News
Darrell Issa Has Sleazy Plan to Restore Veterans’ Pensions By Privatizing the Post Office. Late last week, Issa found a silver lining in another unpleasant situation for military retirees whose pensions are being raided by Republicans in their two-year austerity budget and is turning it into an opportunity to kill Veterans’ jobs, harm the United States Postal Service, and give two corporations control of a government program. PoliticusUSA
Bill Clinton Is the Face of a Massive For-profit College Company. While it doesn’t have the name recognition of say, the University of Phoenix, Laureate Education Inc. is America’s largest for-profit college company by enrollment, though most of its 800,000 students attend one of the 70 schools it runs overseas. Bloomberg has published an investigation into the organization, which boasts $4 billion in annual revenue and backers who include George Soros, Steve Cohen’s SAC Capital, and Henry Kravis’s KKR & Co. In 2010, Bill Clinton became Laureate’s honorary chancellor, and has since traveled to its locations “in countries such as Malaysia, Peru and Spain, making more than a dozen appearances on its behalf.” (Portraits of him are posted around some of the campuses.) New York Magazine
Outsourcing Pays Big to Private Companies While Americans Suffer. Remember how outsourcing was shoved down the throats of the American people by claiming it would save money and was more efficient? Guess what, not only is costing more, the services now provided are dismal failures. A new report, Out of Control describes the abysmal state and consequences of outsourcing public services. Not only did America lose these jobs in many cases, taxpayers have lined the pockets of private enterprises while receiving less and paying more. Economic Populist
DC: New claims surface in Options charter case. A senior official at the D.C. Public Charter School Board allegedly received $150,000 to help the former managers of Options Public Charter School evade oversight and take millions of taxpayer dollars for themselves, according to a new court document. Washington Post
PA: Corbett Optimistic Legislative Support for Lottery Privatization is Growing. The governor’s plans to outsource the lottery’s management were stymied when the state attorney general rejected a contract last year. Last month, Senate Republicans began considering a measure that would pave the way for privatization and allow the expansion of lottery games. The Senate GOP majority leader suggested hearings might be held on the measure later this month. 90.5 WESA