Editorial Staff

Small Business Life Support: Policy Relief for Firms Sickened by COVID?

/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by Editorial Staff
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Share on
LinkedIn
+

Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Andrew Mikula and Retailers Association of Massachusetts’ Jon Hurst about the state of small business in Massachusetts six months into the pandemic. They discuss the observations and recommendations of Pioneer’s new report, “The Long View: A Public Policy Roadmap for Saving Small Businesses During the COVID-19 Recovery Period.”

Interview Guest

Jon Hurst has served as President of the Retailers Association of Massachusetts (RAM) since 1990. As CEO of the 4,000-member statewide trade association, Hurst manages the member services, education and public affairs of the organization.

Hurst also serves as Chairman of the Board of the MA Retail Merchants Workers Compensation Group, Inc., a non-profit group organized by RAM in 1991. He also heads the Retailers Association of Massachusetts Health Insurance Cooperative, the first non-profit small business health insurance cooperative authorized in 2012 by the state.

Hurst has served on various state advisory boards, including current roles with the Economic Development Planning Council, the Statewide Healthcare Quality Advisory Committee, the Health Policy Commission Advisory Council, and the Workforce Competitive Trust Fund Advisory Committee. Hurst has served on numerous non-profit boards, including the Beverly YMCA, Beverly Main Streets, the National Retail Federation, and also served as Chairman of the National Association of State Retail Association Executives.

Co-Host

Andrew Mikula is a Research Assistant at Pioneer Institute. Mr. Mikula was pre­viously a Lovett & Ruth Peters Economic Opportunity Fellow at Pioneer Institute and studied economics at Bates College. He recently co-authored Pioneer’s report, “The Long View: A Public Policy Roadmap for Saving Small Businesses During the COVID-19 Recovery Period.”

Get Updates on Our Education Research

Related Posts

COVID-19 Vaccine: The End of the Epidemic is Within Reach

0 Comments
/
Join Host Joe Selvaggi and Virologist and Investor Dr. Peter Kolchinsky as they discuss the rapid development, efficacy, and rollout of the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines.

Thank Think Tanks: Finding Trustworthy Information in a Partisan Era

0 Comments
/
Join Host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s executive director Jim Stergios as they discuss think tanks, their role in policy formation, and how they preserve trust and their integrity through independent, mission-guided research.

MBTA Cuts Ahead: COVID Causes Commuters To Consider Comprehensive Changes

0 Comments
/
Host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute Senior Fellow Charlie Chieppo discuss the reasons for the recently proposed cuts to MBTA service, and offer suggestions as to how the agency’s leadership could use this crisis to improve the service’s long-term health.

Capturing Voter Intent: What Polling Error Teaches Us About Electoral Trends

0 Comments
/
Join Host Joe Selvaggi and Harvard Professor Chase Harrison as they discuss polling methodology and what errors in 2020 reveal about voting during COVID-19 and changing attitudes toward pollsters.

Polling Problems: A Professional Pollster Ponders Errors Plaguing 2020 Election Predictions

0 Comments
/
Hubwonk Host Joe Selvaggi and Emerson Polling’s Spencer Kimball discuss the polling industry’s failure to reliably anticipate election results in 2020.  Where were the largest errors, what may have been the reasons, and what should consumers of polling data consider when interpreting data?

Voting for Health: Party Opinions, Election Results & the Healthcare Policy Implications of Election 2020

0 Comments
/
Join Host Joe Selvaggi as he discusses with Harvard Professor Bob Blendon his New England Journal of Medicine Special Report, "Implications of the 2020 Election for U.S. Health Policy," which covers broad differences in both party’s view of the role of government in health care and what the election results will mean for Americans.

Staving Off Disaster: Lessons from Covid Applied to the Epic Battle Against Drug Resistant Microbes

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s Bill Smith as they discuss with inspirational public health advocate Gunnar Esiason the findings of his latest white paper, "Antimicrobial Resistance: Learning From the current health crisis to inform another."  The episode looks at the challenges to global health presented by evolving drug resistant diseases and how the lessons learned from COVID-19 could potentially save millions of lives.

