Category Archives: Regulations and regulators

Democrats Prepare to Privatize Medicare, Using Medicare Advantage as Their Opening Wedge (and New York Unions?)

The Democrat plan to privatize Medicare by expanding the private, for-profit Medicare Advantage program

Biden Administration Issues Interim Rule Barring Surprise Billing

The health care grift knows as surprise billing is about to be largely stamped out.

Amazon Arrogance Backfires, Tries to Smear Incoming FTC Chair Lina Khan as Needing to Recuse Herself Because She Knows Them Too Well

Amazon looks to be having a meltdown over new FTC chief Lina Khan. Good.

Health Insurance Tricks and Traps: Using Cheap at Home Colon Cancer Test Exposes Insureds to Big Colonoscopy Bill

Why colonoscopy testing looks an awful lot like neoliberal rent extraction, as least as practiced in the US.

NZ to Ban Some Single Use Plastics, Following a Familiar Distressing Pattern

NZ to ban some single-use plastics, in three stages, beginning from next year and through July 2025.

J & J Agrees to Pay New York $230 Million to Settle Opioids Lawsuit; Global Settlement Soon?

New York State and J & J Agree on an opioids settlement, which should increase pressure for a global, multi-state settlement with the opioids industry.

Blackout Risk And Electricity Prices Are Spiking In California

California energy tsuris are set to get worse.

The 2021 Corporate Bamboozle On World Food Systems

Mega-corporations are set to win control of global governance of food and agriculture at the UN Food Systems Summit later this year.

Biden Taps Lina Khan to Chair the FTC

Hours after the Senate confirmed her nomination to the FTC, Biden tapped noted Big Tech critic Lina Khan to chair the agency.

Store Drop-Off: Another Recycling Fail

WalMart’s misleading claims about recycling set back efforts to shift away from unnecessary plastic packaging and single-use plastics.

Is the Only Green Thing about Cannabis the Almighty Dollar?

Cannabis has an enormous carbon footprint when grown indoors, with a utopian proposal for growing it outdoors.

Private Inequity: NYT Examines How the Private Equity Industry Avoids Taxes

Comprehensive NYT story examines how the private equity industry games the tax system, while the hapless IRS stands on the sidelines.

Starbucks Launches Reusable Cup Program

Starbucks rolls out a reusable cups initiative in some markets and restarts programs suspended during the pandemic- much more is needed.

Space Trip: Bon Voyage Jeff!

A story in yesterday’s WSJ says space tourists fly at their own risk. But do they?

New York State Senate Passes Right to Repair Bill

The New York State Senate passed a comprehensive electronics right to repair measure, but the legislative session ended without State Assembly Action, so the legislation remains stalled.