Oh boy.  A new investigation by the Department of Justice revealed that five Internal Revenue Service (IRS) employees took thousands of taxpayer dollars in COVID relief money.  What did they spend that money on?  A new car, designer clothing, and a trip to Las Vegas. This is in addition to IRS employees releasing personal and sensitive tax information last year. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act supersizes the IRS by allocating an additional $80 billion to the agency.  Part of that increase, $15 million, will be used to study an “IRS-run Free Direct e-File Tax Return System.” I can save taxpayers $15 million, don’t even think about having the IRS prepare taxes. If the IRS were to consider a massive undertaking such as a government-run tax filing system, taxpayers would have no assurances that any new system would not fall victim to the same systemic customer service challenges and privacy violations currently plaguing the agency and taxpayers. If the IRS prepares taxes, they will NEVER try to get somebody their maximum refund.  Also, think about the privacy implications when filers will have to turn over sensitive financial information to the IRS.  Tax preparation by the IRS is an incredibly bad idea.
 

The Importance of Cybersecurity Awareness Month

October is many things. It’s the month where the weather begins to get decidedly colder. Autumn is in the air and Halloween looms right around the corner. However, most might not know that October is also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. In 2004, then-President Bush – along with Congress – dedicated the month of October to “helping individuals protect themselves online as threats to technology and confidential data become more commonplace.” Eighteen years later, those threats have become even more sophisticated and everyday Americans and lawmakers alike are finding ways to address them. Unfortunately, some of the cybersecurity threats over the horizon are not originating necessarily from foreign adversaries, but instead from ill-advised legislative proposals. Bills ranging from the halls of Congress to state houses across the nation provide broad mandates that will inevitably inhibit the ability of contemporary tech companies to rise to meet the challenges that face them in an increasingly digital world.  Among these proposals is a duo of bills working their way through Congress at the moment. The Open App Markets Act (OAMA), introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) would prohibit tech companies who operate mobile app stores from barring third party developers from their space. Ostensibly in the name of competition, OAMA would make it presumptively anti-competitive to refuse to host an app on an app store. The bill would also require devices to allow “side loading,” meaning users would be allowed to download third party content outside of the main pre-loaded app store.

Under OAMA, tech companies would have to continually justify their basic security measures to an FTC tribunal. Companies should not have to ask for permission to secure their products. Moving alongside OAMA is the American Innovation and Choice Online (AICO) Act, introduced by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.). AICO would similarly make it presumptively anticompetitive for tech companies to favor or preference their own products or services. These range from search results to payment processing systems and security services. AICO and OAMA are also accompanied by a handful of similar bills moving at the state level. These bills would jeopardize consumers in those individual states. They would also necessitate costly changes by tech companies, having to follow a patchwork of different regulations across the nation. This would detract from their efforts to bolster cybersecurity nationwide, as they’d now need 50 different strategies, as opposed to just one.

Also, at the state and local level is the issue of government-owned networks (GONs). Municipalities across the nation are taking it upon themselves to build out and run their own broadband networks. These GONs are poised to receive an influx of federal funding if state and local officials are careless with new federal broadband spending. However, the nation has seen a number of cyber-attacks not just aimed at federal government agencies, but states and municipalities. Where internet service providers have resources and expertise at their disposal to fend off these attacks, small towns and cities often do not. They are already at risk from more sophisticated adversaries. Putting them in charge of the internet of thousands – if not millions – of people is an especially foolish idea. While the nation’s cybersecurity may fly under the radar in favor of changing leaves, Halloween costume shopping, and the beginning of playoff baseball, it remains immensely important. Families should consider how best to keep their devices safe and lawmakers should ensure that tech companies that service millions are able to do so without the red tape of government wrapped around their hands.

Christmas Jeer at the Post Office

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas … at least at the post office. The U.S. Postal Service is busy getting its holiday shipping plans together, and the agency has its work cut out for it. In a strange twist, America’s mail carrier may find itself with too many workers and cargo capacity for parcels. According to a report by consulting firm ShipMatrix, package carriers (including the Postal Service) will be able to handle about 110 million parcels per day this holiday season. But consumer demand will average only 92 million parcels daily, resulting in excess capacity and cost unless carriers keep their networks nimble. The Postal Service can sleigh its red ink by right-sizing operations and embracing smart hiring.

