Analysis and writing on public data.
MOHELA Had 63 Complaints. Now It Has 7,000.
I pulled 83,680 student loan complaints from the CFPB. Every servicer transfer and every policy change left a mark in the data. Complaints ratcheted up and never came back down.
The Federal FOIA Backlog Doubled. The Grant Rate Hit an All-Time Low.
I pulled seven years of self-reported FOIA data from 120 federal agencies. DHS owns 53% of the backlog. Only 12.1% of requests get a full grant. The government spends $723 million a year on a system that says no to almost everything.
The EPA Claims $1.3 Trillion in Savings. Its Own Analysis Shows a $180 Billion Cost.
I pulled the numbers from the EPA's fact sheet and its Regulatory Impact Analysis for the same rule. The fact sheet counts vehicle price reductions. The RIA adds fuel, maintenance, and insurance. The net impact flips from savings to cost.
The IRS Audits the Poor More Than the Upper Middle Class
I pulled 13 years of IRS examination data by income bracket. Earned income tax credit filers face a 0.7% audit rate. Filers earning $200,000 to $500,000 face 0.1%. The $5M-$10M bracket lost 98.5% of its audit risk in twelve years.
$6.5 Billion for Zero Products
OpenAI paid $118 million per employee for io Products. To break even, they need to sell 3x more earbuds than AirPods did in year one. No first-generation hardware company has come close.
Big Tech Spends More on Buildings Than Research
I pulled SEC filings for Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, and Apple. Three of them now spend more on data centers than R&D. Apple went the other direction.
The Government Buys AI Through Middlemen
I downloaded 573 federal AI contracts from USAspending.gov. OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, and NVIDIA have zero. The Pentagon takes 69% of the money. Five companies most people have never heard of get a third.
Experian Stopped Fixing Credit Errors. The Proof Is in a Public Database.
10.6 million CFPB complaints. One bureau's relief rate fell 97.7%. Another's held steady. The difference is enforcement.
$625 Billion in AI Spending. "No Assurance" It Works.
Four companies are spending more than Sweden's GDP on AI infrastructure. Their own SEC filings say it might not pay off.
The AI Revenue Screenshot Is the Product
Attribution drift, the guru cycle, and the oldest pattern in internet commerce.
62 Patents. Zero Hardware.
I pulled every patent OpenAI filed in three years. The hardware story and the R&D record are telling different stories.