It didn’t make national headlines, but the Biden administration recently announced yet another initiative that, despite its good intentions, will have unintended consequences for patients — not to mention taxpayers. This one sees the further expansion of Medicaid to cover liberals’ latest cause du jour.In late July, North Carolina announced it had received approval from Washington for a Medicaid waiver that the state claims will allow it to relieve up to $4 billion in medical debt. The waiver allows hospitals to receive higher Medicaid reimbursements, provided they agree to relieve outstanding medical debt for patients meeting certain income requirements and also agree to provide discounted and charity care under specified parameters going forward.With our nation $35 trillion in debt, Washington cannot keep functioning as an ATM for every welfare expansion that states wish to undertake.Ironically, this government-led “solution” of forgiving debt comes in no small part because of a problem the government helped create in the first place. Like most other states, North Carolina provides paltry Medicaid reimbursements to doctors and hospitals. The Tar Heel State reimburses for primary care at 78% of what Medicare pays. In obstetrics, the rate is even lower, at just 68% of Medicare rates.North Carolina hospitals, forced to make up for the state’s below-cost rates for Medicaid patients, charge uninsured patients and those with private insurance more, leading to increased medical debt.A second irony comes in the fact that having medical debt forgiven entirely will discourage patients from signing up for health coverage. For instance, the state’s plan requires participating hospitals to “relieve all medical debt deemed uncollectible dating back to January 1, 2014 for any individuals not enrolled in Medicaid with incomes at or below 350% of the federal poverty level,” or $109,200 for a family of four this year.Families earning in the low six figures may not be able to repay their entire hospital bill, but most should be able to contribute something. However, the North Carolina plan will erase their debts entirely. Just as the Biden administration’s student loan forgiveness plan discourages borrowers from repaying their debts, the North Carolina policy would weaken Obamacare. Why should families pay hundreds of dollars monthly for health coverage if they can have their medical debts forgiven later?The North Carolina plan represents but the latest effort to use federal funding designed for health benefits to fund every leftist cause under the sun. Medicaid now pays for housing and food costs in some states. Oregon’s Medicaid program in March began to fund air conditioners and mini fridges as “climate supports.” Yet the Biden administration reversed President Trump’s efforts allowing states to impose work requirements, a common-sense solution that sees Medicaid beneficiaries engaging with their communities to develop valuable job skills.With our nation $35 trillion in debt, Washington cannot keep functioning as an ATM for every welfare expansion that states wish to undertake. As well-intentioned as the North Carolina plan sounds, shifting medical debt from patients to the federal government will not end well for our children and grandchildren, who will spend decades paying the tab.

