The Government Wasted At Least 400,000 Visa Cap Slots in FY 2021
David J. BierThe U.S. government imposes limits on the number of immigrants, refugees, and temporary workers who it will admit or grant permanent residence every year. Congress has specified certain limits in statute, while the executive branch creates others. In fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 ‐September 2021), the government wasted at least 400,000 visa and refugee cap slots.Table 1 shows the data for visa or refugee caps, used cap numbers, and unused cap numbers. As it shows, the U.S. government wasted 51,089 of 62,500 refugee slots (82 percent), 39,849 of 54,850 diversity lottery green cards (73 percent), 140,000...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 27, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: David J. Bier Source Type: blogs
The Government Wasted About 400,000 Visa Cap Slots in FY 2021
David J. BierThe U.S. government imposes limits on the number of immigrants, refugees, and temporary workers who it will admit or grant permanent residence every year. Congress has specified certain limits in statute, while the executive branch creates others. In fiscal year 2021 (October 2020 ‐September 2021), the government wasted about 400,000 visa and refugee cap slots.Table 1 shows the data for visa or refugee caps, used cap numbers, and unused cap numbers. As it shows, the U.S. government wasted 51,089 of 62,500 refugee slots (82 percent), 36,658 of 54,850 diversity lottery green cards (67 percent),* 140,000 o...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 27, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: David J. Bier Source Type: blogs
Empty Grocery Store Shelves Show the Limits of Federal Localization Mandates
Scott Lincicome and Ilana BlumsackPointing to empty store shelves and rising prices brought about by the current “supply chain crisis,” Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) hasintroduced legislation that would mandate at least half of the value of goods “critical” to national security be produced in the United States. However, one of the most visible examples of the current “supply chain problem” –empty grocery store shelves and rising food prices– shows why simplistic government localization mandates are no panacea and could, in fact, make things worse.In particular, the vast majority of the food that Americans consume...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 27, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Scott Lincicome, Ilana Blumsack Source Type: blogs
More Bad Policies Contributing to the “Supply Chain Crisis”
Scott LincicomeOver the last few weeks, I and otherCato scholarshaveexplained how ubiquitous supply chain problems imperiling the American economic recovery resulted from not only short ‐term, pandemic‐related issues, but also longstanding and misguided trade, labor, and other government policies that have decreased system‐wide flexibility and efficiency that’s today so badly needed. Now, via theJournal of Commerce, we can add immigration and Mexican trucking restrictions to the list:Beyond physical infrastructure investment, US and European governments need to ease migration rules to ensure there ’...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 20, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Scott Lincicome Source Type: blogs
Why Do the Russian and Chinese Governments Want Americans to Dislike Immigrants?
Michael Howard andAlex NowrastehThere is a widespread belief that foreign governments and organizations occasionally meddle or attempt to meddle in U.S. elections. ThePew Research Center found that 75 percent of Americans believed it somewhat likely or very likely that Russia or another foreign government would attempt to influence the 2020 election. Respondent interpretations of the word “influence” substantially affect how we should understand this survey. If respondent interpret “influence” as “attempt to affect the outcome,” then most people should answer “very likely.” The outcome of the U.S. elec...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 19, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Michael Howard, Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
How Port Bottlenecks Make the Case for Freer Trade
Gabriella Beaumont-SmithThe pandemic has shocked every sector of the economy. Trade restrictions enacted by the Trump administration and maintained by President Biden have rippled through the U.S. economy but have particularly impacted U.S. ports. The pandemic highlighted that American ports havebroader efficiency problems and could usesome serious policy and management reforms.On thewest coast in particular, ship congestion has caused severe delays, wreaking havoc on the supply chain. While factories and ports in Asia are working 24/7 to supply American consumers with valuable goods, U.S. ports have been open for far fewe...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 19, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Gabriella Beaumont-Smith Source Type: blogs
State-Based Marketplaces 2.0 – Part 1: The Coming Expansion in Access, Affordability, and Value
CONCLUSION: LOCAL SOLUTIONS ADVANCING MEANINGFUL REFORM
The ACA gives states the flexibility to implement SBMs and encourage private sector participation. The federal government is responsible for establishing coverage standards, financing subsidies, and operating the HealthCare.gov platform. But it faces some challenges when it comes to innovating.
By contrast, states can be nimble. They can tailor program offerings to meet market demands and dynamics. Factors influencing program design could also include the state’s urban/rural mix, the size of its employer base, the payer mix, social determinants of health, demo...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 18, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Health Policy Obamacare Affordable Care Affordable Care Act American Rescue Plan Biden-Obama Build Back Better Act David W. Johnson Joe Biden Rosmarie Day State-based marketplaces Source Type: blogs
Get Ready for Deepfakes
By KIM BELLARD
The Tom Cruise TikTok deepfakes last spring didn’t spur me into writing about deepfakes, not even when Justin Bieber fell so hard for them that he challenged the deepfake to a fight. When 60 Minutes covered the topic last night though, I figured I’d best get to it before I missed this particular wave.
