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.
We Thought Sanctuary Cities Welcomed Illegal Immigrants? (Audio: Podcast)
Mayors and governors of sanctuary cities and states have spent several years obtaining cheap virtue signaling by proclaiming their hospitality to illegal border crossers without ever actually crossing paths with any of them. But a genius move by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott, providing voluntary transportation for illegals to sanctuary cities like Chicago, New York and Washington DC has got those same mayors and governors squealing like stuck pigs, especially with governors like Doug Ducey (AZ) and Ron DeSantis (FL) emulating Abbott’s strategy. IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar provide an unhesitating defense of these strategies, and suggest some other cities and states that should also be destination for illegal immigrants.
Why University Endowments Should Be the Primary Source of Student Loans (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar discusses his recent op/ed about how requiring Universities to invest in their students and have “skin in the game” would change the incentives for universities in several positive ways. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
We're Really Going Back to the Moon? (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Research Fellow Dan Garretson discusses the upcoming first flight of Artemis, NASA’s platform for the future, and why Artemis is really old technology and represents the old defense contractor model of space exploration. With space nerds Dr. Merrill Matthews and Tom Giovanetti.
Is Inflation Going Away with Don Luskin (Audio: Podcast)
Don Luskin, Chief Investment Officer of TrendMacro, explains why inflation is already in decline and is going to recede faster than most have expected. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Government Spending Has Become One Big Fraud-Fest (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews expands on his recent piece for The Hill outlining the enormous sums of money that the federal government itself has acknowledged as improper payments. Hint: It’s close to a trillion dollars! With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: The Student Loan Problem--Causes and Solutions (Audio: Podcast)
On the occasion of the Biden administration announcing its $500 billion “forgiveness” of student loan debt, IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews discuss the origin and causes of the student loan problem, whether it’s as big of a problem as claimed, why “forgiveness” involves a truckload of moral hazard, and how we would address the problem of skyrocketing college tuition and debt.
IPI Policy Basics: Why Fossil Fuels Became our Dominant Source of Energy (Audio: Podcast)
Fossil fuels are naturally energy dense, can be relatively easily transported, and can be stored indefinitely for future use. These three characteristics are why the world’s economy migrated to fossil fuels as soon as they were discovered, and it’s why any transition to renewable energy sources faces these three challenges, because most renewables are not energy dense, cannot be easily transported, and cannot be stored indefinitely for future use. With former CFO of Vine Energy Wayne Stoltenberg, IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews, and IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
The Biden Administration's Confusing and Contradictory Energy Policy (Audio: Podcast)
Is Joe Biden in favor of pipelines? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Same goes with federal leasing, and with oil and gas production. Wayne Stoltenberg, former CFO of Vine Energy and current Chairman of the Board of IPI, joins IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews to review several areas in which the Biden administration has flip-flopped on fossil fuel policy.
What to Make of the Recent Primaries with Elections Expert John Fund (Audio: Podcast)
Author and National Review columnist John Fund joins IPI to share his evaluation of the results of recent primary elections, and to speculate about not only the upcoming 2022 midterm elections but also about 2024. With IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews and IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
Our Broken Elections with John Fund (Audio: Podcast)
A discussion with author and National Review columnist John Fund about his recent book “Our Broken Elections: How the Left Changed the Way You Vote.” With IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
We Live in Interesting Geopolitical Times (Audio: Podcast)
Ukraine, Russia, China oh my! So much for the “end of history.” IPI President Tom Giovanetti, Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews, and new Research Fellow Professor Daniel Ogden discuss the threats to the international order and U.S. responses. Link to Prof. Ogden’s recent paper for IPI on these topics to be found in the show notes.
IPI Policy Basics: What Is a Supply Chain? (Audio: Podcast)
Lots of chatter lately about supply chain problems, so the Institute for Policy Innovation is proud to host Research Fellow Prof. Daniel Ogden, (among other things) Adjunct Instructor of International Business at Baylor University, to explain the basics. In conversation with IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews.
Four Reasons Why Trump Should Not Run in 2024 (Audio: Podcast)
IPI Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews elaborates on his recent piece in The Hill about why Donald Trump should not run for president again in 2024. With IPI President Tom Giovanetti.
IPI Policy Basics: What Is a Recession and Why Does It Matter? (Audio: Podcast)
In this episode, IPI President Tom Giovanetti and Resident Scholar Dr. Merrill Matthews discuss the various definitions of recession, what causes recessions, what’s the harm of recession, and are there any possible silver linings to a recession? Are recessions always unintentional, or are they sometimes intentional?
Declining Numbers in the Government Workforce (Audio: Interview)
IPI’s Dr. Merrill Matthews discusses with Pratt on Texas the decline in the number of government workers, as well as gasoline prices and the Biden Administration.
Total Records: 704