The Postal Service has already announced that it will be hiring 30,000 seasonal employees for the December rush. This is a sizeable shift from the agency’s usual practice of hiring 35,000 to 40,000 seasonal workers and a hopeful sign that the service is factoring in demand forecasts. These new workers, however, are unlikely to be genuinely “seasonal.” The agency recently announced that “the Postal Service has converted more than 100,000 employees from part time to full time, career positions since the beginning of 2021.” These full-time conversions put plenty of pressure on postal finances because career employees earn roughly double what corresponding non-career employees make. This compensation gap is no small issue, given that labor costs are about three-quarters of USPS’ expenses.

Recent “reform” legislation may have shifted retiree health costs to other (struggling) federal agencies, but this fiscal hot potato is unlikely to make much of a difference. About 90 percent of postal labor costs lie in the (non-retiree)  “compensation and benefits” bucket, and employees’ unions know how to keep the funds flowing. Unions such as the National Postal Mail Handlers Union and the American Postal Workers Union confidently enter negotiations with the Postal Service with the knowledge that, according to federal law, intractable impasses between unions and the service will automatically force the agency into a binding arbitration process. That means a mediator is certain to grant at least some concessions to the union, a process the American Postal Workers Union admits is friendlier to them than private-sector union-management standoffs. In short, the Postal Service is creating a pipeline where “seasonal” employees are placed in permanent, higher-compensated positions costing the agency a pretty penny. This conversion-to-concession pipeline makes it far more difficult for the agency to shrink its network when demand falls, putting the service at a distinct disadvantage to private-sector competitors.

The Postal Service can solve its holiday delivery quandary by hiring truly temporary help as needed. Even if the agency over or under-hires for a holiday season, this imbalance won’t hurt the agency fiscally for years. In contrast, a bloated full-time payroll amounts to a permanent lump of coal for taxpayers.  There are also other ways the service can maintain a lighter footprint. A 2021 report by the postal inspector general notes that “among nearly 13,000 underwater (financially weak) post offices, one-quarter are within three miles of another post office and more than half are within five miles.” The service could close these post offices without sacrificing access for nearby consumers. America’s mail carrier is determined to meet demand this year and help give Santa a break. It can certainly do so without leaving taxpayers out in the cold.

BLOGS:

Monday: TPAF’s App Security Project Celebrates Cyber Security Awareness Month

Tuesday: A Real Commitment to Better Healthcare

Thursday: Broadband consultants push middle-mile networks across Texas

Friday: Op-Ed: Elon Musk Just Became Section 230's Biggest Beneficiary

MEDIA:

September 30, 2022: TPA was quoted in The Daily Caller’s story titled, “‘Defeats The Whole Purpose’: Nancy Pelosi’s Stock Trading Ban Bill Contains A Major ‘Loophole,’ Experts Warn.”

September 30, 2022: The White Mountain Independent (Show Low, AZ) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Despite Frosty Demand, USPS Can Sleigh Holiday Expectations.”

September 30, 2022: Shore News Network mentioned TPA in its story, “Defeats The Whole Purpose’: Nancy Pelosi’s Stock Trading Ban Bill Contains A Major ‘Loophole,’ Experts Warn.”

October 2, 2022: The NW Indiana Times (Munster, IN) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Despite Frosty Demand, USPS Can Sleigh Holiday Expectations.”

October 3, 2022: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about Congressional insider trading.

October 3, 2022:  Issues & Insights ran TPA’s op-ed, “Obamacare Mandates Continue To Stifle Innovation.”

October 4, 2022: The Center Square ran TPA’s op-ed, “Broadband consultants push middle-mile networks across Texas.”

October 4, 2022:  WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) quoted TPA in their story, “Police training trip and more late travel requests before city’s spending board.”

October 4, 2022: 930AM The Answer (San Antonio, Texas) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Broadband consultants push middle-mile networks across Texas.”

October 4, 2022: 660AM The Answer (Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Broadband consultants push middle-mile networks across Texas.”

October 4, 2022: Broadband Breakfast ran TPA’s op-ed, “Wireless Survey Shows 5G’s Role in Closing Digital Divide.”

October 4, 2022: The Daily Courier (Connellsville, Pa.) ran TPA’s op-ed, “Despite frosty demand, USPS can sleigh holiday expectations.”

October 5, 2022: National Review ran TPA’s op-ed, “Federal Tech Antitrust Scheme Threatens NFL Enjoyment.”

October 6, 2022: WBFF Fox45 (Baltimore, Md.) interviewed me about marijuana legalization in Maryland.

October 6, 2022:  I appeared on WBOB 600 AM (Jacksonville, Fla.) to talk about inflation and oil prices.

October 7, 2022: RealClear Markets ran TPA’s op-ed, “Elon Musk Just Became Section 230's Biggest Beneficiary.”

Have a great weekend!