The Fine Print: How Big Companies Use Plain English to Rob You Blind
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Fannie Mae, 152
“FCC Subscriber Line Charge,” 6
Federal Arbitration Act (1925), 156
Federal Bureau of Investigation, 151–52
Federal Communications Commission, 6–7, 52, 54
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 148
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), 90–91, 92, 93, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 101, 102, 103, 104, 260, 261
Federal Reserve, 146, 147–48, 149–50, 152, 191, 245
Federal Reserve Act, Rule 23A of, 147–53
fees, imposed by banks, 142–53
Felton, Calif., 118, 120–21, 122
Felton FLOW, 122, 123–24
fiber-optic cables, 51
Fidelity, 187
fiduciary duty, 194–95
film industry, tax credits for, 218–26
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, 171
financial crisis of 2008, 21–22
FiOS (Verizon fiber-optic system), 53
fire departments, 134–35, 173
volunteer, 135
Fischel, Daniel, 241–42
Fischer, David Hackett, 190–91, 192
Florida Power & Light, 99
Fogarty, Tom, 182
Ford, 234
Form 1040EZ, 229, 233
Foshee, Douglas, 169
401(k), 184–95, 201, 258, 271
birth of, 186–87
company theft from, 194
costs of, 190, 193–95
fees charged for, 188–89, 194
inefficiency of, 189–93
paid in company stock, 191
403(b)s, 188
457s, 188
Fox Studios, 222
FPL Group, 88
France, 60–61, 275
Franklin, Ben, 135
Franks, Jack, 234, 236
fraud, 161, 241–42
control, 8, 151, 242, 245, 267
mortgage, 151–52
Freddie Mac, 152
free trade policies, 250, 251–52
Friedman, Milton, 16–17, 26
gambling, 12, 233
garbage collection, 128–41, 248
costs of, 138–39
profits from, 139
taxes and, 133
Geffen, David, 222
General Electric, 9, 19, 148, 202, 218, 219, 221, 222, 234, 236
George, Henry, 48–49
Germany, 23, 243, 245–46
Ghilarducci, Teresa, 187
G.I. Bill, 137
gift taxes, 205
Gingrich, Newt, 20, 56
Ginsburg, Ruth Bader, 159–60
Glasgow, Ky., 54–59, 260
Glasgow Electric Plant Board, 56
Global Crossing, 191
GlobalFoundries, 9–10
Goldberg, Melinda, 128, 130–31, 132–33
Goldman Sachs, 9, 148, 150, 152, 165–71, 234
bailout of, 166–67
bonuses of, 167–68
corporate headquarters of, 167–68
in El Paso Corporation takeover, 169–70
profits of, 167–68
tax benefits for, 168
Gooch, Gordon, 98, 100, 101, 103–4
Good Jobs First, 168
Goodyear Tire & Rubber, 10
Google, 20, 235
Gottesdiener, Eli, 184
Government Accountability Office, 34–35, 109–10, 186, 194
government borrowing, 248
grain companies, 33
Gramlich, Jeff, 70–71
Gramm, Phil, 150, 152
Grand Coulee Dam, 73
Grand Hyatt, 237
Grange movement, 48
Great Depression, 21
Great Recession, 150, 189, 248, 253
Great Wave, The (Fischer), 190–91, 192
Greenhouse, Steven, 173
Greenspan, Alan, 152, 166
Greig, Jacqueline, 106–7
Greig, Janessa, 106
Griffith, Thomas, 96, 97
Grow, Brian, 14
Hale, Carter Hawley, 191, 192
Haliburton, 20
Hall, Jim, 110
Hall, Robert, 200
H&R Block, 228, 269
Harmon, James D., 177
health care, 23, 82, 243, 248, 275
health insurance, 23, 243
Heaney, Jim, 73
hedge fund managers, 204–7, 251, 256, 271
hedge funds, 196
Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI), 47–48
Heritage Foundation, 150
heterodox economists, 245
Hewlett-Packard, 212
“high consequence areas,” 107, 108, 115
Hlatshwayo, Sandile, 61
holding companies, 67–68, 260, 261–62, 265
Holding Company: Its Public Significance and Its Regulation (Bonbright and Means), 261
Holmes, Tod, 139, 140–41
Hoskin, Rolan, 173–74
housing crisis, 152–53
HSBC, 148
Huls-Simpson, Natalie, 163
Hurricane Katrina, 78, 80
Hurst, Wayne, 33, 34–35
Huval, Terry, 42, 43, 45, 58–59
IBM, 19
Idaho Grain Producers Association, 33
Illinois, 234–36, 238
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, 235–36
Illinois Public Act 97–2, 239
income:
average, 208
stagnation of U.S., 21–22
income taxes, 199
income tax returns, 227–33
Independent Voter Project, 73
index funds, 193
India, 62, 252
Indiana, 126
individual retirement accounts, 271
inequality, 248, 255
infant mortality, 20, 243
infrastructure, 59, 275
aging, 65–66
Ingersoll Rand, 20
Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (Smith), 55, 136, 259
Insull, Sam, 67, 103
Insull Trust, 103
insurance, 267–68
insurance companies, 12, 176
integrity, 244–46
Intel, 73
intellectual property, 237
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, 47
Internal Revenue Service, 15–16, 197, 206, 211, 275
corporate auditors of, 238
Internet, 1–2, 5, 7, 50–51, 52, 59–60, 230, 252
cost of, 60–61
economic impact of slow service on, 61–63
speeds on, 60, 62
Internet bubble, 185
Internet calling, 53
Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC), 34, 260
Intuit, 229–33, 269
investment banking, 165
Investment Company Institute, 188
Ireland, 216, 250
Irondequoit, N.Y., 224–25
Iroquois Indians, 130
Jackson-Hewitt, 228
Japan, 243, 275
Jha, Sanjay, 235
job benefits, 23
job growth, 208
job subsidies, 268–69
John Jay College, 108
Johnson, Calvin, 98–99
Johnson, Ned, 187
Jorgenson, Dale, 200
Joseph, Kecia, 86
Joseph, Nathaniel, 86
J. P. Morgan, 9, 148
judicial activism, 26
Justice Department, U.S., 2, 4, 40, 151, 229
Antitrust Division of, 36
“just and reasonable” principle, 92, 94, 98, 260, 264
justice systems, 134
Kanavas, Ted, 219
Kansas City Southern, 42
Katzenberg, Jeffrey, 222
Kavanaugh, Brett, 96, 97
Keating, Charles, 241
Keeton, Barbara, 154–55, 157, 163–64, 244, 266
Kelliher, Joseph, 95, 96, 99
Kennedy, John P., 215–16
Kinder, Richard, 169
Kinder Morgan Management, 95, 101, 169
King, Wade, 105, 106
Knightly, Maureen, 109, 113
Kohl, Herb, 235
Kolstad, Toby, 35
Kraemer, Ronald, 112
Kushnick, Bruce, 3–4, 5–6, 7, 51, 52
Labaree, Benjamin Woods, 24
Labor Department, U.S., 185, 190, 193
Lafayette Utilities System, 42–44, 45, 46, 58, 96
LaHood, Ray, 112
landfills, 128, 138, 140
landlines, right to, 7
Latvia, 60
Lawton, Barbara, 219
Lay, Ken, 103
Lebowitz, Alan, 185
Ledbetter, Lilly, 10
Lehman Brothers, 166, 191, 210
Leipzig, Adam, 1–2, 7
Lendrum, Jeff, 158–59
Leonard, J. Wayne, 79–80, 87, 89
LeRoy, Greg, 168
Levoff, Michael, 232
Liang, Nellie, 192
Liberty Bonds, 168
life expectancy, 137, 243
Lifeline, 264–65
Lincoln, Abraham, 274
Lipitor, 212
