Category: Money, Class, and Poverty,

Walmart Workers Cost Taxpayers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance in a Year

On By peanutgallerynhIn Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Walmart’s low-wage workers cost U.S. taxpayers an estimated $6.2 billion in public assistance including food stamps, Medicaid and subsidized housing.

…A single Walmart Supercenter cost taxpayers between $904,542 and $1.75 million per year, or between $3,015 and $5,815 on average for each of 300 workers.

…Other large retail chains have been the focus of similar reports in recent months. In October, two studies released to coincide showed that American fast food industry outsourced a combined $7 billion in annual labor costs to taxpayers. …[McDonald’s] alone accounted for $1.2 billion of that outlay.

Yum Brands came in at a distant number two, with its Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC subsidiaries costing $648 million in benefits programs for workers each year.

Report: Walmart Workers Cost Taxpayers $6.2 Billion In Public Assistance

No shit, Sherlock?

4 Environmental Activists Are Killed Every Week

On By peanutgallerynhIn Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, The Americas,Leave a comment

Latin America is by far the world’s most dangerous place to be an environmental defender. Almost 60 percent of the environmental killings recorded in 2017 took place in the region.

Mexico’s tropical forests, for example, have been ravaged by everything from illegal cattle ranching to avocado farming. In January 2017, Isidro Baldenegro López, a prominent indigenous activist who won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for his work protecting the forests of the Sierra Tarahumara mountain range in northern Mexico from logging, was shot dead.

…The Global Witness report records several massacres in countries such as Brazil and the Philippines ― in the latter country, the military reportedly killed at least eight indigenous people in December as they tried to protect their land from a coffee plantation.

Brazil remains the most deadly country for environmental activists, with 57 murders last year ― the highest ever recorded by any country. Twenty-two members of one tribe ― the Gamela ― were assaulted in one land-grabbing incident. Some had their hands cut off.

4 Environmental Activists Are Killed Every Week So We Can Have Snacks, Meat And Coffee | HuffPost

Sigh….

EPA worried about Scott Pruitt’s toxic desk but chose not to warn or protect the public from the exact same risk

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Former EPA chief Scott Pruitt’s staff planned to take precautions to protect him from the toxic effects of formaldehyde in a fancy new desk – but months later, his top aides blocked the release of a report on the health dangers of the carcinogeno.

…Pruitt was wrapping up a more than $9,500 redecoration of his office when a top official noticed a California warning on a desk the administrator wanted to order saying it contained the chemical.

…Although an EPA regulation limiting formaldehyde emissions from such items had been put on hold by Team Trump, California regulates the chemical.

…A few months later, top EPA officials took steps to block a health report produced by another division at the agency that found the levels of formaldehyde that many Americans breathe every day are tied to leukemia and nose and throat cancer, among other ailments.

EPA worried about Scott Pruitt’s toxic desk but not enough to warn public

Grrrr

Ivanka Trump to shut down fashion company

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Ivanka Trump’s company saw an increase in profits in early 2017 after her father’s presidential win, according to a person with direct knowledge. But since that gain, profits have declined, the source added.

…Nordstrom isn’t the only retailer to distance itself from the brand.

The company that owns TJ Maxx and Marshalls decided to no longer promote the brand in stores, and earlier this month, Hudson’s Bay, one of Canada’s largest department stores, chose to phase out Ivanka Trump products, according to company spokeswoman Tiffany Bourré.

…The government watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington called the news that Ivanka Trump will be shutting down her company “a notable step in the right direction,” but added that it “comes much too late.”

…Ivanka is expected to address her company’s staff on Tuesday in New York, according to a source with knowledge of her decision-making process. The same source said 18 people will be affected by the company shutting down.

