Hoochie Coochie
Bureaucracy has consequences.
How Bureaucracy is Costing Limbs and Lives
It strikes me as strange that the government uses private insurance companies to administer taxpayer reimbursements.
Why isn’t this handled within CMS?
‘They can start with Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs), which dictate what treatments Medicare covers in specific regions. These LCDs are developed by Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), and here lies the problem: six of the seven MACs are subsidiaries of BlueCross BlueShield—private insurers with a vested interest in minimizing payouts to their private clients. Yet with taxpayer dollars, the perverse incentive flips: they benefit from allowing as much money as possible to reimburse treatments while turning a blind eye to an estimated $90 billion in annual Medicare fraud.’
Trump Could Have a Strong Case to Revoke Harvard’s Tax-Exempt Status
Harvard failed to protect its Jewish students. Harvard openly discriminates against Asian-American applicants according to Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (and is alleged to use “proxies” to engage in “racial ‘balancing’”).
How is this different than Bob Jones University prohibiting interracial dating and marriage?
I mean, if you want to do that crap in a private setting, fill your boots, I guess. But don’t expect the federal government to subsidize activity that contradicts public policy brazenly.
‘But the IRS can remove 501(c)(3) designation if the organization engages in conduct that violates “established public policy.” The Supreme Court recognized this public policy doctrine in Bob Jones University v. United States (1983). Bob Jones was a private Christian university that prohibited interracial dating and marriage based on its understanding of biblical teachings. The IRS concluded that Bob Jones’s rule violated fundamental national policy. Agreeing with the IRS, the Supreme Court found that the institution’s purpose “must not be so at odds with the common community conscience as to undermine any public benefit that might otherwise be conferred.” It concluded, “it would be wholly incompatible with the concepts underlying tax exemption to grant the benefit of tax-exempt status to racially discriminatory educational entities.”’
Intel CEO Lays Out Plans to Cut Staff, Costs and Bureaucracy to 'Reinvent an Industry Icon'
AI and uncertainty may be the kind of cold water therapy that large US businesses need to force their restructuring.
‘"We are seen as too slow, too complex and too set in our ways — and we need to change," Tan said. He said many Intel teams are eight or more layers deep, creating unnecessary bureaucracy that slows the company down. He plans to cut out the layers and empower top performers to catch up with leaner, faster and more agile competitors. The company wants to empower its engineering talent, including elevating some to the executive team that reports directly to Tan, to create new products and drive greater accountability across the company.
‘Tan added it was "eye-opening" to see how much time and energy is spent on internal administrative work that will be radically simplified, including eliminating unnecessary meetings, reducing the number of people in meetings, modernizing to use live dashboards and real-time insights, and cutting non-essential training and documentation.’
Trump may yet be the saviour of tech titans fighting regulation
With recent court decisions against Google and Meta, could political intervention be the last great hope for Big Tech?
‘In Friday’s interview with Time magazine he was cautious. Asked about breaking up tech monopolies, he said: “It depends on the company, depends on the market, depends on what the company does.” To stay aloof, however, surely runs contrary to his nature. How could he resist inserting himself into vital decisions about the future of some of the biggest companies in America? Silicon Valley’s best hope of escaping this regulatory onslaught might not be in the courts, but in the Oval Office.’
KfW Study Reveals Bureaucracy Costs SMEs EUR61 Billion Annually
Bureaucracy is a luxury we can no longer afford.
‘A recent study conducted by the KfW bank has highlighted the substantial financial impact of bureaucracy on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany, estimating that the associated costs amount to approximately EUR61 billion each year. This analysis underscores the burdens imposed by numerous regulations and increasing compliance requirements that hinder business operations.’
US bank regulators pull back guardrails on bank crypto activities
Bank regulators make it easier for banks to engage in crypto.
‘The Federal Reserve said it was withdrawing a pair of supervisory letters stipulating that banks should seek advance approval from regulators before engaging in crypto-asset and stablecoin activities.
‘In addition, the Fed joined the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in withdrawing a pair of 2023 statements urging banks to be vigilant around crypto-related risks.’
Trump Administration Streamlines Regulations to Promote Development of Autonomous Vehicles
China’s leapfrogging in electric and autonomous vehicles has the Administration moving to slash regulation of autonomous vehicle development in the United States.
‘The Trump Administration is streamlining some regulations to support the development of autonomous vehicles (AVs), Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said Thursday (April 24).
‘“This Administration understands that we’re in a race with China to out-innovate, and the stakes couldn’t be higher,” Duffy said in a Thursday press release. “As part of DOT’s [Department of Transportation] innovation agenda, our new framework will slash red tape and move us closer to a single national standard that spurs innovation and prioritizes safety.”’
State-level DOGE work gathers speed
Courage is contagious.
‘State efforts to establish their own Departments of Government Efficiency modeled after the federal DOGE are beginning to make more significant strides to slash spending, workers and real estate.
‘Oklahoma’s DOGE issued a report early this month that said it had identified over $157 million in federal health grants that are “duplicative, underutilized, or exceed actual need.” It also outlined several strategies to reduce the state’s government workforce from 31,664, and emphasized the work underway in reducing waste and fraud in the state’s procurement process.’
‘"The Texas Regulatory Reform and Efficiency Act says the new office will focus on reducing regulations and streamlining the process to establish governing rules within government agencies."’
Chile may be next to join the party.
‘The “Javier Milei” trend continues… In Chile, right-wing candidate Johannes Kaiser is surging in the polls, with his economic advisor calling for Libertarian-style policies and mass deregulation. The Golden Age of LatAm.’
Apple, Meta Fined by EU, Ordered to Comply With Tech Competition Rules
There is a case to be made that the EU’s machinations against Big Tech are tariffs in all but name.
‘Meta also said it would appeal. “The commission forcing us to change our business model effectively imposes a multibillion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service,” said Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer.
‘The commission had initially planned to announce the fines last week but delayed the move, according to people familiar with the matter. An announcement last week would have risked clashing with European efforts to step up trade negotiations with the U.S., including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s meeting with President Trump.’
Trump Administration Pressures Europe to Ditch AI Rulebook
The EU may not care about being competitive in AI, but the US sees AI as an existential question.
‘US President Donald Trump’s administration is putting pressure on Europe to ditch a rulebook that would compel developers of advanced artificial intelligence to follow stricter standards of transparency, risk-mitigation and copyright rules.’