I have been thinking about the latest report that over $8.5 billion was paid to Michigan residents in fraudulent unemployment claims during the early stages of the pandemic. It is really appalling how cavalier our state officials seem to be about the problem. Since more than 95% was federal money the state officials are acting like it is not a big deal to the state. I cannot believe there is not a huge uproar about this issue. Are our government officials so fiscally complacent that they think $8.5 billion is not a big deal? The IRS, SSA, Medicare and Medicaid have thousands of auditors to make sure people are paying what they owe or are only getting what they are entitled to. Why are we not going after those who received fraudulent claims? What am I missing? As one who spent a good portion of my career dealing with Medicare, Medicaid, BCBSM and IRS auditors over thousands of dollars, I cannot believe the state and federal government are letting this happen.
With the increase in home covid tests, I have been wondering what value it is to track infections. I am sure most people who test positive using in home tests are not reporting them to the county health officials. Hospitalization rates, deaths and vaccination rates are what matters. They will provide a much more realistic picture of the pandemic.
Michigan Coach Juwan Howard has a real challenge ahead of him as Michigan concluded its non-B!G season with a 85-71 loss to the University of Central Florida tonight. At one point in the second half Michigan had a 12-point lead, but then UCF got hot and went on a 18-2 run in under 5 minutes. The game was never in doubt after UCF’s run. Michigan gave up 54 points in the second half. At this point, I do not see Michigan making the NCAA tournament.
I admire Heather Cox Richard’s daily blog. Here research and knowledge is impressive. Today she reported a group of former Department of Justice and executive branch lawyers, including ones who worked for presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, filed a brief with the Supreme Court urging it to deny Trump’s request that the court block the committee’s subpoena for Trump’s records from the National Archives and Records Administration. The brief’s authors established that administrations have often allowed Congress to see executive branch documents during investigations and that there is clearly a need for legislation to make sure another attack on our democratic process never happens again. The committee must see the materials, they wrote, because “[i]t is difficult to imagine a more compelling interest than the House’s interest in determining what legislation might be necessary to respond to the most significant attack on the Capitol in 200 years and the effort to undermine our basic form of government that that attack represented.”
What are you doing today to stop violence? What are you doing today to expand mental health services for those in need? What are you doing today to make sure your guns are not are accessible to minors in your household?
Stay Safe. Social Distance. Wear your mask when indoors in public places. Schedule your vaccine and booster.
Orchid of the Day: My brother-in-law Mike Stewart and my sister-in-law Maryanne Stewart for celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary today.
Quote of the Day: “I’ve always had this mindset about embrace the suck. Whatever is thrown our way, we’re not gonna make any excuses for it.’” Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard. Based on how the season is going, he is definitely going to be embracing the suck
Song of the Day: “What a Wonderful World” Playing for Change