Protesters engage in MBTA fare strike action after anti-austerity march

“Boston Fare Strike,” a mixed-coalition of protesters from the International Workers of the World, Socialist Alternative, Common Struggle and an affinity group from within Occupy Boston, marched right passed the fare gates at Park Street Station on Saturday to “take a stand” against the impending increases.

The direct action ended an “Anti-Austerity” march yesterday through the streets of Boston. According to the group “across the world, the rich are using ‘austerity measures’ to pass the cost of the recession onto the working class.”

The march was in protest of those measures.

http://tinyurl.com/72ytnrl

Senior citizens lost $2.9 billion to financial fraud and exploitation in 2010

The majority, or 84%, of experts who deal with financial fraud of elders — including financial planners, medical professionals and social workers — have noticed an increase in financial abuses this year, according to a survey released this week by nonprofit organization Investor Protection Trust.

About 58% of the 762 respondents reported that they encountered investment fraud or financial exploitation of seniors “quite often” or “somewhat often.” And 96% of experts said elderly fraud is a serious problem.

Meanwhile, research from insurance provider MetLife has found that Americans over the age of 60 lost about $2.9 billion to financial abuse in 2010 — up 12% from the $2.6 billion lost in 2008.

http://tinyurl.com/8yjub9w

Stress levels soars in US… and young women under 35 are among those bearing the brunt

Feeling stressed? New figures reveal you’re not alone.

Americans are more stressed out than they were 30 years ago with young women among those feeling the brunt of it a first ever assessment of individual stress levels in U.S. reports.

A 10 to 30 per cent stress increase was found through surveys of approximately 6,300 Americans over the age of 18 in 1983 and again in 2006 and 2009 through all demographics.

http://tinyurl.com/7klvvq6

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 6/18/12” »

Plutocracy boardgame
Via

Learning You’re Not Elite

If you ever want to see a middle-class person learn first hand and immediately that he or she is not actually an elite, attend an arraignment docket down at the county courthouse and watch defendants brought up on misdemeanors. The poor defendants already know what to expect. They’ve lived discrimination and they might qualify for the public defender. So they look bored and tired. They’re not afraid of because they have no expectations.

But the middle-class defendants will be absolutely bewildered and visibly terrified. They have no idea what they’re in for. And the only things they’ve ever heard or known about our criminal justice system are that it’s horrible, and that it’s for Other People. Watch them up shaking as they struggle to keep up with that judge reciting from the state criminal code. That’s when a lot of people realize they aren’t elites. That’s when they learn they’re Other People too.

http://tinyurl.com/7f8zuww

Financial Firms Ready ‘Crisis Teams’ for Greek Election Aftermath

The banks are on high alert. Hundreds of employees at big firms, some part of special teams, will be on standby this Sunday, awaiting the results of Greece’s pivotal election. They are preparing for the worst case. The fear is that the vote will heighten the chances of Greece exiting the euro and the global financial system will be shaken when the markets open on Monday.

After being largely unprepared for the extreme stress of the 2008 crisis, large banks in the United States are determined to be ready this time. They have been taking measures to deal with instability in Europe for over a year. In recent months, they have stepped up their contingency planning, especially after it became clear that Greece was struggling to comply with the terms of a March bailout that was intended to keep the country in the euro.

In New York and London, banks have set up dedicated crisis teams, and rehearsed elaborate responses. As clients get nervous, banks have been guiding clients on how to react to a range of situations, from just one country leaving the euro zone to the dissolution of the euro itself.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/47840486

Continue reading “The OB Media Rundown for 6/17/12” »