Perverse Incentives

TV’s Unnatural Monopolies

"The big loser in the battle between Time Warner Cable and CBS is not the cable company, the network or the viewers who lost access to their favorite shows. The big loser is Washington, whose efforts to regulate what used to be called television grow more futile with every new video technology. The absurdity of the current laws is clear: A regulatory system designed to keep local broadcasts available to viewers is causing disputes between cable companies and broadcasters, leading to the very blackouts the regulations were supposed to prevent. It's past time to deregulate video distribution." Continue reading →

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Hospital technician pleads guilty to leaving dirty needles after feeding his painkiller addiction

"A former hospital technician in New Hampshire who caused patients as old as 80 to become infected with hepatitis pleaded guilty to leaving dirty syringes for hospital use after he injected himself with stolen painkiller. The technician, David Kwiatkowski, had previously admitted to knowing that he was infected with hepatitis C. He pleaded guilty to 14 criminal counts related to seven cases in which he caused infections in patients ranging in age from about 40 to more than 80. He was working at Exeter Hospital in New Hampshire in early 2012 when he began stealing syringes of the powerful pain medication Fentanyl." Continue reading →

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School boards searching for Obamacare loopholes to avoid paying some benefits

"Hit by years of budget cuts, some U.S. public school boards are looking to avoid providing health benefits to substitute teachers and supporting staff under President Barack Obama’s reform law, education officials say. According to the law, employers will have to offer health coverage to all full-time employees, defined as those who work an average of 30 or more hours per week each month, or else pay a fine starting in 2015. The need to find creative solutions, or risk cutting back staff hours further, will increase as they finalize their budgets, they say." Continue reading →

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Dental Abuse Seen Driven by Private Equity Investments [2012]

"Isaac Gagnon stepped off the school bus sobbing last October and opened his mouth to show his mother where it hurt. A dentist’s statement in his backpack showed he had received two pulpotomies, or baby root canals, along with the crowns and 10 X-rays -- all while he was at school. 'I was absolutely horrified,' said Gagnon.'I never gave them permission to drill into my son’s mouth. They did it for profit.' [Dental management-services companies like ReachOut] have been riding a boom in Medicaid outlays on dentistry, which rose 63 percent to $7.4 billion between 2007 and 2010, outstripping the 4.9 percent growth in other dental spending." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDental Abuse Seen Driven by Private Equity Investments [2012]

Why You Should Take Your “Health” Into Your Own Hands

"Cost-shifting takes place in the form of two insidious scams, patiently described to us by Dr. G. Keith Smith, an Oklahoma City MD who’s doing his level best to undermine the practice. The first scam is called 'uncompensated care.' The second scam involves the insurance scheme known as preferred provider organizations, and is called 'PPO re-pricing.' What is the actual cost of that '$100,000' procedure? About $7,000-8,000. For everything. Including the facility, surgeon and anesthesia charges. That’s what Smith would charge you at his outpatient surgery center in Oklahoma City… a lone outpost of 'price transparency' within U.S. borders." Continue reading →

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More Compelling Evidence that America’s Corporate Tax System Is Pointlessly Destructive

"One solution is to engage in a lot of clever tax planning to minimize your taxable income. Though that’s probably not a successful long-term strategy since the Obama Administration is supporting a plan by European politicians to create further disadvantages for American-based companies. Another option is to somehow turn yourself into a foreign corporation. You won’t be surprised to learn that politicians have imposed punitive anti-expatriation laws to make that difficult, but the crowd in Washington hasn’t figured out how to stop cross-border mergers and acquisitions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore Compelling Evidence that America’s Corporate Tax System Is Pointlessly Destructive

Judge blocks BART union’s proposed strike in San Francisco through October

"A judge on Sunday blocked a threatened San Francisco-area rail worker strike that could have disabled a critical part of the region’s transportation system serving 400,000 daily passengers. The BART rail system was shut down for 4-1/2 days in July when union workers walked off the job, creating severe roadway congestion and forcing commuters to miss work or crowd onto a limited number of other public transportation options. BART management says the average employee gets an annual salary of $79,500 plus $50,800 in benefits, and it is concerned the cost of benefits will continue to climb after increasing by nearly 200 percent in 10 years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge blocks BART union’s proposed strike in San Francisco through October

India’s financial prophet Raghuram Rajan to run central bank

"Mr Rajan, a Chicago professor and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, clashed openly with US Federal Reserve officials and top policymakers in 2005 over the risk that derivative contracts would amplify any financial crisis once the cycle turned. He said the US had created incentives for destructive behaviour, effectively pushing homeowners and banks into risky ventures. He was called a 'Luddite' by none other than Larry Summers, former US Treasury Secretary and now front-runner to take over as Fed chairman. The two men may soon be direct counterparts. Mr Rajan’s warnings were borne out by events." Continue reading →

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Diamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise

"In January, jeweler Vihari Sheth was publicizing a ritzy new line of diamond-encrusted designs. Last week, she was arrested at Mumbai airport with nearly $400,000 of gold jewelry in her underwear and on her person. The 27-year-old has a store in Singapore and is married to a director of Mumbai-based Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd (SIYA), a suit maker that is a household name in the country. Her arrest offers a glimpse into how even the wealthy may be joining small jewelers and organized gangs to skirt new government taxes on bullion imports that have made gold about 9 percent more expensive in Indian stores." Continue reading →

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America’s Foster Care System: Test Lab For Big Pharma, Cash Cow For Caretakers?

"Of the more than 400,000 children in the U.S. foster care system, it’s estimated that more than 50 percent are on some sort of psychiatric drug. Money is part of the reason. Foster parents are paid more to take care of a child with mental health issues. On average, a foster family earns about $17 a day for taking in a child who needs a basic level of care. But a child who is taking drugs such as antidepressants, antipsychotics, mood stabilizers, anxiety medications or anticonvulsant medications is worth around $1,000 a day. And foster parents are not responsible for paying for the medicines, either, as they are covered by Social Security." Continue reading →

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