Where is the Money Going?
U.S. Banks Profit from Facilitating Fraud against Their Customers
Zions received a cut of the fee received by Modern Payments for each person whose account was accessed. Between 2007 and 2009, Zions allowed about $39 million to be withdrawn from hundreds of thousands of its accounts, much of which was transferred to other bank accounts in India, Canada and the Caribbean. This enabled Zions to charge $20 million worth of insufficient funds fees to its customers who had been scammed. read more
Utility Company Pays $50 Million for Causing Fires in National Forests
The Power Fire began after a crew of workers were careless with their cigarettes in a heavily wooded area with extreme hazardous fire conditions. The workers were employed by VCS Sub Inc., which PG&E had hired to trim trees and brush around a utility distribution line.
The fire damaged protected habitats for the northern spotted owl, caused harmful erosion into watersheds, and destroyed artifacts in Native American historical sites, according to federal prosecutors.
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The Shady Overlap of Disease Charities and Drug Companies
In the case of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, it gave Vertex Pharmaceuticals $75 million to develop Kalydeco, considered a “breakthrough” drug that could reap big profits.
The foundation has already enjoyed a big return on its investment, collecting royalties on sales of the drug before selling its rights to future royalties to an investment firm for twice the amount it gave Vertex. read more
Fracking Companies Buy Silence of Families with Contaminated Water
From the Rocky Mountains to the Appalachian range to the Texas panhandle, American families have found themselves with contaminated water supplies. Time and time again they have blamed the problem on hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) and won settlements from drilling companies—but only if the victims agree never to talk about the impact that fracking had on their lives. read more
U.S. Drug Companies Spend $50 Billion a Year on Research with Few Breakthroughs
Several explanations have been suggested for this decline. Many of the most important discoveries have already been made; the patients who volunteer for clinical trials have become more difficult to treat; the quality of clinical trials has improved, with studies using a greater number of patients. Others blame a weak regulatory system that allows pharmaceutical companies to make minor advances, market these new drugs aggressively and increase profits as each minor advance comes along.
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Kids Wish Network “Wins” Worst Charity Designation
The 50 worst charities identified by the investigation raised about $1.4 billion in donations over the past 10 years, but paid $970 million of the total to for-profit companies that encouraged Americans to make donations. These 50 charities devoted less than 4% of donations to direct cash aid.
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Every Employee Who Smokes Costs Employer an Extra $6,000
Workers who smoke cost more to employers. Micah Berman, lead author of a study at the College of Public Health and Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University, reported that the “annual excess cost to employ a smoker is $5,816” due to sick leave, lower productivity, and additional healthcare costs. read more
$24 Million in Welfare Benefits Paid to 20,000 New Jersey Prisoners
In New Jersey, prisoners are not eligible for unemployment, welfare and other benefits under state rules. Yet, in a 22-month period recently, nearly $24 million was given to prisoners due to a lack of adequate internal controls. read more
Should Medicare Pay for Eyelid Lift Surgery?
Eyelid lifts (blepharoplasties) billed to Medicare more than tripled to 136,000 annually from 2001 to 2011 making some suspect that seniors or physicians are bilking the government for an elective surgery rather than just the medically necessary procedure to preserve vision. read more
Bush Tax Cuts 11 Years Later…Failure and Debt
The per capita national debt rose by 75.2% during Bush’s presidency, a rate surpassed only by the presidency of Ronald Reagan, when the per capita debt skyrocketed by 168.2%. By comparison, the per capita debt grew by only 22.5% during Bill Clinton’s presidency and by 48.4% during Barack Obama’s first term. read more
Despite Administration Claims, Federal Deficit is not Falling
Treasury's projections for the second half of FY 2013 show additional receipts of $1.108 trillion vs. additional spending of $1.594 trillion, for total FY revenues of $2.712 trillion, total spending of $3.684 trillion, and a total deficit of $972.9 billion. Although Denninger does the math differently to come up with a deficit of $1.069 trillion, neither number demonstrates a substantial drop from the 2012 deficit of $1.089 trillion. read more
Two Companies Rake in Big Profits from Billion-Dollar Prisoner Phone Call Industry
At the Contra Costa West County Detention Facility (WCDF) in Richmond, California, a call costs $3.25 for the initial connection, with charges up to 25 cents a minute for in-state calls and 30 cents a minute for out-of-state. Calls are often dropped, requiring a reconnection charge. read more
Since Killing 13, Fort Hood Shooter Has Earned $278,000 in Salary as Army Psychiatrist
The government classified the shooting as a “workplace violence” incident, and not an act of terror or combat-related. Soldiers wounded in the shooting have been fighting for more than three years to win combat pay and medical benefits, which have been denied due to the technical classification of the assault. read more
U.S. Counter-Terrorism Apparatus is used to Quell Dissent among Americans
This surveillance “benefited a number of corporations and banks that were subjects of Occupy Phoenix protest activity,” including JPMorgan Chase, according to the report. For example, when JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon visited Phoenix, the bank’s security department reached out to the local fusion center, whose members assured them that the Occupy movement was unaware of Dimon’s visit. read more
5 Biggest Banks Gain another Victory in Control of $700 Trillion Derivatives Market
Currently, just five banks control 90% of all derivatives contracts: JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) had planned to require firms wanting a price for a derivatives contract to contact at least five banks.
But after lobbying from financial institutions, the CFTC lowered the requirement to two banks.
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House Republicans Vote to Allow Private Employers to Replace Overtime Pay with Time Off
The bill would amend federal labor law that mandates the payment of time-and-a-half for those working more than 40 hours in a week. Instead of only offering money for overtime, employers could allow compensatory time off.
Opponents of the measure say there is nothing in it to prevent companies from discriminating against those who prefer payment by cutting back on their overtime hours.
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