News & Articles

Here’s something I never expected to see: The CEO of an insurance giant who has an actual heart, some common sense, ethics, and the guts to go against corporate orthodoxy. Someone call Ripley’s Believe It Or Not!

Mark Bertolini, chief of Aetna, is boosting the pay of the insurance company’s lowest-paid workers to $16 an hour. Beginning in April, some 6,000 Aetna employees – mostly working in customer-service and billing jobs – will find a boost of up to one-third in their paychecks. But wait, there’s more! Aetna is also adjusting its company health plan so about 7,000 lower-income workers can get the same health coverage they now have, but pay some $4,000 a year less for it. Can you believe it? A health insurance break from an insurance company!

Like me, you’re probably looking for the loophole in this deal. But, lo and behold, it seems to be on the up and up. Bertolini cast it as a common sense business move, noting that fairer pay lifts morale, attracts more top-notch employees, and helps reduce the $120 million a year in costs that Aetna now shells out because of high employee turnover. While the corporation will gain all of that, there’s a deeper element of egalitarian idealism in Bertolini’s moves. “It’s about the whole social compact,” says this rare CEO, who has also asked all Aetna executives to read Thomas Piketty’s landmark book on the escalating price our society is paying for today’s ever-widening economic inequality.

The most amazing thing about Bertolini’s decision to invest in workers and instill even a smidgen of democratic ethics in a corporate structure – is that it’s considered amazing. After all, basic fairness is a core value that we’re taught from the time we’re toddlers. As Aetna’s chief puts it to the CEO class, “Why can’t private industry step forward… to do this?”

“Aetna Sets Wage Floor: $16 an Hour,” www.wsj.com, January 12, 2015.

“Aetna competitors unlikely to match $16 minimum wage move,” www.modernhealthcare.com, January 14, 2015.

“Up To Speed: Aetna plans to raise wages, improve health offerings for lowest-paid employees,” www.bizjournals.com, January 13, 2015.

Welcome to what the Supreme Court wrought

After the Supreme Court’s democracy-mugging decree that corporations can dump unlimited amounts of their shareholders’ money into our election campaigns, a guy named Larry sent an email to me that perfectly summed up what had just been done to us: “Big money has plucked our eagle!”

Thanks to the court’s freakish Citizens United ruling, the Koch brothers have already amassed an unprecedented $900 million electioneering fund, making them the Godfathers of tea-party Republicanism. Thus, such presidential wannabes as Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Marco Rubio, and Scott Walker are shamelessly scurrying to kiss the Koch ring and pledge fealty to the brotherhood’s extremist plutocratic agenda.

But big money is not only corrupting candidates, but also greatly diminishing voter participation in what has become a made-for-TV farce. The biggest chunk of cash spent by Koch, Inc. will go right into a mind-numbing squall of ads. They will not explain why we should vote for so and so, but instead will be nauseatingly-negative attack ads, trashing the candidates the Koch syndicate opposes. Worse, voters will not even be informed that the the Kochs paid for this garbage, since the Supreme Court says they can run secret campaigns, laundering their money through front groups to keep voters from knowing what special interests are really behind the attacks.

We saw the impact of secret, unrestricted corporate money in last year’s midterm elections. It produced a blight of negativity, a failure of the system to address the people’s real needs, an upchuck factor that kept nearly two-thirds of the people from voting, a rising alienation of the many from the political process – and a Congress owned by corporate elites. The Koch machine spent about $400 million to get those results. This time, they’ll spend more than twice that.

“16 Koch Budget is $889 Million,” The New York Times, January 27, 2015.

“Shine light on campaign ‘dark money’,” The Austin American Statesman, February 1, 2015.

“Koch Network Vows To Spend Nearly $900 Million To Buy Presidency And Congress,” www.alternet.org, January 27, 2015.

Super Bowl enriches NFL, stiffs host city

How about that Super Bowl game, huh? And today, I’ve got the final score for you: The Pats 28, Seahawks 24… and Glendale minus 2,000,000.

Two million dollars that is – the amount that Mayor Jerry Weiers estimates that Glendale, Arizona, lost by having the “honor” of hosting Super Bowl XLIX. Lost? Isn’t this sports spectacular a magic money machine? That’s what the NFL’s super slick billionaire owners say as they hustle their Big Game from city to city, claiming that the lucky host will gain $500 million in added hotel rentals, sales taxes, etc.

Independent analysts, however, show that additional spending in a host city actually is far-less-than-super, ranging from about $200 million to as low as $30 million. Moreover, much of that just replaces revenue from regular tourists – and, in Glendale’s case, hordes of fans coming to the game chose to stay, eat, and party in Phoenix, so the money went there. And don’t forget to subtract a city’s added costs, such as thousands of police overtime hours, security for VIPs, street closings, and extra cleanup crews.

And while Glendale did have its moment in the global TV spotlight, Mayor Weier is not exactly bullish on any real benefit coming from that. “In the long run,” he says, “down the road, certainly we might break even on this.” Meanwhile, the people of Glendale are still paying a heavy price for earlier failed gambles on big time sports. To stave off bankruptcy, 25 percent of city workers were terminated, street maintenance was cut, libraries and swimming pools reduced their hours, and taxes were raised.

So, look out San Francisco, Houston, Minneapolis, and other cities next in line to host Super Bowls. One clue into who really wins in these hyped-up deals is that the NFL didn’t even offer a ticket to Mayor Weiers – he had to watch the game at home.

“Glendale mayor, experts say NFL oversells economic benefits of Super Bowl,” www.america.aljazeera.com, January 31, 2015.

“Salaries, Ads & Security: What’s The Real Cost Of Super Bowl XLIX?” www.forbes.com, February 1, 2015.

“Super Bowl host city will lose ‘couple million dollars’ hosting the event,” www.mashable.com, January 29, 2015.