The Oscars had 40 million viewers, the Super Bowl 108 million. N.F.L. revenue last year was about $9 billion, but the stated goal of its commissioner, Roger Goodell, in 2010 was to increase that to $25 billion by 2027.
.. But what if the template for football’s future is not the fate of boxing but rather that of the tobacco industry? The parallels, of course, are not perfect. But tobacco, like football, was once deeply embedded in the American economy, culture and mythology. Its history, in fact, is inseparable from that of the nation itself.
.. Luckasevic’s initial filing charged that the N.F.L. was involved in “a scheme of fraud and deceit” by failing to warn players of the dangers they faced and by publishing research of its own that falsely minimized risks.
.. That’s nothing for an entity as rich as the N.F.L. Goodell, the league’s commissioner, made $44 million last year — or nearly nine times the maximum payment for the most severely brain-damaged N.F.L. retiree.
Finding, and Battling, Hidden Costs of 401(k) Plans
In many retirement plans, a significant amount of future retirees’ funds are devoured by fees. According to a 2012 study published by the progressive think tank Demos, high 401(k) fees can drain $155,000 from an average household over a lifetime. Higher-earning households can lose even more — up to $278,000.
.. Also look at revenue sharing. This is an often complex arrangement where a fund manager “shares” some of the fees it receives from fund expenses with other service providers, such as brokers. This practice, though declining, is particularly insidious since it provides little or no value to employees. It is derisively referred to as a “kickback” by 401(k) critics.
.. And keep an eye out for unnecessary fees that may be eating up your nest egg. These include commissions, also known as “loads,” 12b-1 marketing fees, insurance-related charges, “wrap” fees and transaction expenses.
Before the Advice, Check Out the Adviser
Say you sit down with a broker — one who isn’t legally required to act as a fiduciary — and the broker has access to a dozen mutual funds, all of which are deemed “suitable” for a particular customer. The broker can recommend the most expensive fund, even if it makes him more money at the consumer’s expense and isn’t preferable in any other way, Professor Laby said.
.. Advisers’ pay can provide clues about whether their interests may be mismatched with consumers’.
.. IF consumers really want to put prospective advisers to the test, they could try a direct approach: Ask them to sign an oath stating they will act as fiduciaries, like the one recently created by the Committee for the Fiduciary Standard, an advocacy group. Andrew Stoltmann, a securities lawyer in Chicago, said such an oath would be binding in an arbitration proceeding, which is how a vast majority of customer disputes are settled. “If the adviser refused to sign it, then the investor should run for the hills,” he said.
War Is A Racket (1935)
In the World War [I] a mere handful garnered the profits of the conflict. At least 21,000 new millionaires and billionaires were made in the United States during the World War. That many admitted their huge blood gains in their income tax returns. How many other war millionaires falsified their tax returns no one knows.
How many of these war millionaires shouldered a rifle? How many of them dug a trench? How many of them knew what it meant to go hungry in a rat-infested dug-out? How many of them spent sleepless, frightened nights, ducking shells and shrapnel and machine gun bullets? How many of them parried a bayonet thrust of an enemy? How many of them were wounded or killed in battle?
Out of war nations acquire additional territory, if they are victorious. They just take it. This newly acquired territory promptly is exploited by the few — the selfsame few who wrung dollars out of blood in the war. The general public shoulders the bill.