The Future of Coal, Rose Friedman and Florida Insurance
Environmental activists try to shut down and limit the use of coal-fired power plants.
Economist and author Rose Friedman dies at age 98.
Florida’s insurance commissioner, Kevin McCarty, releases a report on the number of companies competing in the state.
Listen to LibertyWeek, the entertaining and insightful CEI podcast.
1. ENVIRONMENT
Environmental activists try to shut down and limit the use of coal-fired power plants.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis on the problems with trying to do away with coal:
“What’s the risk here? New coal generation is forecast to supply two-thirds of all new electric power over the next two decades. By 2030, new coal generation is expected to provide 15% of all our electricity. So banning it, could create one heck of a power deficit. Frequent blackouts and power failures–an energy crisis would not be an unlikely consequence. At a minimum, our electric bills would go way up.”
2. ECONOMICS
Economist and author Rose Friedman dies at age 98.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Regulatory Studies Fellow Ryan Young on the Friedman legacy:
“The body of work that Milton and Rose Friedman put together over many years was one of the most influential of the 20th century. It continues to resonate in the 21st. From technical works like A Monetary History of the United States to popular works like the Free to Choose book and television series, the Friedmans made valuable contributions to economics, politics, philosophy, and, most importantly, human freedom. Milton got most of the credit, and the Nobel prize. But even works without Rose’s name next to Milton’s on the cover bear her stamp. They were a team.”
3. INSURANCE
Florida’s insurance commissioner, Kevin McCarty, releases a report on the number of companies competing in the state.
CEI Expert Available to Comment: Senior Fellow Eli Lehrer on the state of the Florida insurance market:
“The problem is pretty simple. An insurer operating in Florida needs to diversify its risk somehow and, because all of Florida is so storm-prone, it probably can’t do that through simply diversifying its own portfolio. Thus, it has two choices: it can either go to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund—which provides cheap coverage but can’t pay its likely claims—or buy reinsurance which is likely to costs a lot more.”
Listen to LibertyWeek, the CEI podcast, here.