Ivanka Trump to shut down fashion company – CNNPolitics

18 whole employees….

hmmmm

The country that brought a sea back to life, and its neighbor who chose to let the sea disappear

On By peanutgallerynhIn Central Northern Asia and The Caucasus,, Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

At more than 67,000 sq km (26,000 sq miles), the Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest freshwater lake in the world. But the Soviet Union’s uncompromising agricultural policies in the 1950s led to water from two rivers – the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya – being diverted away from the sea to irrigate Central Asia’s desert steppes to boost cotton production. Water levels dropped and the once abundant populations of bream, carp and other freshwater fish dwindled with them.

Today, the sea is a 10th of its original size and has almost split in two. Mimicking the shape of a splintered number eight, the North Aral Sea – the top half of the body of water – lies in Kazakhstan. The South Aral Sea, which consist of a strip of water in the west and a dried-out basin in the east, sits in Uzbekistan.

In the 1990s, both bodies of water seemed headed for similar outcomes. But that changed when the World Bank stepped in with an $87m (£66m) rescue project in Kazakhstan.

This included constructing a 12km-long (7.5 mile) dyke across the narrow channel that connects the North Aral Sea to its neighbour to the south, with the aim of reducing the amount of water spilling out into the South Aral Sea. Improvements to existing channels of the Syr Darya river, which snakes northwards from Kazakhstan’s Tian Shan Mountains, also helped to boost the flow of water into the North Aral Sea.

…Raising the dyke walls by another four metres would help to keep an additional 15 billion cubic metres of water in the North Aral Sea, he adds. This would extend the area covered by the sea from 800sq km (300 sq miles) to 400sq km (150 sq miles).

….Plans to do this were put forward as part of a second phase of the World Bank project, but it has recently stalled. According to the World Bank the project is currently awaiting approval from the Kazakh government to move forward.

…Across the border in Uzbekistan, the story is very different. While the World Bank has worked on some projects to restore the existing lakes around the South Aral Sea, such as Lake Sudoche, it has had less success. The main obstacle appears to be the demand that Uzbeks have for it, as the Amu Darya river flows are used upstream for agricultural purposes and does not have enough water flow to fill up the South Aral Sea.

Greater reliance on cotton production for income has also hindered attempts to restore the South Aral Sea to its former glory. From 1930 to 1990, Uzbekistan provided more than two-thirds of the cotton produced in the Soviet Union. It ranked fifth out of 90 cotton-producing countries, and it was the second-largest exporter of cotton fibre to the US. Today, Uzbekistan is still the fifth-biggest cotton exporter in the world after the US, India, Brazil, and Australia.

…In 2015, the eastern basin of the South Aral Sea completely dried up and the water never returned.

BBC – Future – The country that brought a sea back to life

hmmmm

Endangered Species Act: Trump administration seeks to limit protections

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Environment,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

The short of it is this: There’s greater leniency in setting rules for threatened species on a case-by-case basis, there’s greater permission to include economic impacts in conservation decisions, and the services that enforce the ESA can use discretion in deciding what’s meant by the term “foreseeable future.”

These changes are part of a broad suite of policies advanced by the Trump administration to favor industries like mining and fossil fuels by eliminating or limiting the environmental protection rules they have to follow.

Endangered Species Act: Trump administration seeks to limit protections – Vox

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Remains found of African-Americans forced into labor

On By peanutgallerynhIn American Injustice System,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Race,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

The remains are likely those of people who worked at a plantation through a “convict leasing program” in the late 1800s and early 20th century. Archaeologists estimated the cemetery was used from 1878 to 1910. (To give that some context: The emancipation proclamation was issued in 1863, while the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in 1865).

…The leasing program was a “system in which Southern states leased prisoners to private railways, mines and large plantations,” according to the Equal Justice Initiative. Though states profited from this arrangement, “prisoners earned no pay and faced inhumane, dangerous and often deadly work conditions. Thousands of black people were forced into what authors have termed ‘slavery by another name’ until the 1930s,” the school district continued.

…Between 1885 and 1887, many prisoners worked to build the Capitol building in Austin, while others worked to construct the Texas State Railroad between 1893 and 1909, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

…Out of the 95 burial sites identified thus far, 48 have been exhumed, according to a statement from the school district. All were male but one, archaeologists said. Their ages ranged from 14 to 70 years old.

