Doha Dancing and Obamacare Opioids

TAXPAYER-SUBSIDIZED POLITICO REPORTERS?
A new document released from California’s Office of Business and Economic Growth reveals Politico is set to receive a $205,000 tax credit from the state for opening a Sacramento bureau. The Daily Caller reports: “According to the document, in 2017 the number of employees in the bureau must be 34 and the minimum salary would be $50K. By 2020 the employee head count rises to 41.” There has been a longstanding debate on whether state and local governments should engage in job creation tax incentives, and it appears that the stakeholders now include journalists.  

OBAMACARE INCENTIVIZING OPIOID USE?
A new Obamacare initiative aimed at rewarding quality of care may in fact be fueling America’s opioid epidemic. The patient satisfaction survey used to determine the reward payments to hospitals asks patients multiple questions regarding the hospital’s attention to their pain management. Yet, a 2012 study found that more satisfied patients spend more on prescription drugs and have higher mortality rates, and a 2014 study found that “over 48% of doctors reported prescribing inappropriate narcotic pain medication because of patient-satisfaction questions.” It’s yet another example of how increased government involvement in healthcare can lead to unintended consequences.

THE INTERNET NEVER FORGETS
Last week UC-Davis reportedly spent $175,000 in an attempt to remove from the Internet a 2011 photo of a campus police-officer pepper spraying peaceful student protesters on its campus. The Sacramento Bee reported that “the payments, made to two separate firms—a company called Nevins & Associates and a second called IDMLOCO—were meant to polish the school’s damaged reputation.” UC-Davis soon learned a lesson efficiently explained by Esquire’s Luke O’Neil “On the Internet, any cover-up is just another opportunity to remind everyone that the crime happened in the first place.”

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FACEBOOK BUBBLES
Megan McArdle of Bloomberg View writes “Even as Americans talk more and more about diversity, they are increasingly dividing themselves into like-minded bubbles where other people, with other experiences and viewpoints, almost never penetrate.”Social media amplifies this problem, as sites like Facebook tailor our newsfeeds based on our “likes” – showing us more content that we agree with than content that we don’t agree with. McArdle argues this phenomenon is influencing the 2016 presidential race as voters appear less interested in the broader political landscape and “people are not even aware that there is another side that doesn’t share their thinking.” This phenomenon may help explain the increasingly unpredictable electorate that has shocked the political elites of both parties.

BIPARTISAN OPPOSITION TO LEW RULES
Politico featured a letter from “a group of bipartisan high-ranking Treasury officials from six presidential administrations” sent to Treasury Secretary Lew on Tax Day, encouraging him to reconsider his recent decision to curb inversions through increased regulatory measures. They argued, “Current rules regarding corporate inversions don’t need revision. Instead, we urge you to focus your attention on addressing the competitive disadvantages that harm capital investment, employment, and economic growth in the United States.” These former senior economic, tax, and financial policy experts said the only solution to the problem would be comprehensive tax reform that would “level the playing field with international competitors.”

FREE TRADE’S “LOSERS” ARE WINNING
Historically the U.S. has favored free trade policies, but 2016 has proven to be a paradigm-shifting year as presidential candidates from both parties have opposed President Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Irwin Stelzer of The Weekly Standard writes, “Voters are convinced free trade is inimical to their interests, and even if it were a good thing our trading partners don’t play fair.” What has changed is a perception of the “balance of winners and losers” in these agreements. Yes, free trade results in lower priced goods for consumers. But, what voters focus on are the layoffs of blue-collar workers whose industries have shifted overseas. If a campaign hopes to revive the popularity of free trade, they will need a new message that addresses voters’ concerns rather than wonky explanations.

QUANTUM LEAPING TRUDEAU
The collective media horde hailed Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s seemingly spontaneous explanation of quantum computing this past week. But the reality is far from the fawning media reports. After spending the morning touring Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Trudeau had encouraged reporters to ask him the question and his answer did not stand up to expert scrutiny. It seems the media was so enamored with the fact that Trudeau had an answer that they forgot to actually listen to it.

BREXIT-ICSM
EU Commissioner for Financial Stability Lord Jonathan Hill calls for “for more scepticism in the debate about Europe,” noting, “Thirty years ago it was the Euro-enthusiasts who were the utopians. When people like me asked what the Euro might mean for Britain’s economy, we were told not to worry and that everything would be fine. But today the Outers are the utopians. It is Leave campaigners who give sweeping assurances and try to close down the argument about what might happen after June 23rd if Britain votes to leave. We needed scepticism before and we need it now.”

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