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Crime That Pays - Isn't America great if you wear a white collar?
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Guest Commentary by Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr.
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Ronald Mason Jr._ JD |
WASHINGTON, DC (September 29, 2016) - I have always been fascinated by the term "white collar crime." It makes it seem as if stealing lots of money is not as bad as stealing a small amount. It rarely results in punishment that fits the crime. Yet the small-time thief is often thrown under the jail, like the guy who stole $20 from a parking meter and was sentenced to 10 years.
Contrast that with the fallout from the recently exposed Wells Fargo Bank scam, in which two million credit cards and customer accounts were opened using phony signatures and email addresses. More than 5,000 low-level employees got fired for trying to meet impossible sales targets set by their supervisors. The CEO said it was all their fault, as if thousands of bank workers making $12 an hour woke up one morning and decided to defraud their customers. Not one manager was terminated. And even if the CEO eventually loses his job, he will reportedly walk away with company stock that grew to be worth more than $200 million because of the scam. That's on top of the $19.3 million salary he was paid last year.
Isn't America great if you wear a white collar? Stockholders want high returns on their investments. The members of the board of directors, who often own much of the stock, set performance goals for the CEO. The CEO wins bonuses if he meets those goals, and in turn guarantees bonuses for his vice presidents if they help him reach his target. And so it goes down the line. But the financial incentive is very small by the time it reaches tellers and other low-paid employees. According to them, their incentive at Wells Fargo was being told to hit their targets or lose their jobs.
When schemes like this are uncovered - whether at Wells Fargo, or in the mortgage business, at savings and loans, in the auto industry, or countless other segments of the economy - the process has become familiar. Congress investigates, CEOs testify in their crisp white collars, and the media report about it. We watch and we listen and we say to ourselves, "That's not right." Then we wait for the next time. Along the way, stockholders made money, board members made money, CEOs and upper-level managers made money. The 5,300 employees who feared losing their jobs? They are unemployed and can't find work because they were terminated for violating company policy.
The values of dog-eat-dog competition, anything-for-a-profit, and materialistic consumerism destroy the human spirit. They eat at our souls. Something is wrong when thousands of people are laid off and stock prices rise. Pleasure for the wealthy should not be paid for with the hourly worker's pain. The America of our dreams would not abide such an outcome. The America we live in expects it.
What bothers me most is that everyone knows the truth. Board members, CEOs, and the members of Congress who investigate them will discuss it over cocktails or on the golf course. Some may even chuckle about how they got away with it as they buy their new yacht. Then when they return from vacation, they will put on another crisp white collar and conjure up another scheme to defraud the unsuspecting public and blame it on employees who can't say no.
Even the 5,300 "bad" employees must have known that they were crossing the line. But with a wink from their supervisor, a nod from his boss, and praise from the vice president for a job well done, I guess they went along with the program. It was their job. What they should have realized, after seeing it on TV so many times, was that in the end, they would be left holding the bag.
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Ronald Mason, Jr., J.D. is president of the University of the District of Columbia. A native of New Orleans, President Mason received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Columbia University in New York City. He attended the Harvard Institute of Educational Management and is the recipient of the Mayor's Medal of Honor from the City of New Orleans, the Martin Luther King Lifetime Achievement Award from Dillard, Loyola, Tulane, and Xavier universities, and was one of five recipients of Columbia University's 2008 John Jay Award for distinguished alumni. He may be reached via email at
ronald.mason@udc.edu.
