Chet Collins

Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, and its fabulous price controls on prescription drugs for Medicare, the pharmaceutical company that has provided my monthly migraine medication for $0 out-of-pocket since 2020 has dramatically curtailed the program and now my medication costs $413 per month.

The same thing happened with the Durbin Amendment in Dodd-Frank when the government wisely decided to cap fees on debit card transactions and every bank immediately discontinued debit card rewards.

Why is it whenever the government tries to “save” me money, it always costs me more?

Ten (2022)

Trump Parts Hudson River Leading Exodus Of New York Republicans To Florida - Babylon Bee

New York Governor Kathy Hochul recently informed New York Republicans that they’re not welcome in her state. But lo, a chosen one of burnt papaya hue, Donald Trump, approached her and demanded that she let his people go.

This is a cool job. 🛩

Guys Who Just Finished Burying Ananias Really Annoyed About Sapphira - Babylon Bee

Peter apologized but insisted the trio also handle Sapphira’s burial. “I think it’s more poetic this way,” he insisted.

The IRS Wants to Sell You on Its ‘Service’ - WSJ Opinion

This month Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Robert Menendez and Rep. Abigail Spanberger cosigned a sternly worded letter to the IRS urging more responsiveness to taxpayers. Never mind that all three voted for a bill that funded enforcement over service at a 14 to 1 ratio.

Sunday clouds.

Joel Osteen Releases New Edition Of Bible With All Words Redacted - Babylon Bee

Osteen had teased an update to The Redacted Study Bible where he’s gone ahead and de-classified the words “favor”, “victory”, “riches”, and “pride.”

Wife Hands Husband Target Receipt With Classified Purchases Redacted - Babylon Bee

“I’m being as transparent as I can at this time,” she assured her husband as he looked over the receipt, which was almost entirely just black bars save for the Target logo and the cute little Target dog. Barton went on to claim she is the “most transparent wife” in marriage history, despite the redactions, and that she would look into declassifying more items as she is able.

Biden’s Student-Loan Forgiveness Makes Reform Urgent - WSJ Opinion

To capitalize on previous expansions of federal student-loan programs, universities have added more than 9,000 new master’s degree programs over the past decade. More are sure to come, even though research shows that nearly half of master’s degrees don’t provide a positive return on investment.

Not all education must be economically driven, but when over half underperform, that’s a problem.

Secret Service Seizes $286 Million in Stolen Covid-19 Relief Funds - WSJ

The overall amount of fraudulently obtained Covid relief funds may reach $100 billion, the Secret Service said in an estimate released in December.

Roughly the same amount of deficit reduction we get from the Inflation Reduction Act. So much waste of taxpayers hard earned money.

Google Says Maps, Searches Will Identify Clinics That Provide Abortions - WSJ

“We’re now rolling out an update that makes it easier for people to find places that offer the services they’ve searched for, or broaden their results to see more options,” a Google representative said.

Murder, Inc.

Is Summer over yet? ☀️

Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan: Who Qualifies, and How Much Debt Will Be Canceled? - WSJ

What if I’ve already paid off my loans? As of the end of last year, fewer than 1.2% of borrowers continued making payments on their student loans, Mr. Kantrowitz said. But some of the borrowers who did took advantage of the two-plus years of optional, interest-free payments to wipe out their debt entirely. This measure won’t apply to balances that have already been paid off.

Thanks for fulfilling your obligation! You are now responsible for someone else’s eduction payments so that they can increase their lifestyle even further.

Every US adult getting student loan “forgivness” has now received $13,600 in no strings attached transfer payments in the past two years.

But, you know, we really can’t afford a Navy that will stand up to China.

I resent being financially responsible for someone else’s lifestyle choices.

Washington’s Mar-a-Lago Prosecution by Leaks - WSJ Opinion

In other words, “a person briefed on the matter” can leak details about the investigation to the press that the public is supposed to credit as true. But the actual “court filings and its work,” in Mr. Garland’s phrase, must remain secret. And these people wonder why tens of millions of Americans don’t trust the Justice Department and FBI? If this all sounds familiar, you may be thinking of the Russia collusion probe.

Student Loan Forgiveness Is an Inflation Expansion Act - WSJ Opinion

The reports say Mr. Biden will cancel $10,000 in debt for borrowers making $125,000 or less a year. That would cost about $300 billion this year, and $330 billion over 10 years, says the Penn Wharton Budget Model. That’s far more than the $102 billion the Inflation Reduction Act purportedly reduces the deficit over 10 years starting in 2027.

Can’t afford a full-size Navy, tho.

White House Planning Student-Loan Announcement Wednesday - WSJ

about his proposal for dealing with student-loan debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

Get out your checkbooks.

A Group of Apple Employees Protests Company’s Three-Day-a-Week Office Policy - WSJ

The employees who want more flexible work arrangements had compelling reasons, the petition said, including disabilities, health concerns and the fact that some of them are happier and more productive in flexible work environments.

Dictating how, when, and where an employee works is a basic definition of an employee. They managed to work from an office for an entire career until March 2020, and now it’s impossible? If you don’t want to work from an office, and the employer says you must work from an office, find a new job?

I love a rainy day.

Children Are Priceless - WSJ Opinion

But children aren’t merely cost centers. Even ignoring human affection and thinking in the most utilitarian terms, children are assets—to the families who raise them, to the nation in which they are born, and to the world to which they will contribute across their lifetimes.

Liz Cheney and Her Unhappy Choice Among Liars - WSJ Opinion

Offhand, only one lie heard in normal, everyday American discourse seems to me close in size to Mr. Trump’s 2020 lie, and that’s the routine, universally affirmed lie, which is nowhere found in the science, that climate change is the end of the world.