Copenhagen launched its rewards-based climate credit system for both residents and tourists, allowing them to collect collectivist benefits for walking, biking, and picking up garbage.What seems like an incentive program envisioned by Greta Thunberg, Denmark's "CopenPay" is allegedly an initiative born out of a desire to reduce carbon emissions and "reward climate-friendly actions.""All our choices have an environmental impact, so why not make conscious decisions that benefit us all and be rewarded for them?"According to the CopenPay website, participants can redeem rewards by showing proof of "green actions," like train tickets and bicycles. However, they don't have to show any proof because "CopenPay is built on trust, just as Danish society is the most trusting in the world," the website said, citing Pew Research for the claim.'Our local guide will share insights on how sustainability is a way of living for the locals.'Realistically, the volunteer program lures local residents and tourists into performing minimum-wage tasks without pay and then convinces a local business owner that they are good people and worthy of reward.This obvious precursor to socialism touts "free" offers across Copenhagen as if there isn't actually someone who pays for them, all in the name of climate.Some of the participating attractions are as follows:Ride a bike to the canal for a free coffeeGet a free "vegetarian lunch" by "volunteering" in an urban gardenArrive by foot or bike and receive a reduced-price for a "collective breakfast"Collect trash in a garden area and "earn a free organic meal"Clean the harbor and use a kayak for freeClean the beach and get free lunchPerhaps the most revealing reward in the program is from the bike rental company Donkey Republic. In exchange for a pledge of allegiance, the company offers a free bike ride. "You can get a 45-minute FREE Donkey ride in return for your pledge to sustainable behavior while visiting," the website reads.The city seemingly ran out of participating businesses because several more programs simply offered an opportunity to learn about environmental activism. This includes joining an "eco-conscious group run to explore eco-friendly" city stops.The site says, "Our local guide will share insights on how sustainability is a way of life for the locals. " Of course, there is no real offer there; participants are simply signing up to be indoctrinated while going for a jog.Tourists can also "share [their] thoughts on how to create a greener future" on a "dialogue-based" boat tour. 'We're empowering people to experience more of what Copenhagen offers while placing less burden on our planet.'Coaxing residents and tourists into programs void of monetary exchange is not only cruel, it inherently proves the perils of living under socialism: The government taxes the working class citizens, who in exchange get the pleasure of providing the peasantry with their product for free at the behest of the government. The slave class, who cannot afford to travel by gas-powered vehicle, performs menial tasks that are meant to be taken care of by said government through taxation so that they may eat and be further told how the government is great.In this case, the catalyst is the promise of good vibes and saving the environment. But in true 2024 fashion, the workers do not have to prove that they have actually worked, but the business owner will be forced to provide their reward anyhow.The result is that the government takes your money, provides nothing, and you live in filth.CopenPay said it wishes to "encourage sustainable behaviour and enrich the cultural experience of visitors and residents" while also empowering people through low-wage work."With CopenPay, we’re empowering people to experience more of what Copenhagen offers while placing less burden on our planet. It's about creating meaningful and memorable experiences that are enjoyable and environmentally responsible," the city claimed.The pilot program ran from July 15 to August 11, 2024, and the state is now "evaluating the program" until it returns in 2025.Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Joe Kernen of CNBC schooled Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts on the history of price controls in a debate about the economic policies of Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.Kernen explained the free market argument against price controls to Warren on "Squawk Box" Friday a day after Harris accepted the nomination for the presidency at the Democratic National Convention. "I can paint you a picture of how that would work and how it's worked in the past where we've artificially tried to hold prices down, competition doesn't come in," said Kernen. “If beef is too high, people don’t move to chicken because competitors don’t come in to undercut where the beef prices are. Nothing works when you try to artificially control prices. It’s just a supply and demand issue. It’s a flawed idea,” he continued. “So did you have a question here?” Warren replied condescendingly. "Yes, why would you propose a flawed idea when the real problem, if you really want to help the middle class, if you really sincerely want to help people having trouble at the grocery store, it's not price gouging? That's the issue," Kernen said. "I understand if you just want to lecture about this," Warren responded with more condescension. She argued that price-gouging laws were not the same as price controls and pointed out that many states, including Florida and Texas, had passed price-gouging laws in previous decades."And they have used them effectively," she said. Warren said that prices had gone awry during the pandemic for many different reasons but focused on corporate greed as the target of her ire. She argued that corporations took advantage of the pandemic to gouge Americans by hiking up prices far beyond their rising costs."Senator, that's sophistry," replied Kernen. "Can I tell you why those are fallacious and misleading at best?" He countered that the example she gave was misleading because it essentially came down to an accounting anomaly and not evidence for price gouging. Warren interrupted Kernen, and he jabbed at her for trying to railroad him."This is the way you can never lose an argument because no one can ever say anything back to you, Senator. It's frustrating," said Kernen.He went on later in the interview to accuse the administration of trying to find a scapegoat for the inflationary consequences of the Biden administration. “How do you decide? This is not the government’s job to decide these things. It’s a fool’s errand," Kernen said. "And also, you’re using it to divert the real cause of inflation over the last four years which is you had demand after the pandemic, which obviously there was a lot because we reopened, and all of a sudden there are supply chain issues, and the demand is juiced by all of this stimulus from the [Inflation Reduction Act] and all of the other spending that we did," he added. Parts of the exchange were widely circulated on social media, where it garnered hundreds of thousands of views, but a longer video of the debate can be watched on CNBC's channel on YouTube. Warren had worked on a price-gouging bill with the Trump administration during the coronavirus pandemic. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Democrats may find themselves in a bit of a pickle this election season with a specific voting bloc — white males. Surely we don’t need to explain why. Perhaps that’s at least one of the reasons Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz as her running mate. His “almost over-the-top parody of a Middle American white guy,” as Jeremy Carl put it in his recent article, is an attempt to soften the undeniable blow the left has dealt white men. Jill Savage, the “Blaze News Tonight” panel, and special guest and BlazeTV host of “The Liz Wheeler Show” Liz Wheeler discuss the phenomenon that is Tim Walz. - YouTube www.youtube.com “It's pretty insane, actually, if you analyze exactly why Kamala Harris picked Tim Walz,” says Liz, adding that Harris missed an opportunity by not picking Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, and the state that, according to a recent report from the Economist, has “the highest chance of being the state that decides the outcome of this election.” “She chose not to pick Josh Shapiro because he's Jewish. ... She instead kowtowed to the radical anti-Semitic wing of the Democratic Party — you know the guys that are all outside of the DNC right now — the ones that look like a foreign army and not like protesters,” she says. Liz says her producer humorously called Walz “the first white man to ever have benefited as a DEI hire in the United States of America.” And it’s true. “He was picked solely because he is radical enough in his policies that Kamala Harris understands a fellow communist, recognizes one when she sees one, but also because it is an essentially racially motivated effort to portray Tim Walz as your kind of doofy midwestern white dad in hopes that white people in the Midwest, where Kamala Harris needs to win votes ... will look at him and be like, ‘Oh hey, he looks like me. I guess I'll vote for Kamala Harris,”’ Liz explains. “The word that comes to mind is self-hating,” says Blaze Media editor in chief Matthew Peterson. Given the left’s “anti-white politics with their relentless focus on 'white privilege' and their push for affirmative action, DEI, and other racially discriminatory policies,” to accuse Tim Walz of self-hatred stands to reason. “He is white, so that means he's self-hating in some way or at least he pretends to hate himself or his heritage in order to garner votes,” Peterson suggests. Liz thinks Walz’s hatred reaches far beyond just white people, however. “I would dub him anti-humanity,” she says, pointing to Walz’s stance on abortion and transgenderism and his obvious proclivity for communism and Marxism. To hear the rest of the conversation, watch the clip above. Want more from Blaze News Tonight?To enjoy more provocative opinions, expert analysis, and breaking stories you won’t see anywhere else, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.