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TONIGHT: VOTER EDUCATION / VOTER RIGHTS FORUM @ SUNO
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SEPTEMBER 29
th, 2016 @ 7PM
SUNO'S LEONARD S. WASHINGTON
MEMORIAL LIBRARY- ROOM 103
6400 PRESS DRIVE, NEW ORLEANS
INVITED SPEAKERS:
US ATTORNEY KENNETH POLITE
TOM SCHEDLER, SECRETARY OF STATE
SANDRA WILSON, ORLEANS PARISH REGISTER OF VOTERS
CARL GALMON, MEMBER OF NATIONAL VOTING RIGHTS MUSEUM AND INSTITUTE
SPONSORED BY ADDISON C. CAREY POLITICAL SCIENCE CLUB, EMMET BASHFUL ENDOWED CHAIR, CENTER FOR AFRICAN AND AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES
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Today is National Voter Registration Day!
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#CelebrateNVRD #voteforjustice
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Register -- Verify -- VOTE!
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For more information please call 202.659.4929 or email blackyouthvote@ncbcp.org
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by Sandra Starks McCollum, Guest Columnist
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Sandra McCollum
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CHICAGO (9/23/16) - When James Brown, the Godfather of Soul, recorded his song, 'Say It Loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud," it become a universal melody of inspiration. The lyrics rapped words of courage, tears and pride of Black people who already knew that we were proud. Its rhythm summoned others to the dance floor who for the first time, recognized that we were a people with a right to be proud. It was a unifier, at the ball room, on the radio, in television broadcast and during our contemplative moments alone. Back then, in the 60's, there may have been some who believed that one day we would have a Black President. Yet, that dream was only a tiny spark casting a dim light in the temple of our hopes for equality in our nation. As President Barack Obama's two terms as our Nation's first Black President nears closure, we face the future with exceeding pride in this accomplishment. Our heads are bowed in reverence and in gratitude, but, our hearts still long for that elusive state of full equality we have not achieved as a people.
The authors of our Constitution eloquently stated the Truth, "All Men Are Created Equal." Equality is not a goal we must strive to achieve. It is a timeless reality that exists in the present, the past and the future. Somehow we have forgotten the goodness of a world we were all born into as equals. We need messengers to remind us that equality is now, for all. We need people who inspire us with renewed faith, people who have become our "Hope Givers," since 1619, the beginning of time for Black People in America." Dr. Martin Luther King, whose dream of equality, freedom and justice for all, was a "Hope Giver" who elevated the consciousness of the world through his vision for all Americans. President Obama is our current "Hope Giver."
I have become aware of a new "Hope Giver." His name is Bryan Stevenson.
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Bryan Stevenson
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Recently, I read a very long and wonderful article about Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative. The article appeared in the August 22, 2016 issue of The New Yorker, written by Jeffrey Toobin. It was entitled, "THE LEGACY OF LYNCHING, ON DEATH ROW." In a fortuitous happening, that same week, I watched a television interview of Bryan Stevenson with Charlie Rose on his show. These two serendipitous occasions marked a change in me. I discovered new ways of looking at Truths I had always known.
Bryan Stevenson is an attorney dedicated to fighting against racial discrimination in the criminal justice system. His youthful yearnings to make an impactful difference in this world are evidenced in his winning of a landmark Supreme Court ruling that held that mandatory life sentences without parole for minors was unconstitutional. Through his non-profit Equal Justice Initiative he has saved 125 death row prisoners from execution. He is a leading force advocating against the death penalty. Numerous awards herald his efforts, including a Mac Arthur Genius Award and 21 Honorary degrees.
His dedication to working with the most marginalized people in our society has led him to recognize other ills that are unaddressed. America's current commitment to huge incarcerated numbers in our prisons, the largest in the world, is a phenomenon related to our history of racial inequality. He believes that we will not eliminate the pathology and discrimination in the justice system and education systems until we change the narrative of racial difference that we have all accepted as a Truth. Prejudices and conditions of inequality in this country stem from the era of slavery which remain unresolved. We continue to venerate the architects and defenders of slavery through monuments and songs and flags while we diminish the lives of the descendants of this dehumanizing condition.
