilities contained, there is no logical reason for Trump to rattle the cage.  

Clean Power Plan
On Tuesday, October 10, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that they would repeal the Clean Power Plan. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt claimed that CPP repeal will save $30 billion over the next ten years. Personally, I'm glad that the EPA repealed the CPP. I analyzed the CPP three years ago, and I surmised that the CPP would only reduce global temperatures by 0.2º, which is a far cry from what we would need to avert the cataclysmic effects predicted by climate scientists. For more recent analyses on why the CPP is inadequate, you can read from the Cato Institute, Heritage Foundation (also see here), Manhattan Institute, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Obamacare
If that were not enough, President Trump signed an executive order on the Affordable Care Act, better known as Obamacare. There are those criticizing it as Trump's attempt to unilaterally dismantle Obamacare, which critics argue would roll back health care offerings in the U.S. (see here, here). See analyses from the Cato Institute, Forbes, and Heritage Foundation as to why Trump's executive order is not so bad. In either case, something needs to be done to stop Obamacare. For more on the issues with Obamacare, see my list of 15 reasons as to why Obamacare is poor policy.