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This week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) officials are pushing various agencies charged with regulating banks, such as the Treasury’s Office of Thrift Supervision to more aggressively give problem banks lower ratings than they may now be receiving from regulators. Regulators give banks a rank between 1 and 5.…
One of my favorite monthly publications is Registered Nurse — the journal of the fast growing, progressive California Nurses Association (CNA) — a union that stands up for patients rights and well-being. The June 2008 issue contains stories that illustrate how this nurses group takes stands. On June 19, the CNA sponsored street rallies for…
Two widening passenger service philosophies are contrasting themselves daily. One declares that it is necessary to charge airline travelers for just about everything but breathing and using the restrooms. Count nearly all the major airlines, including Jet Blue in this category. The other approach is championed by Southwest Airlines, which avoids the added charges, penalties…
Montgomery, Alabama — The Troy University Rosa Parks Museum is located on the side of the old Empire Theatre where this courageous African-American woman declined to “move to the back of the bus” in 1955. A visit to the museum honoring her and other civil rights champions is a sobering reminder of just how courageous…
July 23, 2008 Senator Chris Dodd U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 448 Russell Building Washington, DC 20510 Congressman Barney Frank House Committee on Financial Services 2252 Rayburn H.O.B. Washington, DC 20515 Dear Senator Dodd and Congressman Frank: I write today to suggest that you jointly hold hearings on the Federal Deposit…
CBS’s new reality show is called “Greatest American Dog,” with pet expert-zoologist Jarod Miller as the host. Twelve “dog-and-human teams are vying for the grand prize of $250,000. These teams are in intense training “by running, jumping, fetching and just looking adorable,” reports the Washington Post. The show’s executive producer, R.J. Cutler requires the teams…
Under present conditions there is little economic incentive for the auto maker to concern himself seriously with automobile casualties and collisions-for the costs and penalties are not upon him. Actually, the more cars depreciate through collisions, the greater the demand for new and used cars. Only when there is a real threat of cost or…
Here they go again! Financial capitalism is crashing. So the lights are on late in Washington’s Federal Reserve, SEC and Treasury Department trying to figure out how socialism (your tax dollars and credits) can once again bail out these big time gamblers with our money. Every cycle of casino capitalism that heads for, or goes…
One day when I was about eight years old, my mother tossed one of her frequent “out of the blue” questions at me: “Ralph, do you love your country?” “Yes, mother,” I said, wondering where she was going with this. “Well, I hope when you grow up, you’ll work hard to make it more lovable.”…
The worst top management of giant corporations in American history is also by far the most hugely paid. That contradiction applies as well to the Boards of Directors of these global companies. Consider these illustrations: The bosses of General Motors (GM) have presided over the worst decline of GM shares in the last fifty years,…