Black Wealth vs. White Wealth

This is a clip of the comedian, Chris Rock, doing his standup.  He explains, in a very comedic way, the difference between the rich and the wealthy; where white men are wealthy and black men are rich.

The College Conspiracy?

Is college a conspiracy??  That's what's being discussed in this 60 minute clip.  An overview of this video is below:

College Conspiracy is the most comprehensive documentary ever produced about higher education in the U.S. The film exposes the facts and truth about America's college education system. 'College Conspiracy' was produced over a six-month period by NIA's team of expert Austrian economists with the help of thousands of NIA members who contributed their ideas and personal stories for the film. NIA believes the U.S. college education system is a scam that turns vulnerable young Americans into debt slaves for life.

NIA tracks price inflation in all U.S. industries and there is no industry that has seen more consistent price inflation this decade than college education. After the burst of the Real Estate bubble, student loans are now the easiest loan to receive in the U.S., and total student loan debts now exceed credit card debts. The government gives out easy student loans to anybody, regardless of grades, credit history, what they are majoring in, and what their job prospects are. NIA believes it is illegal for the U.S. government to be in the student loan business because the U.S. constitution doesn't authorize it. Just like how the U.S. government created Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to make housing affordable, but instead drove housing prices through the roof; the U.S. government, by trying to make college more affordable, is accomplishing the exact opposite and driving tuition prices to astronomical levels that provide a negative return on investment.

The U.S. has been experiencing 5.15% annual college tuition inflation this decade. Despite this, 70.1% of high school graduates are now enrolling into college, a new all time record. 2/3 of college students are now graduating with an average of $24,000 in debt. There is nothing special about getting a college degree if everyone else has one, and it is certainly not worth getting $24,000 into debt to camouflage yourself into the crowd. NIA's President is friends with hundreds of CEOs of mid-sized corporations who tell him that someone who skipped college is a lot more likely to stand out amongst the hundreds of applicants who apply for each job available.

The real unemployment rate in America is now 22% and 60% of college graduates who are lucky enough to find a job, are receiving low skilled jobs where a college degree isn't even required. In fact, 70% of high school graduates who didn't go to college, were able to get these very same jobs as the average college graduate. The main difference is, by the time Americans who went to college get their degree, those who went straight into the work force after high school will already have 4 to 6 years of valuable workplace experience. Instead of having $24,000 in debt, these experienced Americans will be working their way up to a higher paid position or a better job at a different company.

All across America, colleges are deceiving prospective students with misleading and often fraudulent tactics and statistics. The fact is, law schools are handing out 43,000 law degrees each year, when there are 15,000 less attorney and legal staff jobs in the U.S. than three years ago. Many law schools are advertising a 90% job placement rate within one year of graduating. However, weeks before job placement surveys are conducted, some law schools will hire unemployed graduates to work in their admissions department. They are let go as soon as these surveys are completed, but count as being part of the 90% employed.

'College Conspiracy' also exposes how three years ago when 15 new pharmacist schools were getting ready to open in the U.S., the college cartel created a pharmacist shortage hoax to scam Americans into investing hundreds of thousands of dollars to attend pharmacist school. NIA has uncovered how economists were bribed to produce phony studies that forecast the need for 150,000 new pharmacists in America by 2020. Today, NIA is hearing from many young Americans who were deceived into getting pharmacist degrees and can't find any pharmacist jobs no matter how many they apply for. These Americans are now deeply in debt and admit that they would have been better off getting minimum wage jobs stocking shelves somewhere.

Fannie and Freddie Mac Bonuses

Report examines Obama administration's contradictory rhetoric on bonuses, $1.7 million non-performance based 'signing bonus' for Fannie executive

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa today released a new report, "Government-Sponsored Moguls: Executive Compensation at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac." Highlights of the report include:

Assessments of controversial executive compensation decisions approved or allowed by the administration including the decision to award a $1.7 million non-performance based "signing bonus" to a recruited executive.
An examination of Obama Administration rhetoric on executive compensation for the private sector and decisions on compensation for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executives.
FHFA Inspector General criticisms of Fannie and Freddie executive compensation practices.
"While taxpayers are saddled with billions in losses, executives at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are being rewarded with millions for their efforts to pursue public policy goals of the Obama administration," said Chairman Issa. "This report examines and explains fundamental criticisms of executive compensation decisions for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- decisions made under an administration that excoriates private companies for big bonuses on the backs of taxpayers but looks the other way when our own federal entities heap cash on their executives for a job left undone."

