Essay/Commentary: Aaron Swartz Driven to take Life
Computer genius Aaon Swartz (founder of Reddit and RSS) took his own life after being threatened with decades in prison for a victimless crime, that of illicitly making M.I.T. computer journals available to those who didn't pay for them. It is ironic but not surprising that a District Attorney went after a minor computer criminal while at the same time ignoring the major crimes of Wall Street criminals who nearly destroyed our economy and our way of life. I understand that Swartz was offered a sentence of less that a year, but his lawyer rejected the offer. Those at the top should not be exempt from the same harsh law that took a promising mind from this world with no justification except perhaps to make an overzealous prosecutor to look tough on crime, while ignoring the real crime from the financial world of Wall Street.
Correction: According to the attorney who prosecuted and/or persecuted Swartz, the unfortunate man was not subject to decades in prison, but the mere threat of jail for a victimless crime pushed him over the edge.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Essay/Commentary: "AIG or P-I-G?"
Essay/Commentary: "AIG or P-I-G?"
A little over a year ago financial behemoth AIG, whose greedy actions nearly destroyed our economy and our way of life received a no strings involved financial bailout for supposedly being "too big to fail". I don't know the exact amount, but I know it was over a billion dollars. Since it was a no strings attached bailout, they abused the privilege by handing out bonuses rather than for what the cash infusion was really intended for. Now, AIG is apparently considering filing a lawsuit against the Federal government (kind of like indirectly suing the taxpayers of this country) to evidently get even more money, while screwing over the average person (especially those poor souls undergoing home foreclosure). According to a website of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren AIG deserves to lose its tax beak privileges. As far as I'm concerned, they should have forfeited such privileges a long time ago. Also, there is no such thing as "too big to fail". A lot of companies (such as Enron) have gone bankrupt or extinct. We'd all be better off if such companies were broken up or dissolved, and the greedy few at the top should be denied all perks, bonuses, and so-called "Golden Parachutes".
A little over a year ago financial behemoth AIG, whose greedy actions nearly destroyed our economy and our way of life received a no strings involved financial bailout for supposedly being "too big to fail". I don't know the exact amount, but I know it was over a billion dollars. Since it was a no strings attached bailout, they abused the privilege by handing out bonuses rather than for what the cash infusion was really intended for. Now, AIG is apparently considering filing a lawsuit against the Federal government (kind of like indirectly suing the taxpayers of this country) to evidently get even more money, while screwing over the average person (especially those poor souls undergoing home foreclosure). According to a website of Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren AIG deserves to lose its tax beak privileges. As far as I'm concerned, they should have forfeited such privileges a long time ago. Also, there is no such thing as "too big to fail". A lot of companies (such as Enron) have gone bankrupt or extinct. We'd all be better off if such companies were broken up or dissolved, and the greedy few at the top should be denied all perks, bonuses, and so-called "Golden Parachutes".
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