Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

Upcoding Linked to Up to Two-Thirds of Payment Growth

Upcoding Linked to Up to Two-Thirds of Growth in Highest-Intensity Hospital Discharges in 5 States, 2011–19, Health Affairs This is an abstract as I did not have access to the research article by Health Affairs. Besides the numerics also consider this is only for 5 states. Just something to be aware of and the magnitude […]

Fixing the Anti-Worker H-1B Immigration Visa Scam

“Biden Can Fix the Anti-Worker H-1B Immigration” was written early on in 2022. It was not till recently a new Biden rule change is taking place for H-1B Visas. Of course, the problem with this change is how long will it last under a Trump – Musk presidency. I am sure the H1-B program is […]

Many Sides of the Tough Guy Josh Hawley

Sen. Josh Hawley gestures toward a crowd of supporters of President Donald Trump gathered outside the U.S. Capitol to protest the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory Jan. 6, 2021. Some demonstrators later breached security and stormed the Capitol. | Francis Chung/POLITICO In a previously unpublished photo, Hawley gestures toward supporters of President […]

Jimmy Carter and History

President Jimmy Carter served as a naval officer on the nuclear-powered submarine USS Seawolf. His civic duties included serving as senator in Georgia’s legislature, the governor of Georgia, and President of the United States. He remained true to his roots as a peanut farmer and Sunday School teacher for which he caught much comment on the […]

Senatorial Buffoonery

I am puzzled by what the Senate allows and what they do not allow. Maybe, I should clarify the later so it is understood what I am going to discuss. There is another Kennedy in the Senate who hails from a different Kennedy family. This is other than the more famous Kennedys who played significant […]

Trump Goes with Musk

President-elect Donald Trump appears to be siding with Elon Musk and his other backers in the tech industry. The dispute over immigration visas has divided his supporters. The question in my mind being? Why Go Out of Country for Labor besides a supposed belief the Labor is better? Most of the electronics techie people I […]

Economics of Jailing for Profit and Budgets

Jailing for Profit: When Budgets Depend on Locking People Up – by Nazish Dholakia Vera Institute Across the country, more than 1,300 counties have expanded existing jails or built new ones over the last 20 years, increasing the nation’s capacity to lock people up in jails by almost 40 percent. One of the drivers of this growth […]

Transition Cabinet Picks

Just an interesting article on President Cabinet and departmental picks. A few issues with who he picked. Indeed, some of back away from the offering of a post with Trump’s administration. Also, more Republicans approve than did during first transition; overall ratings still well below other presidents. Trump Transition Ratings Better the Second Time Around, […]