Countries like South Africa and Rwanda, formerly involved in genocidal acts against its citizens, are honestly engaged in face to face talks of their respective roles as offender and victim and have asked for and seek forgiveness. Germany has likewise acknowledged its role in the holocaust and has dedicated monuments to victims throughout its land. All of these nations are cognizant that the amoral behavior of the past cannot produce peace and reunification for its citizenry without real acts of reconciliation and redemption.
As a Nation, in 2016, we are still challenged to accept the fact that the Emancipated people of 1865 were equal to the losers of the Civil War. We have never accounted for the dehumanizing and terrorizing exploits of annihilating our indigenous people and the enslavement of African captives. Instead, we moved into an era where lynching Black people was an acceptable tradition for perceived crimes and minor social transgressions. Legal Scholars note that the death penalty has been substituted for lynching.
In an effort to demonstrate the transgressions of the past in a tangible and concrete manner, Mr. Stevenson's non-profit is constructing the first memorial honoring victims of lynching in the United States. Located in Montgomery, Alabama, within close proximity to the former site of one of the most prominent slave auction houses in this country, the project will include a museum focusing on slavery to the current era of mass incarceration. Its plan is to introduce people to the hardships of slavery through holographic images and the reading of authentic slave narratives. From these tense experiences, the museum audiences will move into the era of the terrorism of lynching. There will be 800 columns for every county in America where lynching took place. The names of the victims will be engraved on each column. His intent is to foster a greater understanding of the trauma transmitted from the condition of slavery into the terror of the flight in the Great Migration. These people carried this energy of trauma as refugees into the ghettoes of the North. Those that remained in the South continued to be terrorized by the tensions of the intensity of resistance to integration. It is anticipated that the dynamics of the presentation will foster participation and honest dialogue about race.
The most touching aspect of Bryan Stevenson is his dedication to his clients. He states that their lives have value and he strives to demonstrate this to them. On more than one occasion he has referenced the honor and deeply moving privilege it is to represent people whose humanness has been diminished or denied.
I am inspired by Bryan Stevenson. I can hear the sounds of "SAY IT LOUD," in James Brown's song, "SAY IT LOUD, I'M BLACK AND I'M PROUD." I am proud to know of "Hope Giver," Bryan Stevenson's work. Right now, I am reading his book, "Just Mercy." I look forward to meeting him one day.
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Sandra McCollum is a part of the Hurricane Katrina New Orleans Diaspora. She currently lives in Chicago, Ill but New Orleans will always be her home. She may be reached via email at sandraannmccollum@yahoo.com.
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John Lewis Calls For Federal Observers To Be Placed At Polling Stations On Election Day
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But a 2013 court decision restricted the Justice Department's authority to dispatch officials.
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Click here |
by Laura Barron-Lopez,
The Huffington Post
September 22, 2016 - Civil rights icon John Lewis called on the Obama administration Wednesday to dispatch federal election observers to polling stations in states that have recently restricted voting rights. But it wouldn't be easy.
The Georgia Democrat pointed to a wave of states that began enacting voting restrictions after the 2010 midterm elections, chipping away at a key achievement by the civil rights movement to end racial discrimination at the ballot box. This year, 14 states will have new voting restrictions in place for the first time in a presidential election year since the 1965 Voting Rights Act.
"In past few months and years I've traveled across the country and I know that there is a deliberate persistent systematic effort to make it harder and more difficult for the disabled, student, senior, minority, the poor and rural voters to participate in the Democratic process," Lewis said during a voting rights roundtable on Wednesday. "That's not right, not fair, and it's not just."
In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, leaving it to Congress to revise the law. Lewis called it a "shame" and "disgrace" that Congress has not acted. Though House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) supports bringing up a reauthorization of the act for a vote and controls the chamber floor, he has left that task to the whims of his members. Judiciary Chairman Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) opposes updating the law.
In the aftermath of the ruling, recent restrictions passed by states include new photo I.D. requirements, a cutback in early voting days, and the elimination of same-day registration.
