There is still drama as Congress debates the debt ceiling and passing a continuing resolution to keep the government open. The proposal is to suspend the debt ceiling until December 2022. Ok, 0-2 on that idea. First, the debt ceiling MUST include a dollar amount. Just suspending the debt ceiling means that Congress can spend as much as they want/can. The debt ceiling has been suspended for the past two years and nearly $10 trillion was spent without any worry about the debt ceiling being breached. Need I say more? Also, it is absolutely imperative that a vote on the debt ceiling happens BEFORE next year’s mid-term elections, not after. Voting on the debt ceiling after the election means that there will be less accountability and a bunch of lame duck members of Congress voting on the measure. The best way to fix this problem is not to run up debt.
Infrastructure Problems
Looming in the shadows of the fight over the Democrats’ $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation bill is the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure agreement. Congressional progressives insist they won’t lend their support to the latter without passage of the former. On the flip side, moderates of both parties are balking at any consideration of the $3.5 trillion package without a hard and fast assurance that infrastructure will get a vote. This proverbial game of legislative chicken is threatening to grind Congress to a halt heading into the end of the year. And, even though the $1.2 trillion bill is a pawn in a bigger game of political chess, taxpayers need to be reminded of the wasteful spending in the legislation. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure deal is a reckless spending free-for-all that should hardly be considered reasonable. The legislation includes billions in funding for inefficient technologies and industries that already receive over-the-top government support. All this is on top of the fact that this is an added $1.2 trillion in spending in the midst of a potential debt crisis.
Despite being labeled an “infrastructure” bill, highways, bridges, and tunnels only account for $127 billion of the $1.2 trillion package. That is only one-tenth of the overall package and only accounts for roughly one-quarter of new spending in the bill. The rest can reasonably be described as a down payment on the “Green New Deal” and a vast expansion of the power of the federal government. The legislation includes $15 billion for electric vehicles and electric vehicle charging stations. This money is going to support an industry that has not been able to sufficiently catch on. Despite all the subsidies and tax credits already supporting electric vehicles, study after study shows that only affluent Americans purchase these cars and no amount of tax credits have changed that. So far, only two automakers have been able to pass the threshold to phase out of these tax credits. Further, while proponents tout the environmental benefits of electric vehicles, they ignore the massive harm that constructing charging stations and batteries incurs.
The bill, in its entirety is a giveaway to special interests. According to
Washington Post reports, more than 2,000 companies engaged Congress on this bill alone in the run-up to introduction and passage by the Senate. Meanwhile, the nation’s actual crumbling infrastructure remains criminally under-addressed. There is also the debt issue. The fight over this bill – and its $3.5 trillion counterpart – comes amidst a rift over the debt ceiling with the nation in danger of defaulting. That ought to be a signal to lawmakers that reckless spending must be reined in. However, Congress has queued up this spending with questionable pay-fors. The bill delays the implementation of Medicare rules that estimates show will cost money. That is how the bill sponsors can claim they are “saving” money to cover costs. This is a shameless Washington gimmick and the bill will eventually come due, with taxpayers on the hook. Lawmakers and observers should not let the tyranny of low expectations taint their analysis of this legislation. Just because the last two years have conditioned us to accept trillions in wasteful spending, does not make this $1.2 trillion package any more reasonable. It is still absurdly expensive, inefficient, and should be rejected by any serious policymaker.
USPS Should Deliver Mail, Not Healthcare
I have seen A LOT of bad ideas in my 28+ years in Washington D.C. This one may be the worst… getting the United States Postal Service (USPS) involved with healthcare. A simple suggestion would have mail carriers checking on the elderly for a fee and performing some basic health checks. This idea would not only lead to further labor disputes with mail carriers and slow down the mail, but also jeopardize private and non-profit approaches to senior care. The homebound elderly certainly deserve the help and compassion, but America’s mail carrier is not up to the task. Writing for the
Los Angeles Times, physician and
Kaiser Health News editor in chief Elisabeth Rosenthal
suggests having, “letter carriers spend less time on delivering mail… Instead, include in their responsibilities… home visits and basic health checks on the growing population of frail and elderly.” As Rosenthal points out, the USPS’ Inspector General (IG) has called on the agency to become more involved in health and wellness initiatives. Some ideas discussed in the IG report make perfect sense and are already being implemented to some extent. For example, the “Carrier Alert” program currently has the USPS reporting changes in behavior/mail collection patterns of enrolled individuals. Letter carriers can report the buildup of uncollected mail to appropriate local agencies and postal management. The IG suggests expanding this effort nationwide and having the USPS collaborating closely with community organizations such as Senior Reach to train mail carriers to take note when something seems off. But that modest suggestion is a far cry from having mail carriers do home visits and having them “check and record blood pressure, test blood sugar levels in diabetics and even administer pills.” The USPS is already having a difficult time carrying out its basic duties, owing to increasing e-commerce volumes and staffing issues.
