“Criminal prosecution of corporate violators by the U.S. Department of Justice declined by 29 percent between FY 2004 and FY 2014, despite repeated claims to the contrary by top officials. Meanwhile over the same period, there has been little change in the number of times investigators at the various federal agencies have asked that criminal cases be brought against corporations; such referrals have actually increased by 2.6 percent. Moreover, the overall number of corporations in the country that could be investigated for criminal wrongdoing has grown by about 24 percent. These findings are based on a new analysis by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) of hundreds of thousands of records developed and collected by the Justice Department. The case-by-case records were obtained by TRAC as the result of a 17-year litigation effort under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Supporting data from the U.S. Sentencing Commission and the Internal Revenue Service also contributed to these findings. For an in-depth analysis of this observed decrease in the criminal prosecution of corporations, see the report at: http://trac.syr.edu/tracreport
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Daily Archives: October 13, 2015
Map Illustrates the Most and Least Money-Savvy States
“North Dakota is the most money-savvy state while Mississippi is the least, according to GOBankingRates’ newest study evaluating financial smarts and resource availability of residents in each state. The leading personal finance website investigated all 50 states and the District of Columbia, ranking each on important factors of financial health: residents’ use of banking services,… Continue Reading
The 158 Families Funding the 2016 Presidential Election
New York Times – “Just 158 families, along with companies they own or control, contributed $176 million in the first phase of the campaign.” By NICHOLAS CONFESSORE, SARAH COHEN and KAREN YOURISH. OCT. 10, 2015 “They are overwhelmingly white, rich, older and male, in a nation that is being remade by the young, by women,… Continue Reading
Great Recession’s Impact on School District Finances in New York State
The Great Recession’s Impact on School District Finances in New York State, October 2015. New York Fed – Forthcoming. Rajashri Chakrabarti, Max Livingston, and Elizabeth Setren. “A slowly emerging literature explores the effects of the Great Recession on different parts of the economy; however, very little research examines the impact of the Great Recession (or any other recession)… Continue Reading
Volcker Rule – How a Simple Idea to Rein In Banks Got Supersized
Bloomberg Quick Take by Yalman Onaran: “Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines “speculation” in 31 words. The key ones are “risk of a large loss.” When Paul Volcker, the former U.S. Federal Reserve chairman, in January 2009 proposed banning speculation by federally insured banks to reduce risk to the world economy, he did it in one paragraph. Four… Continue Reading
Hudson Institute White Paper – remove Copyright Office from Library of Congress
A 21st Century Copyright Office: The Conservative Case for Reform – Steven Tepp & Ralph Oman, October 2015. “Executive Summary – This white paper examines the history and constitutional status of the copyright functions of the federal government. It concludes that the U.S. Copyright Office will function better, be more respectful of our constitutional structure,… Continue Reading
Labor law highlights, 1915–2015
Bureau of Labor Statistics – Monthly Labor Review – October 2015 – Labor law highlights, 1915–2015 – “To help mark the Monthly Labor Review’s centennial, the Review invited several producers and users of BLS data to take a look back at the last 100 years. This article highlights important U.S. labor legislation since 1915. Areas… Continue Reading
Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Products
“The Census Bureau is releasing a selection of data products on income, poverty and health insurance coverage. These products include: • 2015 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Public Use Micro Data File containing tax and noncash benefit variables (http://www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas/data/supplemental/public-use.html) • 2015 CPS ASEC updated in Table Creator online tool (http://www.census.gov/cps/data/cpstablecreator.html) • 2015… Continue Reading
