From Pine View Farm

Mammon category archive

Right To Work (for Less) 0

Man shows petition to woman and says,

Via Job’s Anger.

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Trump Takes the Helmsley 2

Leona Helmsley in 1986:  Only the little people pay taxes.  Donald Trump in 2016:  That makes me smart.

Via Job’s Anger.

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If One Standard Is Good, Two Must Be Better 0

Dick Polman continues to decry the disparate treatment.

Imagine the outcry if Hillary Clinton was outed for taking more than a quarter of a million dollars in other people’s money — donations to the Clinton Foundation, donations that were intended to be used for charitable purposes — and spent it instead on herself, in a breach of federal tax laws, in order to settle all kinds of lawsuits filed against her. And to buy several paintings of herself.

Well. We know what would happen.

More both sides not at the link.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Real estate frolics.

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The Snaring Economy 0

One more time, Uber and Lyft are nothing more than gypsy cabs with cellphones.

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The Mills of Diploma Grind the Exceedlingly Fine 0

Warning: Language.

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Facebook Frolics 0

Conspicuous consumption frolics:

And fully 30% of Americans say that social media has some influence on their purchasing decisions, with 5% saying that it has a significant impact, a 2014 Gallup poll found. Among millennials the numbers are even higher with roughly half saying that social media influences what they buy.

(snip)

But often, there’s something deeper going on: “We are socially comparative creatures by nature,” says psychologist and author Nancy Irwin. And the use of social media makes comparisons to others just a scroll or a click away: “Social media can be the modern day version of ‘Keeping up with the Joneses,’” she says, and some people “feel inferior if someone they know has a shinier or bigger toy than they do.”

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Libertarianism, a Sucker’s Game 0

Thom gets a bit heated towards the end.

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The Rich Are Different from You and Me 0

Get out of Jail free card
They carry the very special invitation-only orange card.

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The Pushermen 0

Read more »

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Bondi of Bothers 0

Title:  Trump's Quid Pro Quo.  Image:  Quid (Florida to review Trump U. allegations).  Pro ($25.000 donation to Florida A-G Pam Bondi).  Quo (Florisda takes no action against Trump U.).  Faux (Trump wearing halo says,


Click for the original image.

In related news, John Romano spins a tale.

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Prisoners of the Privatization Scam 0

Warning: Language.

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Immunity Impunity 0

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Reaching Beyond the Grave 0

You can’t make this stuff up.

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Just in Time for Labor Day 0

Theft of labor.

It’s a thing.

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The Snaring Economy 0

Gypsy cabs.

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission has upheld an $11,364,736 fine, the largest in its history, against Uber for running an unlicensed taxi operation and obstructing attempts to investigate the firm.

(snip)

“We do not take lightly the fact that the civil penalty imposed in this case is the largest in this Commission’s history,” the chairman and vice chairman of the PUC said in a joint statement. “However, the reason the penalty is so large is because we were faced with an unprecedented number of violations committed by Uber.”

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Everybody Must Get Fracked 0

Suffer the children.

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Only in It for the Money, Reprise 0

Lifeguard holding life preserver and labeled


Click for the original image.

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A. Workers in China 0

Q. Who polishes the Apple?

El Reg reports

. . . according to watchdog group China Labor Watch . . . the Cupertino giant has asked the companies that assemble its products to cut their own costs, and those demands have led them to cut back on worker pay and factory conditions.

(snip)

“Currently, Apple’s profits are declining, and the effects of this decline have been passed on to suppliers. To mitigate the impact, Pegatron has taken some covert measures to exploit workers.”

Follow the link for the complete story.

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Only In It for the Money 0

Wendell Potter doesn’t try to hide his disgust at Aetna’s antics.

Health insurers . . . once again are demonstrating that nothing—absolutely nothing—is more important to them than making their rich shareholders even richer.

If that means making it more difficult for low- and middle-income Americans to get the medical care they need, so be it. “Too bad, so sad,” to use a phrase one of my former colleagues used to say when people complained about the way health insurers routinely screw their customers.

(snip)

In fact, it is Aetna’s government business (Medicare and Medicaid–ed.) that is the only segment that is growing. Aetna and most of the other for-profit insurers have been losing private-paying customers on a regular basis for some time. But not to worry. As long as Uncle Sam has the Medicare and Medicaid faucets wide open and flowing straight into the insurers’ bank accounts, they couldn’t care less.

Read the rest.

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