Latest news with #CityJournal
New York Post
4 days ago
- Business
- New York Post
AI requires an explosion in power, both parties are losing ground and other commentary
Energy beat: AI Requires an Explosion in Power Every tech report acknowledges 'that deploying AI at scale will lead to massive increases in electricity demand,' since 'the digital economy runs on hardware, and hardware consumes a lot of energy,' notes City Journal's Mark P. Mills. 'A single large AI data center can use as much electricity as 2 million households.' Offsetting the costs of this soaring demand will 'exponential' gains in 'energy-efficiency.' Then again, AI will boost productivity, adding perhaps 'a cumulative $10 trillion above projections to U.S. GDP over the coming decade,' and so sprak further 'spur growth in energy demand.' Hence the tech community's demand for an 'all options on the table' energy plan, ending 'the past decade's monomaniacal obsession with wind and solar as the only options.' Liberal: Both Parties Are Losing Ground Most political commentary is missing 'the collapse of trust in the two traditional parties, increasing independence among voters, and rising allegiance to an undefined 'neither' party,' warns the Liberal Patriot's John Halpin. Per ample polling data, 'lots of Americans do not like the positions and brands of the only two parties' they can 'choose from in most elections,' nor do they fit any 'alternative third party at the moment.' 'Given the mounting number of economic and social concerns among Americans, a failed two-party system cannot endure indefinitely.' Today's parties must each 'bring in more voters with more diverse views' with an 'agenda that delivers for people,' or 'dwindle in membership' and 'retreat into ideological purity' while 'other Americans search for alternatives.' From the right: Dems' Identity-Politics Blinders 'Liberals are in denial,' contends The Wall Street Journal's Jason L. Riley, but even The New York Times admits 'Republicans are overwhelmingly making gains in working-class counties,' while Democrats are losing 'Black, white and Latino' working-class voters alike. Blame the left's 'identity-based appeals,' argues Riley. 'Minority voters are courted as minorities rather than as Americans who have the same priorities — good schools, safe neighborhoods, gainful employment — as everyone else.' Dems pretend 'Hispanics don't care about illegal immigration' and that 'blacks think policing is a bigger problem than crime,' though polls suggest the opposite. 'This is what happens when a small subset of progressives set the policy agenda for tens of millions of people.' And as long as Democrats refuse to change, 'Republicans stand to benefit.' Libertarian: JD's Free-Market Double Standard Veep JD Vance's 'position on bitcoin is' seemingly far out of step 'with his stated views — and those of the Trump administration, more generally,' on market forces, snarks Reason's Eric Boehm. In a Newsmax interview, Vance explained the administration's hands-off approach to cryptocurrency: 'What you shouldn't have is a dictatorial government that tells certain industries they're not allowed to do what they need to do.' Says Boehm: 'That's exactly right,' but 'from trade to immigration (which is an economic issue, yes) to minutiae' like 'how many dolls American kids get to play with, the Trump administration is demanding more dictatorial government that tells industries exactly what to do.' Sorry: 'The benefits of the free market should not be reserved exclusively for people who invent and use cryptocurrency.' Media watch: They Just Don't Learn 'If you thought that the media would have a come-to-Jesus moment' after their 'debacle' covering the Biden presidency, 'think again,' scoffs Joe Concha at the Washington Examiner. A recent Media Research Center study shows President Trump has gotten just 8% positive coverage and 92% negative in his first four months back in office on ABC, NBC and CBS, despite his great results on the border, inflation, unemployment and other issues. The 'good news'? Trump won last November despite negative coverage: 'Legacy media influence is a fraction of what it once was.' So 'for the next 42 months of Trump's presidency, expect more of the same': 'Ratings will continue to fall, as will readership.' And for the old media, 'so will trust.' — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
National Post
03-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
J.D. Tuccille: A disappointing DOGE is better than no DOGE at all
Article content Also, DOGE is an advisory agency with no enforcement power of its own. Even a president inclined to slash the size and power of the federal government can't do so unilaterally. That requires congressional approval. And legislators aren't inclined to tell their constituents that it's time for tough fiscal medicine; a bill set to be introduced this week will contemplate all of $9.4 billion in DOGE-recommended cuts. Article content Whether this constitutes a disappointment or a bitter failure lies in your opinion of the government's openness to reform. At Reason magazine, where I'm a contributing editor, Christian Britschgi called DOGE a 'smashing success' for cutting anything at all from an institution that embodies Leviathan. He argued that 'making the federal government a less secure place to work and a less reliable funding partner means fewer people will want to work for it, and fewer organizations will rely on it for funding.' Article content By contrast, his colleague Eric Boehm labeled DOGE a failure for refusing to address the entitlement spending that's rapidly consuming the entire budget. It also tried to cut costs before asking Congress to reduce the power and role of federal agencies that spend so much money. Still, like Britschgi, Boehm allowed that DOGE's results were probably better than we'd get in its absence. Article content Article content At City Journal, Christopher F. Rufo concluded that DOGE's big error was taking a technocratic approach to reforming the government when it should have focused on forcing true believers in an intrusive state out of federal employment. He believes 'the fight for fiscal restraint is not over, but the illusion that it can be won through efficiency and memes has been dispelled.' Article content Among those disappointed by DOGE is President Trump himself. According to The Wall Street Journal, he asked his advisors 'was it all bullshit?' of the cost-cutting project's promises to cut trillions in spending. Article content But Elon Musk also sees fault in a federal government run by people who like to talk about reform but have no interest in the tradeoffs it requires. Before leaving the Trump administration, he criticized the House-passed version of President Trump's ' big, beautiful bill ' full of domestic policy priorities. Musk said he was 'disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit.' Article content After all, there's little point in DOGE proposing spending cuts if Congress is going to more than offset them with expensive new boondoggles intended to buy votes in the next election. Article content The ultimate failure of DOGE is probably baked into the U.S. federal government itself. By most reports, it has been (and continues to be) a sincere if not always competent effort to reduce the size and cost of federal agencies, supported in principle by the White House and some lawmakers. But the federal government thrives on purchasing goodwill from the public with unaffordable programs. And its employees gain status and fulfillment by expanding their reach into every nook and cranny of life. Article content Without major course correction — not as yet provided by DOGE — the government will continue to grow. Article content According to the Congressional Budget Office's latest alternative scenario projections, if federal spending and revenues continue on the path they've followed for 30 years 'federal debt held by the public in 2055 would exceed 250 per cent of GDP.' That's well over the maximum 200 per cent of GDP that economists at the Penn-Wharton Budget Model believe the federal government can sustain before 'defaulting on its debt,' with all of the ensuing mayhem that you'd expect to result. Article content
