NY GOP backs Senate Candidate Who Opposes Child Labor Laws (for 3/21/12)

The New York GOP recently endorsed Wendy Long for its party's candidate in the 2012 elections for a U.S. Senate seat for the State of New York.  She received 47% of the GOP vote in the the State Primary elections.  Long once worked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas as a law clerk.  She even praised Thomas for rendering laws banning child labor as unconstituional.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/03/19/446819/new-york-republican-convention-backs-tenther-opponent-of-child-labor-laws-for-us-senate/

Issa Blames Homeowners for Bank Fraud (for 3/20/12)

Darrell Issa, a California U.S. Representative and Chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, recently blamed homeowners at a hearing on foreclosures.  Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America were some of the Big Banks who had representatives at this hearing.  Issa blamed homeowners for robo-signing by unqualified employees at these banks even thous the banks gave the titles of "vice-president" to people not prepared for the job.  He said "people who stopped paying"contributed to an overload of work.
Yet another example explaining why Congress' popularity is at an all-time low.  Issa proved he is out of touch to make these comments a month after the foreclosure settlement.  And it shows why people occupy houses under the threat of foreclosure.

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/19/447565/issa-blames-bank-fraud-homeowners/?tw_p=twt
http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/864639/darrell_issa_holds_another_all-male_panel_in_brooklyn,_this_time_on_foreclosures%3B_gets_mic-checked/?tw_p=twt

College Basketball Player Ruled Ineligible For Trying to Feed Family

Jamar Samuels, a senior Kansas State basketball player, had to sit out a 3rd round NCAA Tournament game as his school held him out over eligibility concerns, which resulted from a $200 wire transfer that a former coach, Curtis Malone, sent to him.  Kansas State lost this game to Syracuse, 75-59, and Samuels' career ended without him getting another chance to play.  Malone said of Samuels, "The kid's family doesn't have anything and he called me for money to eat."  Kansas State held him out because of concerns about rigid NCAA rules regarding handouts from non-family members.  Kansas State Coach Frank Martin said Samuels was "our toughest kid," having gone from someone who almost quit the team to a highly respected player on and off the court. 

This story should have people asking lots of questions about the exploitation of college athletes, especially in football and basketball.  The thousands of college basketball and football players across the nation may get full scholarships to play their sports and get an education for free, but they are actually getting ripped off.  They take on very demanding schedules with high expectations in their sports and that they will graduate with a degree.  Their schedules usually mean they cannot take tough courses to get certain in-demand degrees.  They cannot take a part-time job in the off-seasons.  But, if their family has been hit the economic recession, they may have to risk their eligibility at a moment's notice to lift their family out of poverty, as Samuels as had to do. 

Meanwhile, winning schools and the NCAA corporate sponsors are getting rich off of the players, who are the ones doing the hard work while not getting compensated for it.  At a bare minimum, they should get some form of lifetime healthcare coverage as injuries from these sports, especially football, can hurt them permanently.  Too often, the money made from these games ends up fattening the salaries of the University presdients and the most successful coaches.   These sports widen income inequality as the most successful athletes go on to professional sports, where the most successful athletes there become part of the Top 1% before they fully know how to handle money.  And the athletes who do not make it may face disabling injuries like concussions that hamper their ability to work.

http://www.sbnation.com/ncaa-basketball/2012/3/17/2880980/jamar-samuels-ineligible-curtis-malone-wire-transfer

Wealthy Setting Up Own Emergency Rooms As Others Cannot Afford Care (for 3/18/12)

The wealth divide is affecting how healthcare is delivered in the U.S.  Some wealthy families are opting for "concierge medicine," a type of healthcare system that gives them access to their physicians anytime at anyplace for $3,000 per month.  Nearly two of every three doctors currently believe this type of medicine is the most financially viable practice.  These type of medical practices limit the number of patients they take on.  With a potential physician shortage looming due to the aging of the population, more physicians who opt for this practice may further exacerbate the problem of access to healthcare.

Meanwhile, millions of Americans still lack access to quality, affordable healthcare.  While healthcare reform passed in 2010 addressed serious problems such as denial of health insurance due to pre-exsiting conditions, dropping people who get sick, and spending too much insurance revenue from patients on non-healthcare items, it has not yet contained overall healthcare costs.  Single-payer healthcare is probably the only system that would bring affordable healthcare to every American.  Medicare has a cost ratio of 3% and is something that every American 65 and older that is on will not let go without a fight.  Chances are those senior citizens on "concierge medicine" like their Medicare too.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/03/16/concierge-medicine_n_1353155.html?ref=business

Mitt Romney Has Major Investments at Goldman Sachs (for 3/17/12)

In December, leading GOP Presidential contender Mitt Romney said, "I am not a Wall Street guy, classically defined."  He tried to emphasize that his firm, Bain Capital, was different from JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and other Wall Street banks that caused the financial crisis.  But, Romney has significant investments in these banks, with the largest of these being in Goldman Sachs.  He reported on disclosure forms last August Goldman investments between $17.7 million and $50.5 million.  Romney's investment portfolio dwarfs those of other GOP Presidential candidates, who are not Goldman Sachs clients.  Accusations made by Michigan Senator Carl Levin against this firm include pushing investments predicted to fail onto its clients and lying to Congress.  This leads one to believe that Romney would serve the interests of Goldman Sachs before he serves the needs of the American people as Goldman Sachs as already infiltrated the U.S. Government with many former employees and hires former high-ranking U.S. officials in return.  This allows people in this inner circle to perosonally enrich themselves as everyone else in this country gets poorer.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2012/01/mitt-romney-goldman-sachs-investments

Goldman Sachs Rips Whistleblower (for 3/16/12)

Goldman Sachs employees responded to now former Executive Director Greg Smith's New York Times editorial by referring to him as an unhappy lower-paid employee dissatisfied with his bonus.  Goldman Sachs employees only look at those who make at least $750,000 annually as financial experts.  CNBC journalists joked that Smith and Rolling Stone journalist Matt Taibbi, who frequently rips Goldman Sachs, would work together with Sesame Street characters to start a new media company. 

About three years ago at this time, CNBC's Jim Cramer got into a media tussle with The Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who accused Cramer and the entire CNBC financial news network of poor reporting during the months prior to the September 2008 market crash.  When Cramer was guest on The Daily Show, Stewart grilled him about shady practices from his days as a hedge fund manager and promoting overleveraged investments that threaten the economic stability of the U.S.  He also criticized CNBC for seeing their main audience as being the Wall Street traders, not pension fund managers and the general public.  Three years later, it seems like Stewart should take a second shot at CNBC reporters.
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/14/444514/financial-press-attacks-goldman-column/

Major Executive Leaves Goldman Sachs, Which Refers to Clients As Muppets (for 3/15/12)

Greg Smith, Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, announced that he is leaving the firm, which he now describes as "toxic and destructive."  He thinks its CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, has lost control of the company, which has been in existence for 143 years.  As a manager of more than a trillion dollars in assets, Smith always felt a need to look out for the clients' best interest, not just what was most profitable for Goldman Sachs.  He saw that managing directors there had "referred to it clients as 'muppets.'"  The firms' junior analysts only cared about how much money they made from clients of its derivatives.  He thinks the firm must weed out the corruption if it is going to make money for clients in the long term.  The firm should get rid of those people suspected of questionable conduct even if they are the firm's biggest moneymakers at the moment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html?_r=1

http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/03/14/444173/goldman-sachs-resign-toxic-culture-column/