You might think I am going to talk about the 1886 movie, “The Flight of the Navigator,” but in this case, you would be wrong.
Risky Federal Home Loans: What Could Go Wrong?
On Tuesday, the Washington Post published a story on the Obama administration’s latest efforts to get banks to offer home loans to people with riskier credit.
Disaster Relief Blows Away
Adding taxpayer insult to personal and business injury, hundreds of millions of dollars have been squandered in an effort to help those affected by the unprecedented storm.
DOD and VA Stumble Over Interoperability
The private sector was mandated by the HITECH Act to use an Electronic Health Records Systems (EHRs) that has the electronic capability to exchange key clinical information with other healthcare providers.
Another Deficit Driver: Contractor Pensions
Since the 1980s, private companies, the federal government, and several state governments have eliminated the uncertainties and risks associated with managing defined benefit pension plans (low interest rates, stock market declines, and an aging work force) and have migrated to defined contribution retirement options. However, many companies that contract with the federal government have continued to offer defined benefit plans, in part because the investment risks are absorbed by the taxpayers through reimbursements for pension shortfalls.
Disability is the New Welfare
The two primary federal disability insurance programs, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), provide assistance to individuals with disabilities. SSDI is funded through payroll taxes and can be supplied on a permanent or temporary basis. SSI is a means-tested program for low-income individuals and is funded through general revenues. While tested enrollment in both programs has increased, the precipitous rise of SSDI beneficiaries is a more expensive proposition.
Batter Up! Move the Budget Baseline
For fans of the national pastime in Washington, D.C., it would be great if the Nationals could just start the new season where they left off last year. The District’s boys of summer would automatically be handed the 2013 National League East division title, and fans could spend carefree months without worrying about whether the team will make it to the post-season for the second time in 80 years.
Testing the Waters on Health Technology
While the number of physicians who use computers to store patient information is rising, most are still clinging to large manila file folders to record and retain complete patient histories. U.S. News and World Report reported on February 20, 2013 that, in spite of incentives from the U.S. government, a study conducted by Adam Write, a senior research scientist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, found that doctors are slow to adopt electronic health records (EHRs), with only 1 in 6 using the new technology.
Time to Get Real with Federal Property
The federal government has many addictions, including profligate spending, wasting money, and regulating the private lives of citizens. In such an environment, certain excesses are to be expected. But when they develop, it is important that they be quickly reined in. In the case of real property acquisition, the federal government’s addiction has gone on for far too long.
Got jobs?
For all the hand-wringing since March 1 about the sequester and the Obama administration threatening to furlough thousands of federal employees and contractors, thus marking the end of civilization as we know it, you would be happy to know the federal government is still hiring people.