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Medicare Advantage plans may cover things like pet food, golf fees and ski passes
Some Medicare Advantage plans are offering enrollees surprising supplemental benefits to boost their health, though a new report notes that those benefits have been extended to expenses with a less direct impact on health — such as golf equipment, pet supplies and more. A report in the Manhattan Institute's City Journal notes that Medicare Advantage, which was devised as a way to make Medicare more cost-efficient by having private insurers manage the health coverage of enrollees, has seen the expansion of its supplemental benefits over time. The program saw steady enrollment gains and yielded savings in the mid-2010s by rooting out unnecessarily expensive procedures and using those funds to offer enrollees more affordable premiums and reduced out-of-pocket costs. Medicare Advantage's supplemental benefits were initially limited to additional benefits such as dental and vision plans that had a connection to health. Congress enacted changes to Medicare Advantage plans through the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which broadened the definition to allow them to offer supplemental benefits that had a "reasonable expectation of improving or maintaining the health or overall function" of enrollees dealing with chronic illnesses. Dr. Oz Uncovers Shocking Medicaid Flaw That Is Costing Us Billions, Warns People Are 'Gaming' The System While the supplemental benefits were still required to be related to health or hospitalizations, the looser definition allowed those benefits to be used on expenses like groceries, as well as sporting and social activities that could offer a less direct boost to an enrollee's health. Read On The Fox Business App The particular benefits in Medicare Advantage plans vary by provider, but the City Journal's report noted that some offer greens fees at golf courses and ski passes, as well as food and supplies for pets, hunting licenses and entry fees for social clubs. The Federal Budget Deficit Keeps Growing And The Congressional Budget Office Has Solutions Eligibility for Special Supplemental Benefits for the Chronically Ill (SSBCI), as the benefits are known, has grown as the majority of Medicare beneficiaries have chronic medical conditions, while plan payments have gone up. Coding has also become more complex, and increased enrollment by relatively younger, healthier enrollees has created a dynamic where the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission noted that it "overpays for beneficiaries who have very low costs, and underpays for beneficiaries who have very high costs." That has resulted in Medicare's payments to Medicare Advantage plans increasing from 112% to 120% of the program's estimated costs for directly paying for beneficiaries' medical services from 2015 to 2024. Additionally, the report noted that overpayments to plans increased from $18 billion to $77 billion each year, which was attributed in part to expanded supplemental benefits. Cbo Says Us Budget Deficits To Widen, National Debt To Surge To 156% Of Gdp "Medicare Advantage was intended to be a cost-saving alternative to traditional Medicare. But overpayments to plans have left taxpayers on the hook for an additional $1 trillion over the next decade," wrote Manhattan Institute senior fellow Chris Pope. The report noted that the idea of cutting overpayments to Medicare Advantage has received bipartisan support in Congress and could provide spending reductions in congressional Republicans' tax cut package to offset some of the lost tax revenue under the proposal. "If Republicans want to make a real dent in the budget deficit — and head off Democratic plans to redirect the savings into expanding other social programs — they should move to rein in payments and use the savings to ease the burden on taxpayers," Pope article source: Medicare Advantage plans may cover things like pet food, golf fees and ski passes Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
09-05-2025
- Health
- New York Post
Key changes to mental health law in new state budget gives the NYPD a go-ahead to truly help
The new state budget brings with it important changes to mental-health law that will benefit New York City. Notably, Gov. Hochul pushed legislators to codify the idea that an inability to meet basic living needs — not just dangerousness — justifies involuntary hospitalization. Police and other front-line personnel don't have to wait for suicidality or a violent threat to develop. Technically, cops already had the authority to intervene using the basic living-needs standard. But that was based on an interpretation of state law. Now New York state makes crystal clear that there can be no excuse not to act when someone is deteriorating in plain view because of untreated psychosis. The point was to change the culture as much as the law. In the imagination of progressive advocates, patrol officers wake up every morning eager to participate in a mass roundup of the mentally ill. Nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to decades of conflicting directions, cops tend to regard a schizophrenic homeless person who's desperately sick but not attacking anyone as a problem that's under control. Thus full implementation of Hochul's legal changes will require cops to become more proactive with the mentally ill homeless than they're used to being. And political leaders, for their part, need to send a strong message that they support cops in their new, more interventionist role. Further investment Implementation will also take more money. In this and past budgets, Hochul has been active in replenishing New York's stock of psychiatric hospital beds. But further investments will be needed. It's pointless to commit a mentally ill person to a psych bed that does not exist. In short, New Yorkers should view the changes to state law as a down payment on mental-health reform. The subways remain unacceptably disorderly. But help is coming. More tools are available thanks to Hochul's efforts. Stephen Eide is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a contributing editor of City Journal, and a 2024–25 Public Scholar at The City College of New York's Moynihan Center.