"In certain states we should ask for federal protection, federal observers," Lewis said. "The election could be stolen on Election Day at polling places."
In past elections the Justice Department assigned poll observers to large number of states. In 2006, the federal government sent 800 monitors to 20 states. Those numbers took a drastic hit in the 2014 midterms after the Supreme Court's ruling; monitors were sent to just seven states.
This year the Justice Department can only send observers to five states, according to a Reuters report. Eleven states had met the department's criteria for needing monitors. The cutbacks make it harder for the department to keep an eye on regions with a history of racial discrimination and past polling problems.
The DOJ declined a Huffington Post request for comment on Lewis' remarks.
The department has not announced how many observers it will dispatch on Election Day.
"Our ability to deploy them has been severely curtailed," Attorney General Loretta Lynch said in July of the high court's ruling.
SOURCE
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NCBCP Unity '16 Black Voter Empowerment Campaign
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What's At Stake
The 2016 Presidential Election will determine whether our nation moves forward building upon a hope and change agenda or moves backwards to a dark period of exclusion where the wealth gap continues to rise, the poverty rate increases, the middle class dissolves and voting rights are repressed for minorities, the elderly, immigrants and youth.
In 2016, there is much at stake when the nation will elect the 45
th president, 435 members of the U. S. House of Representative, 34 U. S. Senators, 12 state governors and 88 of the 99 state legislative chambers; and 41 of the 100 largest cities and municipal governments.
About Unity'16
The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation (The National Coalition)
will celebrate the 40th Anniversary of its founding in 2016 focused on organizing, amplifying and leveraging the voices and impact of the Black vote in the 2016 Presidential Election Cycle through its Unity 2016 Civic Engagement & Vote Empowerment Campaign (Unity'16 Campaign).
The National Coalition created the Unity Campaign model in 1998 to reinvigorate its 80 membership organization base, 12 state-based affiliates, Black Women's Roundtable and Black Youth Vote Networks. The Unity Campaign model was also designed to cultivate new partnerships and develop new ways to attract and share resources. What makes the Unity model unique and effective, is the ability of The National Coalition to maintain a coordinated, constituency-based integrated voter engagement campaign year-round utilizing national and state based coordinating committees.
The Unity '16 Campaign seeks to usher in a new balance of power by developing leaders and electing champions who will promote policies that improve the quality of life in Black and underserved communities.
The Unity '16 Campaign includes three (3) organizing components:
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Vote to Make Black Lives Matter!
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Guest Commentary by Dr. Ronald Mason, Jr.
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Ronald Mason Jr., JD |
WASHINGTON, DC (September 22, 2016) - Sunday's Washington Post interviewed two African American activists about political strategies for black communities: Erika Totten, 33, a co-creator of the District Black Lives Matter group; and Courtland Cox, 75, head of the SNCC Legacy Project, and veteran of violent voter registration campaigns in the South during the sixties.
Because the two-party system is "corrupt," Totten said, "Thinking about voting the lesser of two evils, there are many people that feel I'm just not going to vote for evil at all." She favored, instead, working "on the ground level" to change her community.
Cox, on the other hand, quoted Martin Luther King to caution that "all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing."
I understand where Totten is coming from. The concentration of wealth in America in the hands of a very few people, and the related system of white privilege, have skewed the democratic process. National elections have become a contest between PACs, marketing firms, and spin doctors. Democrats and Republicans often seem simply like two sides of the same elitist coin. I get it. Fair enough.
However, imperfect as it is, politics is a process of allocating resources, and resources save lives. Small policy shifts can lower student debt and improve healthcare, education, incarceration, and the distribution of wealth. If just one life is made better, that is worth a single vote. And the healthier and more educated a population is, the better equipped it is to affect larger issues of justice and equity. Change gathers momentum as voices rise in volume. And the only practical voice in America is the vote.
