What News Was in My In-Box, Dec. 7, 2022
Assorted topics this time. Consumerism was actually the first topic on the list of links in my In-Box. I am interested in seeing how the US negotiates with the Taiwanese on a new plant and what the US will do with Supply Chains. It is not as simple as what many people think. You should know how the product is made. The US is sorely lacking in Supply Chain planning. The expertise is concentrated in mathematics rather than on the floor actual knowledge. Automotive still believes it can stop and go which creates chaotic supply chains and tons of cost. Costs we keep paying them for in pricing.
Consumerism
“Consumers will share in Experian’s $22.5 million class action settlement,” consumeraffairs.com, Mark Huffman. The credit agency sent false information about consumers to third parties.
“How Can We Achieve Thermal Delight In Our Homes?” (treehugger.com), Lloyd Alter. You can’t get comfort from a thermostat; it’s more complicated than that. AB: An interesting read.
“IRS wants taxpayers to get ready for changes and has built a new tool chest to help out ,” consumeraffairs.com, Gary Guthrie. Smaller refunds? Yep, and possibly slower, too.
“Amazon clamps down on rogue OTC hearing aid sellers,” (consumeraffairs.com, Gary Guthrie. The world’s most powerful retailer was prompted by ConsumerAffairs’ reporting. Amazon says it is stepping up to make sure that consumers who purchase over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids can be confident they’re buying a product that actually overcomes their hearing loss.
Healthcare
“Stop Passing Off Politics as Evidenced-Based Medicine,” MedPage Today, Arthur Lazarus. I was reminded of this grim reality when Mehmet Oz, MD, said that a woman’s right to an abortion was between herself, her doctor, and her local politicians.
“You Can’t Have One Without the Other!” MedPage Today, David Nash. For health equity to exist, obstacles to health – stemming chiefly from poverty and discrimination – must be removed.
“For-Profit Medical Schools — Concerns about Quality and Oversight.” NEJM, Robert Shireman. Early in the 20th century, concerns about quality prompted state licensing agencies and health care leaders in the United States to end for-profit medical education.
“City Will Erase $240M of Residents’ Medical Debt,” MedPage Today. Sophie Putka. Toledo partners with RIP Medical Debt for creative use of American Rescue Plan Act funds.
“Experts Debunk Claims From New Anti-Vax Documentary,” MedPage Today, Michael DePeau-Wilson. He called the claims made in the film — titled “Died Suddenly” — “blatant lies.”
Musk’s “Twitter stops enforcing COVID misinformation policy,” Modern Healthcare, Twitter will no longer enforce its policy against COVID-19 misinformation.
“Tracking healthcare data breaches,” Modern Healthcare, Tim Broderick. Based on the data through October, 2022 is on track to set a new record for the number of healthcare data breaches.
“Georgia Set to Implement Medicaid Work Requirements,” MedPage Today, Joyce Frieden. Georgia’s new Medicaid demonstration program requires recipients to be working, going to school, or volunteering. Georgia expects to start this up next year.
“Mapping the Barriers to Renewing Medicaid Coverage for Rural Arizonans When Continuous Coverage Ends,” Center For Children and Families, georgetown.edu, Zaida Dedolph Piecoro and Bryna Koch. Currently, nearly half of children covered by Medicaid or CHIP in Arizona are at risk of losing their coverage at the end of the public health emergency (PHE).
“Understanding Take-Up of the Earned Income Tax Credit Among Californians with Low Income,” Health Affairs, Authors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the EITC. This is one of fourteen key evidence-based cost-effective interventions shown to improve health within just five years.
Law and Government
“Supreme Court blocking the Biden administration: Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar challenges judicial power,” slate.com, Mark Stern. Can a plaintiff walk into court, challenge a federal regulation, and win a victory that halts the entire government’s ability to enforce that regulation anywhere, against anyone—even parties that played no role in the litigation? AB: Angered Roberts and Beer Keg Kavanaugh.