In addition to finding the remains, archaeologists also uncovered rusted tools and chains laborers likely wore. 

Remains found of African-Americans forced into labor

hmmmm

‘Find Your Passion’ Is Awful Advice – A major new study questions the common wisdom about how we should choose our careers.

On By peanutgallerynhIn Chick Stuff,, Education,, Media and Culture,, Modern Parenting,, Money, Class, and Poverty,, Science and Stuff,Leave a comment

Those who learned that interests are fixed throughout a person’s life were less captivated by [information unrelated to] their [own] interests.

…The authors also had students learn about either fixed or growth theory and then exposed them to a new interest: Astronomy. First, they had them watch a video made by The Guardian for a general audience about Stephen Hawking’s ideas. It was easy to understand and entertaining. Then the authors had the students read a highly technical, challenging article in the academic journal Science about black holes. Despite saying just moments ago, after viewing the video, that they were fascinated by black holes, the students who were exposed to the fixed theory of interests said they were no longer interested in black holes after reading the difficult Science article. In other words, when you’re told that your interests are somehow ingrained, you give up on new interests as soon as the going gets tough.

…K. Ann Renninger, a professor at Swarthmore College who was not involved with the study, has researched the development of interests and said that “neuroscience has confirmed that interests can be supported to develop.” In other words, with the right help, most people can get interested in almost anything. Before the age of 8, she said, kids will try anything. Between the ages of 8 and 12, they start to compare themselves with others and become insecure if they’re not as good as their peers at something. That’s when educators have to start to find new ways to keep them interested in certain subjects.

Though the authors didn’t examine adults, they told me their findings could apply to an older population as well. For example, people’s interest in parenthood tends to escalate rapidly once they have a real, crying baby in their house. “You could not know the first thing about cancer, but if your mother gets cancer, you’re going to be an expert in it pretty darn quick,” O’Keefe said.

How to Really Find Your Passion – The Atlantic

hmmmm

Americans need passenger rail that serves entire nation — not just the East and West coasts

On By peanutgallerynhIn Domestic Affairs,, Infrastructure and Transportation,, Money, Class, and Poverty,Leave a comment

Amtrak, America’s national passenger rail service, was created to do what freight railroads could not: Provide reliable and efficient passenger rail services to communities and people across this country. Yet, since it was created nearly half a century ago, Amtrak has never received full funding from Congress.

Data from four years of polling show that regardless of political affiliation or geographic location, Americans want more Amtrak service and are willing to pay for it. Amtrak also regularly breaks its own ridership records, with 31.7 million passenger trips in 2017.

To be clear, support is not limited to the Northeast Corridor. Americans across the country want passenger rail services, including more long-distance trains — and for good reason. 

… In small and rural communities across the country, Amtrak is often the only public transportation option available. [emphasis: mine]

…Ticket agents do more than just sell tickets. They help elderly and disabled customers board trains, assist with luggage, and act as Amtrak’s public face. What’s more, [reducing the number of ticket agents] does a grave disservice to many of Amtrak’s customers who are not familiar with or are simply unable to buy tickets online. 

The carrier also announced the elimination of dining-car service on some of its most popular long-distance trains, the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited, both of which service the East Coast. Now, instead of being able to enjoy freshly made entrees on the train, customers’ choices are limited to a handful of premade breakfast and lunch options.

…Further clouding the situation is the fact that Amtrak has made these drastic changes in the dark, without input from the public, stakeholders or lawmakers. 

With strong ridership numbers, national popularity, and service that helps drive local economic growth, Amtrak’s long-distance routes need to be supported. Amtrak [and lawmakers] must commit to fighting for the national passenger rail system so many Americans have come to know and rely on.

Americans need passenger rail that serves entire nation — not just the East and West coasts | TheHill

hmmm