Where is the Money Going?

Georgia Supreme Court Curbs Power of Private Probation Industry That Preys on Poor

Court findings showed that “potentially thousands of Georgians had their sentences illegally extended, and several of the named plaintiffs had been improperly hauled off to jail and/or subjected to electronic monitoring for alleged probation violations six years after their probation had ended for minor offenses like possession of marijuana and no proof of insurance.” Alabama Judge Hub Harrington described the practice as a “judicially sanctioned extortion racket.” read more

Bipartisan Senate Report Warns about Big Banks’ Involvement in Risky Commodities Markets

According to the report, “Until recently, Morgan Stanley controlled over 55 million barrels of oil storage capacity, 100 oil tankers, and 6,000 miles of pipeline....In 2012, Goldman owned 1.5 million metric tons of aluminum worth $3 billion, about 25% of the entire U.S. annual consumption. Goldman also owned warehouses which, in 2014, controlled 85% of the LME aluminum storage business in the United States.” read more

Industries Lobby Hard to Fly Their Drones as FAA Decision Looms

Amazon has already invested in a fleet of small drones to develop a new way of delivering consumer goods to customers. That’s why the online giant hired lobbying powerhouse Akin Gump and paid the firm at least $120,000 to sway the FAA decision. The new rules will impose many restrictions on drones, requiring operators to have a pilot’s license and limit flights to daylight hours, below 400 feet and within sight of the person at the controls. read more

Goldman Sachs Gets Harsh Words but Open Pockets from Congressional Subcommittees

Goldman has donated $1.1 million to current subcommittee members since 1989 — $911,000 of which went to Democrats. More than half of that total went to one individual, Senator Charles Schumer (D-New York). In fact, OpenSecrets.org added, “Schumer has received more from Goldman over the course of his career than any other current member of the Senate — and more from Goldman than from any other organization.” read more

10 Years after 9/11 Commission Recommended it, FCC Finds Funds for National First Responder Communications Network

The commission recommended that the federal government create a way for police and firefighters from different jurisdictions to communicate with each other in a crisis—something they couldn’t do during the response to the 9/11 attacks. Congress authorized the FCC to reserve certain broadcast frequencies for public safety use. The FCC auctioned off a band of wireless frequencies to telecommunications companies, which netted more than $11 billion to establish the network, FirstNet. read more

Recent Veterans more likely to be Employed than Non-Veterans

In the period from 2011 to 2013, employment among veterans of both genders of the wars was 79%, compared to 70% of nonveterans. Employment among male Gulf War veterans was 84%. Men who served in Iraq and Afghanistan last decade had a lower, though still impressive rate of 78%. Both groups of veterans were better off than nonveteran men, whose employment rate was 75%. Similarly, women who served in both wars have struggled less with unemployment. read more

Financial Industry’s Favorite Senator is a Democrat

In very little time, Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) has proven himself a prodigious fundraiser with a knack for drawing large contributions from industries not known to bank heavily on Democrats. The freshman lawmaker during the 2013-2014 election cycle raised from Wall Street the most money of any member of Congress: $1.87 million. Booker also proved to be the top draw from real estate groups, Hollywood, tech industries, accountants, and pro-Israel organizations. read more

Women have Higher Unemployment Rate than Men for First Time in 8 Years

At one point during the Great Recession, the unemployment rate for men was as much as 2.6% higher than that of women. But beginning in September, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, men had a 5.9% unemployment rate while the women’s rate stood at 6.0%. The gap widened last month when the men’s rate fell to 5.6% while women’s unemployment was at 5.9%. Part of the reason for the switch is that construction jobs, concentrated among men, are starting to come back. read more

Congress Votes Unanimously to Eliminate Annual Report about Reports

For the past five years, the Corporation for National and Community Service has been putting out a report on reports produced by federal agencies. Seeing this effort and others like it as a waste of taxpayer money, House members unanimously adopted HR 4194, which calls for eliminating the report on reports as well as the Dog and Cat Fur Protection report and 46 other reports. The cost savings from the move is estimated to be about $1 million a year. read more

Big Banks Fined Billions in Foreign Currency Scandal

The government actions involved agencies in the U.S., Britain and Switzerland handing out combined fines of $4.25 billion to major international banks caught rigging the $5.3 trillion-a-day world of foreign exchange. The biggest penalty by a single regulator came out of the Financial Conduct Authority of Britain, which hit five major banks with more than $1.7 billion in fines. In Washington, the CFTC announced $1.4 billion in penalties against Citigroup, HSBC, JPMorgan, RBS and UBS. read more

Military’s 2014 Political Donations: Army and Navy Favor Democrats, the Rest Lean Republican

If there’s one branch of the armed services that leans Democratic, it is the U.S. Army. About $534,000 was given to political candidates, party committees and outside spending groups by active duty military personnel, according to OpenSecrets.org. As for the Navy, “a plurality of its donations” went to Democrats and liberal groups. The vast majority of members of the Air Force (74%) and Marine Corps (81%) who wrote checks really leaned in the GOP’s direction. read more

GE, Microsoft and Proctor & Gamble Most Popular Stocks Owned by Members of Congress

When it comes to investing in the market, members of Congress love their blue chip stocks. A new database from the watchdog group MapLight has revealed the most popular companies that senators and representatives invested in last year. General Electric led the way with 69 lawmakers owning stock in the corporation. The total value of the shares ranged between $2.3 million and $5.9 million, according to MapLight. The second most popular stock was Microsoft, owned by 57 lawmakers. read more

Police Departments Like to Seize Fancy Cars and Cash…Computers and Jewelry Not So Much

The total value of property seized by state and local law enforcement from 2001 to 2012 soared from $407 million to $4.3 billion. Police are advised not to bother with jewelry and computers. Rings and necklaces are reportedly too hard to dispose of. Most valuable are flat-screen TVs, cars and cash. Asset forfeitures are a way for law enforcement agencies to pad their declining budgets by confiscating cash and property from people, often minorities, under the flimsiest of pretexts. read more

Karl Rove, Koch Brothers and NRA Hit the Jackpot in Election Victories

There were a lot of winners on the conservative side of the political spectrum this week. That includes powerful right-wing groups that spent tens of millions of dollars on Republican campaigns and causes. The Koch brothers received an 85% return on their $21.5 million investment in the election. GOP strategist Karl Rove's Crossroads had a 96% success rate in races in which it had put money, spending 16 times as much on negative ads as on positive ones. read more

Pepsi and FedEx among Hundreds of Companies Using Luxembourg to Avoid Taxes

While having little or no presence in Luxembourg, corporations have enjoyed huge tax breaks through various accounting schemes and legal maneuvers. FedEx established two Luxembourg affiliates so it could move money country to country. The plan resulted in its paying only one quarter of 1% on the earnings involved. PepsiCo arranged several loans with Luxembourg’s help to cut its taxes on $1.4 billion spent to obtain controlling interest in a Russian juice producer. read more

TV Was Biggest Winner in Mid-Term Election, Reaping $2.4 Billion in Political Ad Sales

TV stations raked in about $2.4 billion from commercials from federal, state and local races, eclipsing the total they enjoyed in 2010 by more than $100 million. This year, one Iowa television station, WHO-DT in Des Moines, actually added news programming in the afternoon partly so it would have a place to put all the campaign ads, many of which touted the campaign for the open Senate seat won Tuesday by Joni Ernst. read more