News for today's 2018

Why outsourcing sucks: Xerox food stamp debacle

1:32 PM Tukiyooo 0

If you thought government runs the food stamp program, you would be wrong. Government outsources the management of the electronic benefit transfer systems to <a href="http://www.rbj.net/article.asp?aID=194582" rel="nofollow">Xerox Corp., a company that paid its CEO $13 million last year</a>. Xerox apparently didn't invest its profit in redundant technology. Some sort of technology failure on Saturday -- nobody has really explained what it was -- caused the EBT system to shut down in 17 states. Millions of poor Americans were unable to buy groceries. This is why we shouldn't cede control of essential government services to corporations. The <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/food-stamp-debit-cards-working-states-20553954" rel="nofollow">Associated Press</a> reported on the chaos that erupted: <blockquote class="tr_bq">Shoppers left carts of groceries behind at a packed Market Basket grocery store in Biddeford, Maine, because they couldn't get their benefits, said shopper Barbara Colman, of Saco, Maine. The manager put up a sign saying the EBT system was not in use. Colman, who receives the benefits, called an 800 telephone line for the program and it said the system was down due to maintenance, she said.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"That's a problem. There are a lot of families who are not going to be able to feed children because the system is being maintenanced," Colman said. She planned to reach out to local officials. "You don't want children going hungry tonight because of stupidity," she said... </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">...states affected by the temporary outage also included Alabama, California, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, New Jersey, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and Virginia...</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">In Clarksdale, Miss. — one of the poorest parts of one of the poorest states in the nation — cashier Eliza Shook said dozens of customers at Corner Grocery had to put back groceries when the cards failed Saturday because they couldn't afford to pay for the food. After several hours, she put a sign on the front door to tell people about the problem. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"It's been terrible," Shook said in a phone interview. "It's just been some angry folks. That's what a lot of folks depend on." </blockquote>The whole debacle suggests Xerox was cutting corners somewhere to increase its profit, and poor people paid the price. Unfortunately, American citizens can't vote Xerox out of office. That's the real downside of outsourcing. And if you think poor people shouldn't get food stamps because taxpayers can't afford to pay for them, perhaps you agree that taxpayers also can't afford Xerox CEO's $13 million pay package. On a brighter note, the same glitch that caused the food stamp system to shut down also eliminated spending limits on some EBT cards in Louisiana. Here's what happened, according to the <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/Latest-News-Wires/2013/1015/Walmart-Food-stamps-spree-caused-by-Xerox" rel="nofollow">Christian Science Monitor</a>: <blockquote class="tr_bq">When word got out Saturday that the EBT cards were showing no limits, card holders rushed to area Walmarts to take advantage. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">"Some people had eight or 10 shopping carts full of groceries," Springhill Police Chief Will Lynd said on Monday.</blockquote>Now Xerox and Walmart are pointing fingers at each other. Heh-heh.

food stamps outsourcing Why outsourcing sucks: Xerox food stamp debacle

If you thought government runs the food stamp program, you would be wrong. Government outsources the management of the electronic benefit tr...