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee will hold a hearing at 10 AM in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building with the CEOs of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as well as the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director on executive compensation policies.

Income Inequality and Bank Bonuses

In this clip, the host Cenk Uygur discusses the stunning facts about bank bonuses on Wall Street, average compensation and homeless kids.  It still sickens me the bonuses the executives of these large corporations are still receiving when they are hurting their own clientele.

Homeless Hotspots

Ever have the problem when you're out and can't find a internet hotspot?  Well our answers are solved now that the idea of homeless hotspots has hit the streets.  That's right, homeless men and women are now being equipped to be human hotspots in cities.  Courtesy of Manhattan-based marketing firm Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), some of the city’s homeless people were given T-shirts, printed with their names, that identified themselves as “homeless hotspots.” They carried devices that allowed them to offer a 4G wireless connection in exchange for donations.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/defense-homeless-hotspots-article-1.1039973#ixzz1pZoxlTsP

This clip is from Jon Stewart's "The Daily Show" that covers the story.  It takes a minute or two to get to it, but the clip does eventually get around to the topic. 

Even though I think this is a sick concept, apparently it's not looked at that way by the homeless involved.  The homeless believe it can become a life-changing experience.  No longer are people walking by and ignoring the homeless, but now interacting with them on a personal basis.  They also tell those they are interacting with what they really need.  The good news is...out of all this, is that they are getting paid for being a mobile hotspot and wearing the t-shirts.  They get $50 a day for their services and also receive tips from those using their services.  

Overall, the interpretation of this concept is in the eyes of the beholder.  There are positives and negatives to this human hotspotting.

Is College Worth It?

This is an interesting clip reported by John Stossel on whether college is really worth it.  Many college graduates are in major debt due to school loans....some equaling over $100K.  Once they graduate they end up moving back in with their parents because they can't find a job that they went to school for or just a well paying job to begin with.  We as Americans are told that going to college will make us all a step higher than others and make us more money just by having that degree.  Unfortunately, it may not be true.  Many of the jobs graduates are getting they could have gotten without even going to college. Interesting.......

The Overspent America

This clip is a brief overview of a study on "The Overspent America, Why We Spend What We Don't Have".  It looks at history and how we as American's work more hours and spend a lot more money on consumer goods.  When back in the day, the American dream was a house with a white picket fence, a car, and 2.2 kids.  That was really it.  However, now that car is a luxury car...that house is a mansion....and then add all the toys and random luxuries we try to acquire.  The American Dream as been blown way out of proportion.  We work harder and longer hours to acquire more money, to buy stuff we really don't need.

Occupy Wall Street Simplified

This is a nice little overview of the current Occupy Wall Street movement in a cartoon version.

School House Rock - Sufferin' Till Suffrage (Women's Rights)

School House Rock...an oldie, but a goodie.  It's a musical cartoon on the Women's Rights Movement.

When the power elite get defeated (a cartoon version)

Funny how an elite corporation like Disney would put something like this in their movies...the power elite getting defeated by the classes below them.  But in any case, this is a clip from the movie "Bugs Life".  At this moment of the movie, the power elite is trying to convince the classes below them that they need to stop having ideas and stop trying to over power the way things are.  The upper class tries to convince the lower classes that they need the upper class, but really it's the other way around.  It basically shows what could happen when the lower classes take on the upper class.  If you think about it, they're right.  The upper class needs the lower class.

George Carlin and the Class Structure

In this clip, George Carlin puts a comedic look on his take on the class structure and taxes.  He says politics divides us on purpose and to cause conflict/fighting.  He says the upper class has all the money and pays no taxes, whereas everyone else does.  However, the lower class is there to scare the middle class.

Who Rules America?

This clip is based off the question, "who rules America?"  George William Domhoff is the author of Who Rules America?.  This was a controversial 1960's book which argued that the United States is dominated by an elite class both politically and economically.  He explains that it is the elite that really rule America.