Merrill Matthews, Ph.D., is a resident scholar with the Institute for Policy Innovation, a research-based, public policy “think tank.” He is a health policy expert and opinion contributor at The Hill. He also serves on the Texas Advisory Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.
Dr. Matthews is a past president of the Health Economics Roundtable for the National Association for Business Economics, the largest trade association of business economists. Dr. Matthews also served for 10 years as the medical ethicist for the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Institutional Review Board for Human Experimentation, co-author of On the Edge: America Faces the Entitlements Cliff, and has contributed chapters to several books, including Physician Assisted Suicide: Expanding the Debate and The 21st Century Health Care Leader and Stop Paying the Crooks (on Medicare fraud).
He has been published in numerous journals and newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, Barron’s, USA Today, Forbes magazine and the Washington Times. He was an award-winning political analyst for the USA Radio Network.
Dr. Matthews received his Ph.D. in Humanities from the University of Texas at Dallas.
Why Big Legislation Is Likely Failed Legislation (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains six reasons why it’s almost impossible to move major legislation through Congress without significant congressional majorities, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti suggests that’s how it ought to be.
IPI Policy Basics: What Is Compelled Speech and Why Is It Important? (Audio: Podcast)
Most people understand that the First Amendment protects Americans from government censorship of their speech, but more poorly understood is that it also protects Americans from government compelled speech. Government cannot compel private actors to “support” speech they do not agree with, and this has enormous policy implications for both right-leaning efforts to regulate social media, and left-leaning efforts to punish conscientious objectors like Jack Phillips, the Christian baker in Colorado. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Navigating in the Swamp (Audio: Interview)
Talk show host Robert Pratt interviews IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews about the growing power of lobbyists in our nation's capitol.
Innovation and the Paradigm Shift Right Before Our Eyes (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews, Senior Research Fellow Bartlett Cleland, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti discuss incremental innovation, critical mass and paradigm shifts in vaccine technology, smart phones, private space launch and other technologies.
If Biden's $3.5 Trillion Tax and Spending Bill Passes, We'll All Be Worse Off (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains how politically difficult Democrats are finding it to get their $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill through their own caucus, and how harmful it would be for the economy should they succeed. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: The Goal Should be Energy Abundance (Audio: Podcast)
There is no need for fossil fuel advocates to bash renewable energy, and vice versa. Instead, we should all be pursuing energy abundance as a strategy, and encouraging an “all of the above” approach. Innovation in energy should be favored by all, whether it’s innovation in cleaner burning fossil fuels, solar and wind, geothermal, or nuclear. There is no reason to discourage a single megawatt from being produced from any energy source, and large-scale storage has the potential to radically create new energy markets and new opportunities. Led by IPI President Tom Giovanetti, with Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
So What's This About a Tax Gap? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains why there are reasons to be suspicious of the recent Treasury Department report claiming that there is an enormous “tax gap” of uncollected taxes from the wealthy, and that the solution is to give the IRS more enforcement power and to further erode financial privacy.
IPI Policy Basics: Should Government Regulate Social Media Platforms (Audio: Podcast)
IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews discuss the highly controversial attempt by some on both Left and Right to use the power of government to regulate social media platforms. Includes a discussion of both First Amendment protections and obligations, and whom does it protect and whom does it obligate? Why is the First Amendment protection against government compelled speech so important? And what are the similarities between speech hosted on a cake and speech hosted on a website?
The Science and Bureaucracy of the Climate Change Report (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews speaks with Heartland Institute Senior Fellow Dr. H. Sterling Burnett about the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the IPCC's recently released sixth assessment on climate change.
Vote Fraud Exists. Just Ask Dead Voters (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews explains that vote fraud exists and that it matters. It may not be widespread, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. And Dr. Matthews relates these facts to efforts in the states and at the federal level to change election law. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: Where Do Our Rights Come From? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI President Tom Giovanetti explains that our rights come neither from government, from the Bill of Rights, or from the Constitution, and thus are not limited to those enumerated in the Bill of Rights. Further, if your rights come from government or a document, government can take your rights away by changing the document. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Is Joe Biden the Republican's Secret Weapon for a Midterm Victory? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar describes several Biden administration disasters that are eroding confidence in his administration and likely will contribute to Republican gains in the 2022 midterm elections.
IPI Policy Basics: The Proper Use of Eminent Domain (Audio: Podcast)
Eminent domain, or the taking of property for a public use, is a perfectly constitutional, if sometimes controversial, function of government and government-approved private actors. So long as the constitutional requirements are met—that it be for a public use and the owner receive just compensation, eminent domain is legitimate. But what is a public use? And what is just compensation? And was the Kelo decision right or wrong? IPI President Tom Giovanetti leads a discussion about eminent domain with the assistance of Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews
Yes, Employers Can Require Employees to Be Vaccinated, But Should They? (Audio: Interview)
IPI Resident Scholar Merrill Matthews joins KMED's Bill Meyer Show to discuss the basis of employee mandates on the Covid vaccine and other health and safety measures.
Vaccine Mandates: Who Can? Who Can't? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews leads a discussion about whether private employers can require vaccination for their employees, what exceptions might be possible, whether private businesses can require vaccinations or masks of their customers, and other related issues. It’s a great chance to think through the differences between government and the private sector, and to think about how different levels of government relate to each other, says IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Total Records: 704