I used to be a member of Black Lives Matter, although it wasn't called that back then. I was impatient, disruptive, and ready to tear everything down and start over again. But I learned that even if that were possible, life is not that simple. I watched the Occupy Wall Street movement. It made a good point, but it was not sustainable. I look at Black Lives Matter and wonder what's next.
Black Lives Matter is a vibrant, attention-getting movement. It has shone a spotlight on the historic and systemic abuse and murder of black people, especially black men. Their lives, and the lives of Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Medgar Evers, and countless others who fought or died so that we could proudly and loudly claim our worth as human beings, without fear of recrimination or death, should not have been in vain. We should honor them and invoke their memory by voting as much and as often as the opportunity arises, to continue to ensure that their lives mattered.
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Ronald Mason, Jr., J.D. is president of the University of the District of Columbia. A native of New Orleans, President Mason received his B.A. and J.D. degrees from Columbia University in New York City. He attended the Harvard Institute of Educational Management and is the recipient of the Mayor's Medal of Honor from the City of New Orleans, the Martin Luther King Lifetime Achievement Award from Dillard, Loyola, Tulane, and Xavier universities, and was one of five recipients of Columbia University's 2008 John Jay Award for distinguished alumni. He may be reached via email at ronald.mason@udc.edu.
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Vincent T. Sylvain, Publisher |
The New Orleans Agenda
newsletter is the leading local alternative for information on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast Region. A provider of turnkey Web-Based Internet Marketing Services, we specialize in servicing community and faith-based entities, corporate, governmental and professional organizations, as well as arts & cultural events.
We have access to thousands of permission-based email addresses, thus providing us the unique ability to gain direct access to a targeted audience through the use of automated and coordinated email campaigns and social media.
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Join Our Mailing List!
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Through a partnership with NOLA Beez, we are part of an online collaboration of ethnic media organizations featuring hyperlocal news content covering the Greater New Orleans Metropolitan Area. A project of New America Media, the NAM Digital Divide Initiative aims to assist ethnic media in improving coverage of their communities through citizen journalism and online multimedia development.
This partnership includes the publications of Louisiana Weekly, El Tiempo New Orleans, Jambalaya News, Louisiana Data News Weekly, Ngoc Lan: The Vietnamese American Association, New Orleans Agenda.com, New Orleans East.com, and NOLA.TV.
The New Orleans Agenda
newsletter has received more than
10 Million Page Views!
Let us introduce you to our audience.
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Contact | Vincent Sylvain | 504-232-3499 |Vincent@SylvainSolutions.com
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Contributing Writers
Featured:
Kemberley Washington, CPA
KemCents Thursday Money Tips
Kemberley Washington, CPA is a former IRS agent and currently works as a professor at Dillard University. She
is the co-founder of the B.A.D.G.E.® plan and she is also the author of "T
he Ten Commandments to a Financial Healing
." Kemberley started the B.A.D.G.E.® plan in 2013.
Marc H. Morial, President & CEO, Nat'l Urban League
To Be Equal
To Be Equal is a syndicated weekly column by National Urban League President Marc H. Morial. Each week's topic focuses on issues affecting both African American's and the nation as a whole. Started in 1963 by CEO Whitney M. Young, Jr., as "
The Voice of Black America," the column was immediately picked up by major newspapers and radio stations across the country.
Leslie Jacobs
Educate Now!
Leslie Jacobs is an insurance executive who has been engaged in education reform for over twenty years. A native of New Orleans, she began as a business partner to an elementary school, served as an elected member of the New Orleans School Board, followed by a twelve year government appointed position on the Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE).
James F. Thomas, M.S., Fitness Instructor
What the Fit Fridays
James Thomas serves as Head Trainer for K2 Body Sculpting LLC. Thomas is an American College of Sports Medicine Certified Exercise Physiologist (ACSM EP-C), a StrongFirst Kettlebell Instructor (SFGII). and BLS certified. He
writes a reoccurring general health and fitness article geared towards helpful tips on leading and living a healthier lifestyle.