Outsourcing: 5 ways corporations grab your tax dollars

10:27 AM Tukiyooo 0

Greedy corporations just can't seem to get enough outsourcing, as they take control of public assets like roads, parking meters, schools and prisons. None of this is news to anyone. But it seems the scope of outsourcing is growing and the pace is accelerating. Just in the past few days we note news items about the corporate takeover of our schools, our water, our prisons and our national air space. Corporations even manage to persuade taxpayers to pay for creating assets -- like football stadiums -- that benefit people who are already wealthy. Here's a quick rundown: Charter schools: <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/09/10/charter-school-gravy-train-runs-express-to-fat-city/" rel="nofollow">Forbes</a> reported recently on the corporate grab for local education dollars in a story, "Charter School Gravy Train Runs Express To Fat City." The magazine told it like it is: <blockquote class="tr_bq">On Thursday, July 25, dozens of bankers, hedge fund types and private equity investors gathered in New York to hear about the latest and greatest opportunities to collect a cut of your property taxes.</blockquote>There are now more than 6,000 charter schools in the United States, 3,500 more than a decade ago, and they're educating 2.3 million children. These corporate schools can pick which students they admit, but local taxpayers pay for them. They're a great way for politicians to reward their cronies. In Ohio, Forbes reports, <blockquote class="tr_bq">...two firms operate 9% of the state’s charter schools and are collecting 38% of the state’s charter school funding increase this year. The operators of both firms donate generously to elected Republicans. </blockquote>Sadly, kids in corporate schools don't do any better than kids in public schools. Air traffic control: <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-23/talks-on-private-air-traffic-control-turn-serious-in-u-s-.html" rel="nofollow">Bloomberg</a> tells us "Discussions about removing government management of the U.S. air-traffic control system are the most serious in two decades." "Privatization is not the answer," responded a commenter identified as Exctyengr: <blockquote class="tr_bq">Most of these knuckleheads never served in the military nor flew in the air traffic system. ... We privatized much of the military and we got Blackwater and Halliburton and Kellogg, Brown and Root and how did that work out?  Did we get our money's worth?  Were there scandals? </blockquote>Prisons, of course: The <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/private-prisons-profit-scheme.html" rel="nofollow">Center for Media and Democracy</a> reports prison industry giants like <a href="http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Corrections_Corporation_of_America" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white; color: #336699; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 16.890625px;">Corrections Corporation of America</a> are making big profits by locking states into occupancy quotas and “low-crime taxes." Some states state are by the corporation to keep prisons full or pay a fee for unused beds. Cost-cutting by private prisons companies "has led to numerous lawsuits and litigation, fines, and increased need for federal oversight, at great cost to taxpayers, communities, inmates and their families." Instead of taxpayer money going to safer communities, it goes to CEO salaries: <a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/GEO-group-rap-sheet.html" rel="nofollow">GEO Group </a><a href="http://teamsternation.blogspot.com/2013/09/GEO-group-rap-sheet.html" rel="nofollow">CEO George C. Zoley's compensation</a> was an eye-popping $22,315,704 from 2008-2012, almost all paid for by U.S. taxpayers. NFL Football: Gregg Easterbrook at <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/10/how-the-nfl-fleeces-taxpayers/309448/" rel="nofollow">The Atlantic</a> argues: <blockquote class="tr_bq">Taxpayers fund the stadiums, antitrust law doesn't apply to broadcast deals, the league enjoys nonprofit status, and Commissioner Roger Goodell makes $30 million a year. It's time to stop the public giveaways to America's richest sports league—and to the feudal lords who own its teams. </blockquote>Well, at least the players are allowed to belong to unions. Water: In Fryeburg, Maine, a local taxpayer named Bruce Taylor doesn't want Nestle getting a sweetheart deal from state regulators to buy water for its Poland Springs bottled water business. Maine's Public Utilities Commission members all have financial ties to the corporate giant (no surprise there). Taylor told <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/watch/shows/the-stream/the-stream-officialblog/2013/9/27/conflict-of-interestclaimspersistinmainesnestlewatercase.html" rel="nofollow">al-Jazeera America</a>, <blockquote class="tr_bq">“They’re buying a commodity at a cheap regulated rate from a monopoly they own and are reselling it for a high profit in the form of bottled water you find in your local 7-11,” Taylor said. </blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">Taylor believes Nestle is paying too little for water and making too much profit off of Maine. He suggested “an inverted water rate for any commercial water that leaves the state of Maine.”</blockquote>For more about the perils of outsourcing, read the Center for Media and Democracy's series on <a href="http://www.prwatch.org/projects/outsourcing-america-exposed" rel="nofollow">Outsourcing America Exposed</a>.

Outsourcing: 5 ways corporations grab your tax dollars

Greedy corporations just can't seem to get enough outsourcing, as they take control of public assets like roads, parking meters, schools...

Exposing the private companies behind the takeover of government

2:13 PM Tukiyooo 0

outsourcing privatizing Exposing the private companies behind the takeover of government

Our friends at the Center for Media and Democracy are launching a campaign to expose the corporate privatizers taking over our government -...