Clearing Boston’s Throat: What the I-90 Allston Project Portends for Metro West Commuters

0 Comments
/
Join hosts Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s Mary Connaughton, and guest, former Mass. Secretary of Transportation Jim Aloisi, as they discuss the I90 Allston Multimodal Project, its long-term benefits, and their concerns for the metro west commuters and communities during the project’s decade-long construction.

Ballot Question 1: Risks & Regulations Regarding Right to Repair

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi and security technologist Prof. Bruce Schneier as they discuss risks associated with car telematics as well as how best to ensure public safety in the future of the internet of everything.

Small Business Life Support: Policy Relief for Firms Sickened by COVID?

0 Comments
/
Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute’s Andrew Mikula and Retailers Association of Massachusetts' Jon Hurst about the state of small business in Massachusetts six months into the pandemic.

Supreme Court Vacancy: The History, the Stakes & the Options for Replacing a Justice

0 Comments
/
Hubwonk Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Cato Institute's Ilya Shapiro about his new book, Supreme Disorder: Judicial Nominations and the Politics of America's Highest Court.  The episode equips listeners with historical context to better understand the makeup of the Court, the nomination process, and the impact of a new justice on the Court.

Ranked Choice: Ballot Question 2 Redefines What a Vote and Majority Mean

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi as he discusses Ranked Choice Voting with former Federal Election Commissioner Lee Goodman. As a recognized national expert in election administration, Commissioner Goodman offers a deep dive on the contours of ranked choice voting, including the benefits and challenges moving to the new system would offer Massachusetts voters.

Lockdowns – Lawless or Laudable? Grading Gov. Baker’s COVID-19 Emergency Orders 6 Months On

Join Joe Selvaggi and Pioneer Institute’s executive director Jim Stergios for a conversation with Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby about the lawsuit against the Massachusetts Governor’s executive orders. They will explore what can be learned from the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic, and what must be considered when devising a new way forward.

Drug Rebates: How Pharmacy Benefit Managers Manipulate Price & Limit Choice

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi and his guest Dr. Bill Smith as they discuss the complex incentive structure between drug manufacturers, health plans, and pharmacy benefit managers. In this episode, they focus on how drug rebates work and how a system intended to optimize value may actually deliver higher costs and fewer choices. Joe and Bill also use this framework to speculate on the price of a COVID-19 vaccine, and who will likely pay for it.

Confronting COVID Constraints: How Certificate of Need laws stifle innovation, increase costs, and reduce quality in healthcare

0 Comments
/
Join Joe Selvaggi and co-host Josh Archambault, Pioneer Institute's Senior Fellow in Healthcare, as they talk with Institute for Justice’s Jaimie Cavanaugh about the effects of Certificate of Need laws on the healthcare system.

The ABCs of the Newest Diagnostic Science for COVID-19 Testing

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi as he talks with Hannah Mamuszka, expert in diagnostic science, about the state of COVID-19 testing technology and its implications for a safer return to school and work in the fall.

Doctors Beyond Borders: Firefly Health Shines a Light on Virtual Primary Care

0 Comments
/
Join Hubwonk host Joe Selvaggi as he speaks with Firefly Health President Fay Rotenberg and Primary Care Doctor and Co-Founder Jeff Greenberg as they discuss the promise and potential of virtual primary care to deliver direct doctor access, price transparency, and more holistic healthcare that may revolutionize the healthcare system.

Non-Profits Facing COVID-19: Charles River’s Esplanade Association on Why It’s No Walk in the Park

0 Comments
/
Join host Joe Selvaggi as he talks with Esplanade Association’s executive director Michael Nichols about how he and other non-profits adapt to a surge in demand for services while coping with a collapse in fundraising opportunities.