In what has become a routine occurrence, Google’s reckless business practices have been reined in by law enforcement officials with news of a $500 million settlement over Google allowing illegal ads for online pharmacies, despite knowing that those ads violate the law. This latest incident is part of a pattern for Google of breaking the [...]

The following a statement by Steve Pociask, President of the ACI:   “The CMS bidding process is so fatally flawed that it will fail to find sustainable market prices for medical equipment. This will create market shortages that will push efficient suppliers to bankruptcy and mean that many patients will not have access to medical [...]

Europe is relevant to consumers tending a retirement account.  After wild 500-point Dow swings in early August, US Stock prices stabilized somewhat. We can attribute that to many reports of good earnings and a few large mergers.  Price levels are suppressed partly by the dismal US outlook and partly by fears of European Union troubles.  [...]

Anton Troianovski’s recent article “Wireless Jobs Vanish” (WSJ, July 18, 2011) concluded that wireless carrier employment has fallen to a 12-year low.  The article compared the decline in wireless employment and the increase in revenues calling it a “disconnect” – implying that there is something terribly wrong in the wireless market.  Nothing could be further [...]

The Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) may sound righteous, but it contains a scam costing consumers a pile of money.  The FCRA forces the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to assume that loans made directly by the government earn huge profits (called “savings”) without provision that such estimates could be wrong.  Congress likes this [...]

Reminiscent of a Stasi leg-breaking, Argentina persecuted economists for publishing inflation estimates that exceed the banana republic’s official estimates.  Encouraged by those soul-mate vaqueros, Italian politicians started a regulatory shootout with S&P and Moodys for publicly saying a downgrade may result from Italy’s excessive levels of sovereign debt.  The spaghetti western ended a few days [...]

WiFi is quickly becoming a standard feature on cell phones today, but with that technology comes the potential for privacy issues.  Imagine if, with just one simple unprotected number, you could track a person’s near every move, know the places they frequent, and see where they live? Google has made it possible. With a predicted [...]

Leadership-quality speeches can be good.   Aspirational statements sketch ideas and tone, and are a step in building support for a goal.   But they are seldom actionable plans, for example; “The budget outline… includes rewriting the tax code, reforming entitlements, stabilizing the national debt, freezing domestic spending and rewriting federal budget rules—all in a handy seven [...]

The FCC announcement is available here.

University of Maryland Economics Professor Peter Cramton has just released an outstanding video on the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) plan to institute a failed medical bidding program.  Dr. Cramton explains how the program, originally intended to reduce spending, will actually lead to higher costs for patients and worse medical outcomes.  Nearly one year ago, he sent a letter to the [...]