Today's Teamster News 09.08.13

5:02 AM Tukiyooo 0

<a href="http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2013-09-06/story/first-coast-gears-pontiac-muscle-comes-strong-teamsters-show" rel="nofollow">First Coast Gears: Pontiac muscle comes on strong at Teamsters show</a>  Florida Times Union ...Harris and Boito brought their Pontiacs to the annual Labor Day weekend car show at Teamsters Local 512 on Lane Avenue last Saturday... <a href="http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/a-920971.html" rel="nofollow">Privacy Scandal: NSA Can Spy on Smart Phone Data</a>  Der Spiegel   ...The United States' National Security Agency intelligence-gathering operation is capable of accessing user data from smart phones from all leading manufacturers... <a href="http://taxjustice.blogspot.com/2013/09/naked-tax-protest-in-front-of-german.html" rel="nofollow">Naked tax protest in front of German Chancellor's office</a>  Tax Justice Network   ...a naked tax protest by Attac-Germany, with calls for unitary taxation and country by country reporting... <a href="http://billmoyers.com/2013/09/04/low-wage-employers-have-fought-hard-to-keep-their-workers-poor-now-workers-are-fighting-back/" rel="nofollow">Low-Wage Employers Have Fought Hard to Keep Their Workers Poor — Now Workers are Fighting Back</a>  Moyers & Co.   ...After decades of seeing their incomes shrink, those at the bottom of the economic ladder are starting to band together and fight back — and it’s one of the most important economic stories of our time... <a href="http://www.economicpopulist.org/content/free-markets-are-fraudulent-markets-5360" rel="nofollow">Free Markets are Fraudulent Markets</a> (opinion)  Economic Populist   ...Historically, competitive market economies are a relatively new economic system, and while very productive, they are not self-sustaining, are unstable and require significant state support and regulation to function properly... <a href="http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/18675-the-political-calculations-behind-growing-inequality" rel="nofollow">The Political Calculations behind Growing Inequality</a>  truthout   ...In the 1980s, campaign contributions from the top 0.01 percent roughly equaled the campaign contributions from all of organized labor. In 2012, America’s top 0.01 percent all by themselves outspent labor by more than four-to-one... <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2013/09/want-to-move-kids-out-of-poverty-then-protect-the-middle-class/279387/" rel="nofollow">Want to Move Kids Out of Poverty? Then Protect the Middle Class</a>  The Atlantic   ...in parts of the country that are more heavily middle class, there also tends to be more upward mobility for the poor... <a href="http://economyincrisis.org/content/an-american-bridge-made-of-chinese-steel-demonstrates-the-need-for-a-rational-trade-policy" rel="nofollow">An American Bridge Made of Chinese Steel Demonstrates the Need for a Rational Trade Policy</a>  Economy In Crisis   ...The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324049504578545431938331880.html">prices for Chinese-made steel are about 25% lower than for domestic steel</a>, but this does not represent a victory won on an open and level playing field... <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/labor/318801-detroit-labor-day-and-a-hard-days-night#ixzz2dDhGpssI" rel="nofollow">Detroit, Labor Day and a Hard Day’s Night</a> (opinion)  The Hill   ...A competitive nation needs a strong safety net for its citizens, one that neither depends on fickle global employers nor burdens workers’ democratic institutions with a redistributive role best played by the government.    In addition, the U.S. should take a cue from the European Union and allocate more funds to help hard hit areas transition their economies... <a href="http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/burlesque-performers-occupiers-protest-possible-sale-of-portland-park/" rel="nofollow">Burlesque performers, occupiers protest possible sale of Portland park</a>  Bangor Daily News   ...Tension over whether a large section of Portland’s Congress Square Park should be sold to private developers escalated late Friday night, as burlesque performers and members of the occupy movement demonstrated at the site, attracting police warnings... <a href="http://www.thenews.coop/blog/occupy-sandy-builds-worker-power-far-rockaway" rel="nofollow">Occupy Sandy builds worker power in Far Rockaway</a>  Co-operative News   ...One of those bigger projects is a worker-run cooperative initiative, organized by Occupy Sandy and supported by the Working World, an organization that specializes in incubating collectively owned businesses...