New York Post
02-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Yale profs fight back, we need higher tariffs on China and other commentary
Ed desk: Yale Profs Fight Back 'Nearly 100 Yale professors have signed a letter calling for the university to 'freeze new administrative hires' and conduct a 'faculty-led audit' of its sprawling bureaucracy,' cheers City Journal's John D. Sailer. 'While faculty have long complained about administrative growth and overreach, the Yale letter is a rare example of organized pushback.' 'For decades, federal policy has been a tool for campus social-justice advocates' who use everything from 'civil rights mandates to NIH funding requirements' to justify their jobs. Now, 'federal policy has become a potential instrument for a different constituency: old-school liberal professors.' 'The way forward for America's universities, which remain the best in the world, will require a concord between two parties with little trust for one another: reform-minded liberal faculty and the Trump administration.' Shark: We Need Higher Tariffs on China President Trump needs to get tougher on China, Kevin O'Leary, the Mr. Wonderful of 'Shark Tank,' argues at The Free Press. Beijing has 'never complied' with World Trade Organization rules 'guaranteeing intellectual property rights and cooperating with American producers' since joining in 2001. 'The Chinese government repeatedly steals intellectual property' even as it ruthlessly breaks 'the international rules of free trade' to gain market share in industries like steel. And 'there is no major Chinese company that isn't controlled by the CCP,' the Chinese Communist Party. But Beijing can't win a trade war, as there's 'simply no substitute for the American consumer.' Best to 'shut down trade with China completely' — 'It might not be pretty in the short term, but it's ultimately the only way forward.' Libertarian: AI Bots Are Robbing Taxpayers Data suggest that AI bots posing as California students stole 'more than $10 million in federal financial aid and upward of $3 million in state aid between March 2023 and March 2024,' reports Reason's Autumn Billings. 'The scam is simple': Fake an enrolled student doing 'minimal online coursework — often AI-generated — to stay enrolled long enough to receive federal and state aid disbursements,' then disappear. 'Cases surged after restrictions around financial aid were loosened during the COVID-19 pandemic,' and 'California isn't the only state experiencing this problem.' The cost of financial aid fraud was 'over $100 million in 2023 — a tenfold increase from the annual average before 2020.' Liberal: Will Dems Choose 'All Resistance' Path? While 'there should be no dearth of contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination,' The Liberal Patriot's Ruy Teixeira worries that 'Democrats are quickly forgetting that we still live in a populist age and that there is a working-class sized hole in their coalition.' With anti-Trump animus 'off the charts among college-educated Democratic partisans, exactly the voters most likely to show up in Democratic primaries,' many candidates will offer nothing else. 'Politicians with a moderate profile,' such as Govs. Josh Shapiro and Gretchen Whitmer, may be unable to 'dance all the way through the Democratic primary process.' Dems' best hope is a nominee who can 'rehabilitate their image among working-class voters and in vast areas of the country where their brand is currently toxic,' but 'I am not optimistic.' Conservative: Decolonizers Just Want To Kill When 'Islamic terrorists stormed across a tourist spot in Jammu and Kashmir and killed 26 people' this month, 'often confirming the victims were Hindu before executing them,' antisemitic 'influencers and campus groups' took a 'holiday from Jew-baiting to justify the Muslim slaughter of Hindus under the blood-soaked catchall of decolonization,' fumes Commentary's Seth Mandel. Some blamed Israel; others rejoiced that 'both Jews and Indians have shed blood at the hands of Islamists.' Some attacked Indian students 'for objecting to the massacre of Hindus.' It followed the Oct. 7 protest pattern 'step-for-step.' This is a 'world made and sustained by Western academia,' which provides 'intellectual scaffolding' via the 'barbaric pseudo-discipline of decolonization.' The result? Young adults maintain a 'firm belief that lots and lots' of people 'must be murdered.' — Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
