All of Washington, D.C., as well as the rest of the country, has been binging on the third season of the wildly popular Netflix original series “House of Cards,” the sordid tale of Washington politicians who will stop at nothing to bend the power structure to their will in order to gain power, prestige, and money.
King v. Burwell: Judicial Branch Should Judge, Not Legislate
On Wednesday, March 4, 2015, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments to King v. Burwell. It is one of four lawsuits that challenge the IRS’s regulation that allows subsidies to assist people to purchase health insurance in Federally-facilitated Exchanges under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as ObamaCare. The plaintiffs argued that the plain language of the law only allows subsidies to assist people in an Exchange “established by a State” while the Obama administration is arguing the IRS was correct when it decided to provide subsidies for enrollees in both types of Exchanges. The Exchanges are the on-line marketplaces where people can shop and purchase health insurance. The Supreme Court heard the case because there have been conflicting rulings within the lower courts as to whether the IRS acted legally.
Social Security Reform: Time to Go Big
Among the rules adopted by the House of Representatives is a new provision that bars the transfer of money between the Social Security old age and survivors insurance (OASI) trust fund and the disability insurance (DI) trust fund. Congress has authorized 11 transfers from OASI to DI in order to temporarily patch the DI trust fund. In 1994, the last time that DI was on the verge of going broke, Congress reallocated 0.6 percentage points of the payroll tax from OASI to the DI program. The rule change prevents another temporary fix from occurring and provides a significant opportunity for Congress to adopt reforms in order to help ensure the future solvency of both programs.
Innovation = Jobs
Innovation creates jobs. That is the central premise of Jay Walker’s keynote address, “Making Innovation Work for America and Americans,” at the first meeting of the IP Dealmakers Forum on November 6, 2014. The forum linked investors together with intellectual property (IP) information and opportunities. Walker’s speech is particularly timely given the release on November […]
Blaming Republicans for Ebola: A Seedy Campaign Ploy
Less than two weeks after the first person with Ebola in the United States was admitted to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital on September 30, 2014, Democrats and their allies began blaming Republicans for his plight and everything else connected with preventing and treating the disease.
WHO Are You to Raise the Tobacco Tax?
Black-and-white images of soldiers abroad brandishing “victory cigars” in the fight against a cruel and oppressive enemy lit up television screens in homes across the nation, and “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” by Merle Travis was a national hit on the air waves. Cigarettes were an icon of glamor with a hint of rugged sophistication, and America was very much the land of the free and home of the brave during World War II.
A Promising Proposal to Reduce Waste in Medicare
Now that members of Congress have returned from the August recess, they have several big-ticket items to accomplish before the legislative year comes to an end in December. One non-controversial item that could be taken up is the Protecting the Integrity of Medicare Act, which aims to reduce waste and fraud in Medicare.
Bureaucratic Quagmire…Leads to Billions Wasted
A July 9, 2014 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report revealed that in fiscal year (FY) 2013 federal agencies issued an estimated $105.8 billion in improper payments. The GAO report serves as an alarming example of bureaucratic waste. The puzzling mismanagement of funds encompassed 84 government programs spread across 18 agencies.
Fatally Long Waits and Red Tape
At the corner of Vermont Avenue and H Street in northwest Washington, D.C., a single structure’s exterior bears a bronze plate engraved with the words “To care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan.” The building is the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the phrase, uttered by President Abraham Lincoln, is the agency’s motto. Sadly, this goal is not being met, and, disappointingly, it hasn’t been for nearly a decade.
World Intellectual Property Day Is April 26
World Intellectual Property Day is April 26, 2014. Set aside by the international community in 2000, as a day to increase and promote a general understanding of intellectual property (IP), this event is recognized worldwide at numerous events. Among those events this year was the 2014 IP Champions Conference, held on April 23, 2014 by the […]