Income gap

The income gap in the US is leading young people to look favorably on socialism where equality is a promise. The uneven wage growth is the result of several things including the movement of manufacturing jobs overseas and the decline of unions but one factor often overlooked is simple math. If I earn $50,000 per year and you earn $150,000 you have $100,000 more than I. If over the next 20 years we both get 3% annual raises you will be earning $271,000 and I will be earning $90,000 and that leaves a difference of $181,000. Carry this out over the past 60 years and a large income gap is expected. The same thing happens with wealth. If I have $90,000 in my savings and you have $50,000, I have $40,000 more. Let us both earn 10% and in 20 years I have $605,000 and you have $335,000 or $270,000 more than you. This is the reason for the old saying the rich getter richer and the poor get poorer. It’s all about arithmetic.

Power lines

The decline in the sales of EV’s has come at a fortuitous time. People are turning away from EV’s because of the lack of charging stations, the time between charges, especially in cold weather, the loss of the $7,500 subsidy and the high cost of the vehicle. This is at a time when pressure on the grid is building because of data centers, which use huge amounts of electric power. The power grid is outdated and transmission lines and transformers are operating beyond their designed lifespan. Major tech companies have signed agreements with the White House to fund their own power infrastructure to bypass grid constraints and avoid relying on public utility capacity. In the future much of the stress on the grid will be reduced as small nuclear reactors replace major power plants bringing the power closer to the use point. This removes the need for long transmission lines which can then be used primarily for homes and small businesses.

Medicaid fraud

Congress is responsible for oversight but the government is so large that much of this is placed into the hands of different agencies where the bureaucrats take on the job. The result is waste and fraud in programs, especially Medicaid and Medicare. While DOGE exposed a number of cases of waste and fraud it was unpopular because it was more of a private investigation. As a result of the problems uncovered the “Task Force to Eliminate Fraud” was formed in March of 2026 led by VP Vance. Further emphasizing the importance are recent developments in Medicaid fraud. This includes programs to feed children, low-income housing, childcare, autism treatment centers, hospice, unemployment benefits, Covid tax fraud, and foreign aide scams. For many years Medicare fraud where doctors work with criminals to steal using false claims. In many of the latest examples the officials have been compromised and made it difficult to stop fraud even after it was discovered.

SNAP rules

How the new SNAP rules under the big beautiful bill will be enforced by state. Here is how Nebraska will handle things. Under the law, enrollees must work or volunteer at least 80 hours a month, attend school at least part-time, or participate in job training. Or they must prove they qualify for certain exemptions, such as caring for a child 13 or younger or a disabled parent, or having a health condition that prevents employment. Proving employment status will require documentation, but Nebraska officials say they will allow enrollees to self-attest that they volunteer, go to school, or qualify for exemptions, such as for poor health or caring for a disabled parent. "Supporting documentation, such as medical records, will not be required," Spilinek said. That could make it easier for enrollees to get exempted under the law's "medical frailty" exception. The long list of health conditions that can be considered for the exemption was posted last week by the state and includes many types of cancers and mental health and heart conditions. SNAP legislation). The law specifically excludes disabled individuals, caregivers of young children, and pregnant individuals from these mandates.

Education

Since 1950, American public schools have experienced a massive "staffing surge," where the number of non-teaching employees has grown dramatically faster than the number of students. In 1950 the average class size was 35 and today that is 16. In 1950 there were 2.36 teachers for every non-teacher working in the schools and today it is one to one. While student enrollment has increased 100% the number of teachers has increased 243% and the number of non-teacher employees has increased by 700%. The result has been that while the cost per student in real dollars has increased the test scores have not. The cost per student has increased from $2,000 in 1950 to $20,000 today using inflation adjusted dollars. Inflation-adjusted K-12 education spending per student has increased dramatically, rising from roughly \(\$1,800\)–\(\$2,300\) in 1950 to over \(\$20,000\) by 2023. This represents a more than 300% increase in real spending per pupil, driven by lower class sizes, higher teacher salaries, and increased special education services. Special education started in 1975 and was not included in the 1950 data. The total spending on K 12 education in 2023 was $947 billion while $39 billion was spent on special education.

SSI

It is sometimes said that government benefit programs never end but that is not always the case. Prior to 1996 alcoholism was considered a disability by Social Security Income (SSI) and alcoholism was considered a disability under this program. Alcoholics living on the street were receiving $600 per month but the law required that they have a permanent address to send the checks and there must be a responsible person to receive the money. It was common for the alcoholic to use the neighborhood liquor store as this address and the owner as the responsible person. The store would keep track of the purchases during the month and when the check arrived, they would deduct the amount owed and turn over the rest to the recipient. It the limit was reached they would be cut off until next month. It served as an interest free loan of next months purchases. This had been going on for many years but was stopped in 1996. Studies showed the Social Security Administration (SSA) didn't monitor addicts properly, and only one-fifth of those required to be in treatment actually were.

SNAP

The latest government scandal is in the food stamp program. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps is administered by the Agriculture Department at a cost of $100 billion dollars per year. The USDA estimated that in 2023 about 11.7% of payments were improper so why is that still going on today and how does it happen. Application fraud which includes lying about income, household size or residency is where most problems start along with retail fraud where store owners exchange SNAP benefits for cash or nonfood items. Food stamps are traded on the street at a 50% discount. This is common among addicts to get cash to buy drugs. Some dealers will take the stamps directly. Once again Minnesota has the dubious position of leading the way in the fraud. This week, federal agents targeted 20 plus MN retailers involved in SNAP trafficking, where benefits are exchanged for cash or ineligible items. Audits indicate a lack of security left hundreds of thousands of people receiving double benefits or benefits intended for deceased individuals. This follows the scandals surrounding the “Feeding Our Future”, Child Care and Autism fraud. While this investigation is centered in MN most experts believe it is prevalent in other states. This leads many to believe that the government is too large to properly administer.