Guest Columnists
| Lloyd Dennis |
Jamar McKneely
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Kristina Kay Robinson |
CeLilliann Green, Esq.
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Dr. Andre Perry
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Taylor Sylvain |
Dr. Walter Kimbrough
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William Quigley, Esq. |
Dr. Christopher Williams
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Sandra A. McCollum
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Timothy David Ray, Esq.
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Dr. Beverly Wright
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Constituent Outreach
| Mayor Mitchell Landrieu |
Congressman Cedric Richmond |
| Councilmember Jared Brossett |
State Senator Wesley Bishop |
State Senator Troy Carter
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State Senator Jean-Paul "JP" Morrell |
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Public Relations
Sylvain Solutions / Policamp, Inc. is a full-service alternative media and public relations consulting entity headed by Vincent Sylvain practicing in the areas of community outreach, political consulting, corporate communications, and special events.
The Internet has fundamentally changed the way we do business with our customers. As such, 21st Century promotion requires a balance of e-technology with the art of persuasion. Using years of Web experience; the latest best-practice approaches; a responsive support system; and a proven database; market share is optimized.
We implement creative customized communication campaigns designed to impact our clients' specific goals. We have a history which is unmatched and unparalleled; while diverse in our experience we specialize in the following areas:
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Please visit our friends!
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Vincent@SylvainSolutions.com
Learn more...
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The National Urban League
The mission of the National Urban League movement is to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.
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Marc H. Morial, President & CEO
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EXCELLENCE INNOVATION RESPONSIVENESS
Metro Service Group, located in New Orleans, Louisiana is a multi-faceted corporation with specific expertise and certifications in the areas of Environmental Services, Construction/Demolition and Disaster Response and Recovery. Metro Service Group is a licensed Contractor, certified in Building Construction; Heavy Construction; Highway, Street and Bridge Construction; Municipal and Public Works Construction and Solid Waste Management.
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Acrew is the only "resume-less" job market place that connects employers and job seekers through brief first impression videos.
Click here to visit Acrew.co
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It's happening in NEW ORLEANS EAST!
Welcome to the eastern half of New Orleans, where families come to settle down and spread their wings.
NOLAeast.com
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Rodney & Etter, LLC
Rodney & Etter, LLC is a law firm comprised of a diverse group of lawyers with backgrounds in business, government, and science. We practice in New Orleans and in Houston, and are recognized by peers and legal organizations across the United States for our outstanding record of successful settlements and litigation.
RodneyLaw.com
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Daughters of Charity Health Centers
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Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans offers primary and preventive health services that address the needs of the total individual - body, mind, and spirit.
Our nine health centers are conveniently located in Bywater, Carrollton, Kenner, Louisa, Metairie, New Orleans East, Prytania, Gentilly, Gretna and we provide care for chronic illnesses such as asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression. Women's health, behavioral/mental health, dental, optometry, pharmacy, podiatry and Women, Infants and Children (WIC) services are also available at select health centers.
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Signs Now
Explore exciting graphics ideas from Signs Now that will help your business stand out from the rest - from signs and banners to digital signage and trade show displays.
SignsNow.com/neworleans
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Focusing on your Expectations!
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Pick It Up New Orleans!
An Anti-Litter Campaign by
The New Orleans Agenda and Metro Service Group
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New America Media is the country's first and largest national collaboration and advocate of 3,000 ethnic news organizations. Over 57 million ethnic adults connect to each other, to home countries and to America through 3000+ ethnic media outlets, the fastest growing sector of American journalism.
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The New Orleans Agenda Newsletter
Phone: 504-232-3499 | Email: Vincent@SylvainSolutions.com
Website: SylvainSolutions.com
Opinions expressed are not necessarily the views of The New Orleans Agenda, POLICAMP, Inc. , or Vincent Sylvain unless explicitly stated.
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