A gay man said Shake Shack workers beat him up after he kissed his boyfriend inside the fast-food restaurant in Washington, D.C., over the weekend — and the beatdown was recorded on cellphone video.Christian Dingus, 28, told NBC News he and his partner and friends were at a Dupont Circle location Saturday night after placing an order.'I’ve been ... thinking of progress and how great that community is here, and then for that all to kind of be shattered, you know, kind of sucks.'“And while we were back there — kind of briefly — we began to kiss,” Dingus told the news network. "And at that point, a worker came out to us and said that, you know, you can’t be doing that here, can’t do that type of stuff here.”Dingus told NBC News he and his partner separated — but his partner also got upset at the employee and said he and Dingus had done nothing wrong. Dingus’ partner allegedly was then escorted out of the restaurant, after which a heated verbal argument ensued, the news network reported.Dingus added to NBC News that when he defended his partner and told employees to not speak to his boyfriend that way, the workers who went outside focused their attention on him.“And then one of the men, pretty forcefully, like, pushed me out of the way on my shoulder,” Dingus told the news network. “And then, you know, next thing I know, that kind of just, I think, sparked the rest of them. ... They all just kind of started attacking me at that point, dragging me back through the floor and continuously punching me in my head.”More from NBC News:Video of the alleged assault taken by a Shake Shack patron and later given to Dingus appears to show a man being shoved as two others in black Shake Shack T-shirts punch at his head. Two more people appear, also in Shake Shack shirts, but it’s unclear what follows.The clip is 30 seconds long, recorded through windows from inside the restaurant. It does not show what led to the alleged assault or include audio of the men outside. You can view an NBC News video report here that shows the cellphone clip of the attack as well as an interview with Dingus.“There was a desire to be violent towards me, and I think it’s very evident in that film,” Dingus added to the news network.Dingus told NBC News he wasn’t sure who broke up the attack as he was on the sidewalk curled up to protect himself. But he added to the news network that a female customer came out to help him, and someone who recorded the attack offered him a video of the incident.Hate crimePolice are investigating the case as a hate crime, NBC News reported, adding that a copy of the police report classifies it as a simple assault with an anti-gay bias motivation. The document indicates an officer wrote that Dingus reported being assaulted by multiple people, the news network said, adding that an unnamed suspect said he was defending himself after Dingus put his hands on the person’s neck.A Shake Shack spokesperson said that the involved workers have been suspended pending further review and that the company is cooperating with authorities, NBC News reported. The spokesperson added that Shake Shack is “committed to taking the appropriate actions” based on the investigation's outcome, the news network added.Dingus told NBC News he went to an emergency room after the attack and was diagnosed with a concussion and trauma to his jaw; he added to the news network that the side of his face was swollen and bruised.More from NBC News:Dupont Circle is considered one of Washington’s popular and trendy neighborhoods and is advertised as being queer-friendly. Destination DC, an organization that markets the city’s tourism destinations, even lists Dupont Circle locations in its guide to a “Best LGBTQ+-Friendly Weekend.”The incident has shaken Dingus’ sense of safety, and he said he wants to see the perpetrators held accountable.“You hear all the time that this stuff happens, but, you know, I started kind of believing that it didn’t, right?” Dingus added to the news network. “I’ve been ... thinking of progress and how great that community is here, and then for that all to kind of be shattered, you know, kind of sucks.”Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Will the Democrats turn 2024 into 2008?

Execrable Toad James Comey Says He'll Vote Harris to Uphold Rule of Law (and Locks Replies Like a Coward)

RFK Jr. SHREDS the Dem Party for 'Abandoning Democracy' Before Endorsing Trump

MSM Will NOT Expose the Kind of BS We Heard at the DNC (aka Commie Con) So It's Up to the Rest of Us

Union Prez Says We NEVER Invested in Public Schools (Math Doesn't Lie, but We Don't Teach That Anymore)