Expanded employee leave due to the pandemic has left a shrinking supply of carriers tending to a historically high number of packages in circulation. Delivery times have significantly rebounded but are still slower than the pre-2020 normal. Further slowing down the mail by adding health and wellness services to the USPS’ portfolio is a recipe for disaster and will further erode public confidence in the agency. Rosenthal suggests addressing this issue by cutting down the number of days per week that the USPS delivers mail… “[a]nd on the off days, presto — we get a new on-the-ground home health workforce.” Except no one would be happy with that new status-quo. The American Postal Workers Union has long fought against reducing delivery days from six to five, baselessly asserting that it would wreak havoc on the mail delivery system. USPS management has at times pondered reducing the number of delivery days, on the reasonable assumption that five-day delivery could save the agency at least $2 billion per year. But these savings wouldn’t be realized if the USPS was still driving around on Saturdays and management had to invest in a massive new healthcare training and hiring campaign. Sure, the USPS
could price those services effectively in a way that allows the agency to recoup these upfront costs. However, America’s mail carrier hardly has the best track record of adequately pricing products and correctly attributing costs. The agency also has some serious issues with screening employees, and the IG has noted, “the current hiring process lacks controls to validate compliance with” needed approvals, investigations, and job-related requirements. In a delicate field such as healthcare, getting the hiring process right and correcting course on improperly hired employees does not come cheap. Delivering even basic healthcare will surely require training which could cost the agency billions of dollars. Also, there is a question of whether this new legion of healthcare/mail folks will be required to have extra insurance or even have malpractice insurance.
And for all of this trouble, there are far better visitation/check-in services than any hypothetical USPS program. There are quite a few companies, non-profit organizations, and local and state government agencies that either call or physically check in on seniors living alone. While there are certainly coverage gaps, building up these networks is surely better than converting mail carriers into healthcare workers. The funding structure of Medicare tends to incentivize going to the doctor over home healthcare or checkups, and reforming the system can turbocharge these services. These healthcare dollars would surely go a much further than USPS home visit “investments.” The USPS should focus on the mailbox, not the black box that is the US healthcare system.
BLOGS:
MEDIA:
September 18, 2021: The American Spectator ran TPA’s op-ed, “Democrats Look to Introduce a Tax on Plastic.”
September 18, 2021: The Prescott/eNews ran TPA’s op-ed, “Top Tobacco Researchers: It’s Time to Re-Think Anti-Vape Policies.”
September 20, 2021: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about the potential costs of a new documentary produced by City State’s Attorney’s Office.
September 21, 2021: Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “Vaping Works If Governments Allow It To.”
September 21, 2021: Inside Sources ran TPA’s op-ed, “Latest Congressional Tax Proposal Is Expensive Smoke and Mirrors.”
September 21, 2021: WBFF Fox 45 (Baltimore, Md) quoted TPA in their story, “Baltimore City Leaders gather, but not at a City Council meeting.”
September 21, 2021: FilterMag ran TPA’s op-ed, “The US Obsession With Youth Vaping Looks Odd From Across the Atlantic.”
September 21, 2021: WBFF Fox 45 (Baltimore, Md) quoted TPA in their story, “Proposed bill would set limits on city employees getting take-home vehicles.”
September 22, 2021: I appeared on KFTK 97.1 FM (St. Louis, Mo.) to talk about TPA’s new tax report.
September 22, 2021: I appeared on the Tim Jones Show on KWTO 93.3 FM (Springfield Mo.) to talk about TPA’s new tax report.
September 22, 2021: Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “According to Data from the CDC, Youth Vaping Has Not Led to Smoking.”
September 22, 2021: Chris Woodward of American Family Radio (nationally syndicated) interviewed me about the debt ceiling.
September 23, 2021: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about the new bag tax in Baltimore.
September 23, 2021: I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about the debt ceiling.
September 23, 2021: I appeared on KNEWS 94.3 FM (Palm Springs, Calif.) to talk about to talk about TPA’s new tax report.
September 23, 2021: I appeared on WRVA 1140 AM (Richmond, Va.) to talk about the $3.5 trillion budget bill.
September 23, 2021: I appeared on WBAL 1090 AM (Baltimore, Md.) to talk about education funding in Baltimore.
September 23, 2021: Townhall.com ran TPA’s op-ed, “Congress Needs to Stop $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill.”
September 24, 2021 The Boston Herald (Boston, Mass.) ran TPA's op-ed "Congress’ latest tax plan pricey smoke & mirrors."
September 24, 2021 The Detroit News (Detroit, Mich.) ran TPA's op-ed "Congress’ latest tax plan pricey smoke & mirrors."
Have a great weekend!