“The Supreme Court Case That Could Upend Elections,” The New Yorker, David Remnick. “The most important case, since the founding, for American democracy”; it could give state legislators essentially unchecked authority to run elections for national office, even if the process violates their own state constitutions.
“A Hacked Newsroom Brings a Spyware Maker to U.S. Court,” The New Yorker, Ronan Farrow. I am tiptoeing around, and there was a direct sense I am being surveilled.
“What should Democrats do in the lame-duck Congress?” The Economist. Politicians have returned to Washington following the Thanksgiving break, for what Democrats hope will be a legislative flurry. Once Republicans take over the House in January, passing bills will get a lot harder.
“Fintechs Made “Massive Profits” on PPP Loans and Sometimes Engaged in Fraud, House Committee Report Finds,” ProPublica, Ken Schwencke. Financial technology firms at the front lines of approving loans through the Paycheck Protection Program — intended to help small businesses survive during the pandemic — lacked fraud controls, chased high fees to the detriment of some borrowers and sometimes exploited their business relationships to arrange suspect loans for the companies’ own executives.
Business, Labor, Supply Chains, etc.
“More Foreclosures, Easier Mortgages Could Help Fix US Housing Market,” businessinsider.com, James Rodriguez, Too many foreclosures is a bad thing. Losing a home is devastating both financially and emotionally. It is also a problem to have too few foreclosures.
“Clean Supply Chains: An Opportunity to Usher in a New Generation of Place-Based Strategies for Economic Development,” Roosevelt Institute, Sunny Malhotra, Todd N. Tucker. Over the past few months, trillions of dollars in public investments in supply chains, infrastructure, and green energy are available.
“If Oil Prices Fall Further, The DOE Must Be Ready to Engage In Tactical Repurchases.” (employamerica.org), Since the White House’s historic commitment on October 18th to repurchase crude oil “when the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is at or below about $67 to $72 per barrel”, oil prices have never traded lower than they have today (November 21st).
“CHIPS and Science Act Will Lower Costs, Create Jobs, Strengthen Supply Chains, and Counter China.” The White House, Brief. The bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which will build on this progress, making historic investments that will poise U.S. workers, communities, and businesses to win the race for the 21st century.
“US president Joe Biden will visit TSMC’s Arizona plant,” qz.com, Ananya Bhattacharya. Biden will visit TSMC’s upcoming Arizona factory on Dec. 6 to attend its “tool-in ceremony”: the installation of the first batch of equipment on the shop floor. AB: Negotiating with the Taiwanese.
“Lobbyist for Saudi Alfalfa Firm Elected as Maricopa Supervisor,” theintercept.com, Daniel Boguslaw. Thomas Galvin lobbied on behalf of a Saudi company soaking up Arizona’s groundwater. He is now mediating an ongoing water dispute in neighboring Maricopa County. AB: Hired Gun
“Sam Bankman-Fried, Effective Altruism, and the Question of Complicity,” The New Yorker, Gideon Lewis-Kraus. Leaders of the social movement had no way to know that FTX would collapse. But they also had every incentive to ignore warnings.
“What’s at Stake in the University of California Graduate-Worker Strike,” The New Yorker, Jay Caspian Kang. The first is that only around ten per cent of employed Americans are part of a labor union. The second is that, despite the decline in participation, more than seventy per cent of Americans, according to a recent Gallup poll, support labor unions.
“Labor Market Recap November 2022: Strong but Slowing,” employamerica.org, Preston Mui. Overall, the labor market data from November show a mixed picture, with the establishment survey showing resilience even as the household survey signaling a slowdown.
More Links to be Read
Infidel753: Link round-up for 4 December 2022, Infidel753 Blog
“Tuesday Tumbled Turds,” …, Homeless on the High Desert, December 6, 2022
“What News Was in My In-Box, Nov. 30, 2022,” Angry Bear, angry bear blog.
“What News Was in My In-Box, Nov. 16, 2022,” Angry Bear angry bear blog.