We’re already living in an era of unprecedented misinformation/disinformation, as we’ve seen repeatedly with COVID-19 (e.g., hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, anti-vaxxers), but deepfakes should alert us that we haven’t seen anything yet.
ICYMI, here’s the 60 Minutes story:
...
Source: The Health Care Blog - October 13, 2021 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Ryan Bose-Roy Tags: Artificial Intelligence Health Tech COVID-19 deep learning deepfakes dr fauci Kim Bellard Misinformation Source Type: blogs
The Tariff Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves
Scott LincicomeAfter completing months ‐long “top‐to‐bottom” review of the United States’ trade policy toward China, United States Trade Representative Katherine Taiannounced yesterday that the Chinese government has failed to comply with the terms of the 2019 U.S.-China “Phase One” Agreement, but that the Biden administration will nevertheless maintain the U.S. tariffs intended to achieve changes in Chinese policy and to enforce the deal. The White House will instead seek talks with China in the coming days and reopen a process for U.S. importers to win an exc lusion from said tariffs.Although Ta...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 5, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: Scott Lincicome Source Type: blogs
This is your brain on religion
A Providence TV news reporter tells us the sad story of health care workerswho are losing their jobs because they refuse the Covid-19 vaccine. I ' ll quote two of them." It goes against all of my religious beliefs to the core of my existence. " " I have not infected one patient that I know of. Who knows what [the vaccine] is going to do [to our bodies] years from now. I have my own God-given antibodies against this virus. " (She says she has been infected and recovered.)The first speaker is a phlebotomist. The second speaker is a registered nurse who works in a hospital. There is no major religious denomination -- Chr...
Source: Stayin' Alive - October 1, 2021 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Some Key EASD News for T1D
This week, the European rival to the ADA Scientific Sessions known as EASD (which stands for the European Association for the Study of Diabetes) held its annual meeting, which was the organization ' s 57th Annual Meeting and it took place virtually (much like the ADA Scientific Sessions did this year) due to COVID-19. EASD was held from September 27, 2021 to October 1, 2021. In recent years, neither the ADA Scientific Sessions not the EASD Meetings have yielded many surprise findings or previously unknown product launches.My short summary is that Novo Nordisk is finally getting on the " smart pen " cap bandwagon, while riv...
Source: Scott's Web Log - October 1, 2021 Category: Endocrinology Tags: 2021 Bigfoot Unity Companion Medical EASD FTC insulin prices Lilly Medtronic diabetes Novo Nordisk rebate reform Smart Pen Caps Smart Pens Source Type: blogs
“Liking” Outraged Posts Encourages People To Express More Outrage In The Future
By Emily Reynolds
It can be hard to know what’s going to go viral — or even what’s going to get you just a few more likes. For many, however, expressing an outraged opinion on politics has been a good way of garnering interactions, even if it doesn’t always have the intended effect.
A new study, published in Science Advances and authored by William Brady and colleagues from Yale University, looks more closely at how outrage spreads on social media. It finds that likes and shares garnered by outrage act as a reward that “teaches” us to express more of the same.
...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - September 27, 2021 Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: BPS Research Digest Tags: Social Twitter Source Type: blogs
You are hereby commanded . . .
. .to read Dan Froomkin. This is a long essay and I ' m not going to try to summarize it. But just so you know what it ' s about:Misinformation, disinformation and gaslighting have become rampant in our political discourse, turning citizens against each other, choking the legislative process, eroding confidence in elections, and, in the age of Covid, literally getting people killed. A striking number of voters are laboring under a series of delusions that make them incapable of rational decision-making. The country is still reeling from a violent attempted coup in the name of a Big Lie – a lie that has e...
Source: Stayin' Alive - September 25, 2021 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
Biden ’s Border Policy Is Not “Open Borders”
David J. BierPractically since his first week in office, President Joe Biden has faced repeated criticisms from Republicans and someDemocrats that his border policy amounts to “open borders.” This criticism is not simply inaccurate: it isunhingedfrom reality in a way that distinguishes itself from normal political hyperbole. Indeed, U.S. immigration policy is effectivelyclosed borders, and Biden ’s immigration policies and goals are largely the same as those of President Donald Trump.Under U.S. immigration law, it is illegal for anyone in the world to travel or immigrate to the United States unless they fall into ver...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - September 23, 2021 Category: American Health Authors: David J. Bier Source Type: blogs
Shit happens for a reason
Eric Boehlert is shrill: [T]he rest of the world must be looking on in slack-jawed astonishment as Trump voters lead a mad movementpowered by Fox News. The network is doing what no other outlet has done in the history of television news — it’s deliberatelygetting people killed during a public health crisis byfeeding eagerly gullible red state viewers a mountain oflies.From PizzaGate, toQAnon, to the current anti-vaccine and anti-mask hysteria, the GOP has beenbrainwashed. It ’sno secret— lots of victimsopenly admit it. Still, the press shies away, nervous about offending conservatives by portraying ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - September 22, 2021 Category: American Health Source Type: blogs
