opinion Steve Gray and Casey Farrington Published 10:52 PM EDT Oct 16, 2018 With devastating efficiency, a faulty algorithm adopted by Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Agency branded at least 42,000 innocent Michiganders as frauds over the span of two years. Their crime? Applying for unemployment insurance benefits to stave off financial ruin. The Michigan Supreme Court has a chance to address this crippling wrong on Wednesday, when it hears argument in Bauserman v. Unemployment Insurance Agency. The state legislature and governor should step up as well. The program that caused all this trouble was part of the Michigan Integrated Data Automated System (MiDAS), a $47 million computer project that, unchecked by human review, went on a fraud-designating spree from October 2013 to August 2015. Ninety-three percent of those designations were wrong. MiDAS incorrectly—and appallingly—stamped tens of thousands of struggling individuals with a label they didn’t … [Read more...] about Opinion: Undoing the harm of MiDAS’ fraud designations
Opinion
Opinion: What’s at risk if Democrats win majority
opinion Anthony Scaramucci Published 10:47 PM EDT Oct 16, 2018 President Trump wasn't kidding when he said "your head will spin" once he enters office. The past few weeks have seen records set for economic growth, and then some. It's hard to keep up with all of the recent economic gains our nation is experiencing, but they show exactly what's at risk if Democrats take control of Congress in November. The stunning jobs report released Friday caps off yet another week of incredible economic news. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate declined from 3.9 percent to 3.7 percent in September, and the number of unemployed Americans decreased by 270,000. The last time the employment rate was this low was nearly 50 years ago. In 1969. The year we put a man on the moon. Moreover, according to the most recent analysis by ADP and Moody’s Analytics, private payrolls grew by a whopping 230,000 in September — beating the predicted number of … [Read more...] about Opinion: What’s at risk if Democrats win majority
Advisory opinion: St. Louis County should hand over Pete Stauber emails
A state agency has ruled that St. Louis County should hand over e-mails requested by the Star Tribune in a public records case with implications for the upcoming election. The Star Tribune in March sought e-mail correspondence between Pete Stauber, a St. Louis County commissioner and Republican candidate for Congress, and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC.) Stauber is running in the Eighth Congressional District against Democrat Joe Radinovich. St. Louis County confirmed the existence of the e-mails, which were sent to and from Stauber's county e-mail address, but declined to provide the e-mails. In a nonbinding advisory opinion signed by state Administration Commissioner Matthew Massman, the agency ruled that "If the e-mails are correspondence between County Commissioner Stauber and a representative of the NRCC, the data are public and the county did not respond appropriately to the Star Tribune's request under Minnesota Statutes Chapter 13." The county did not … [Read more...] about Advisory opinion: St. Louis County should hand over Pete Stauber emails
Opinion: U.S. needs to beef up military
opinion James Jay Carafano Published 10:54 PM EDT Oct 15, 2018 Washington -- Beer, pizza and defense. Americans spend more on each of these than anyone else. So what? These facts say nothing about how happy, healthy or safe we are. They are meaningless without context. Perhaps Americans could do with fewer jumbo slices and more gym memberships. But when it comes to defense spending, America needs to spend more, not less. For starters, comparing our defense spending to that of other nations doesn’t make much sense. The U.S. is a global power, with global responsibilities and global economic interests to defend. We need a defense budget commensurate with those responsibilities and interests, not with other nations’ lesser global posture. Abandoning our responsibilities and interests is not a viable option. Europe can’t defend Europe without us—that’s why we have NATO. Obama tried walking away from … [Read more...] about Opinion: U.S. needs to beef up military
Opinion: Detroiters have a right to clean air
opinion Melissa Sargent and Ahmina Maxey Published 10:53 PM EDT Oct 15, 2018 Over the next three years, Detroiters will have a great chance to win a decades-old battle with a Goliath of a foe, a chance to win a healthier community, cleaner jobs, and a just transition to a clean energy future. That Goliath is the incinerator run by the corporation misnamed Detroit Renewable Power (DRP). The incinerator doesn’t produce energy from solar or wind but from burning garbage and poisoning the air. In 2021, the cxity of Detroit’s land contract with incinerator operators DRP is up for renewal. Between now and then, Detroiters are working to claim their right to clean air by shutting down the incinerator and changing the way the city deals with waste. Last week, we joined our fellow community members at a hearing to discuss the impacts that the incinerator has had on our lives over the past decades. This positive momentum was undeniable in the hearing room, where more than 70 … [Read more...] about Opinion: Detroiters have a right to clean air