Lithuania, 60
loan fees, 144
Local Access and Transport Area (LATA), 5
Lockport, N.Y., 237
Long, Russell B., 35
Long-Cannon Amendment, 35
long-distance service, 2–3
“Looting: The Economic Underworld of Bankruptcy for Profit” (Romer), 153
Los Angeles, Calif., 82
Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, 265
Louisiana, 222, 223, 224
Louisiana Department of Transportation, 84
Loxley, Colin, 69–70
M&T Bank, 145–46
McCourt, Frank and Jamie, 206, 271
McCullough, Gerald, 47
McFarland-Porter, Tess, 131, 132–33
McIntyre, Robert S., 198
McWane Inc., 173–74
Madoff, Bernard, 102
Mae, Sallie, 144
Malkiel, Burton, 192–93
management overhead fee, 220
Mann, Michael, 221
Manning, Bob, 172–73, 176–83, 244
Manning, Helen, 172, 178, 179
Manteca, Calif., 74–76
Manteca Bulletin, 75–76
manufacturing jobs, 250
market power, 36–37
Mark Stone, 123
Marx, Karl, 274
Massey Energy Company, 174–76
Mastercard, 143
master limited partnerships (MLP), 92–93, 96, 98, 262
downside for investors of, 100–104
Maynard, Spike, 174–75
mcdep.com, 102
MCI, 241
Means, Gardiner C., 261
measles, reduction of, 137
Meat Inspection Act, 137
media, 10–11, 12, 31, 85, 216
network news shows and, 142–43
Medicare, 180–81
Medicare tax database, 255–56
Mehling, Jim, 184–86, 188–89
Merck, 214–15, 251
Meredith, Ronald, 50, 57
Merrill Lynch, 148–49
Mexico, 251
Michigan, 223, 225–26
Michigan State University, 223, 225
Microsoft, 19, 58, 251
MidAmerican Energy Holdings, 37, 38, 44
deferred taxes for, 198–99
middle class, shrinkage of, 28
Milken, Michael, 241
Milstein, Elliot S., 163
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 206–7, 219
mine safety laws, 174
Mitsubishi, 234
moat index, 37–38
Moebs Services, 146
Monitor Capital Advisors, 184
monopoly(ies), 2–3, 23, 27, 35–38, 40, 42–44, 46, 47, 54, 55–56, 61, 67, 68, 71, 79, 85, 91, 93–97, 117, 120, 125, 127, 198, 201, 229, 235, 240, 260–65, 275, 277
monopoly power, 35–36, 37–38, 40–41, 42–44
of cable companies, 54
monopoly pricing, total cost of, 44
Montara, Calif., 123
Monterey County, Calif., 123
Morgan, Linda, 45
Morgan Stanley, 101, 157–59, 169
Morial, Marc, 85
Morningstar, 37
Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), 151–52
mortgage fraud, 151–52
Mosaic Netscape, 59
Moses, Margaret L., 156
Mosher, Jim, 123–24
Motorola, 236, 239
Motorola Mobility, 235
Moyers, Bill, 247
Mozilo, Angelo, 153
MSB Energy Associates, 71, 197
Mueller, James, 124
Mulvey, Francis P., 34
Murdoch, Rupert, 19–20, 152, 222
Murphy, Richard G., II, 70
Murray, Gordon, 165
mutual funds, 187, 193
mutual insurance company, 184
Nabors Industries, 20
Nagin, Ray, 85–86
Nahyan, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al, 9–10
National Academy of Engineering, 111
National Fuel Gas, 112
National Grid, 181
National Taxpayers Union, 232
National Transportation Safety Board, 110, 111, 114
Natural Gas Supply Association, 93
natural-gas utilities, 38
Navistar, 234, 235, 236
neoclassical economics, 241–43, 245
New Jersey, 7, 9, 53, 124–27
New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, 69, 70, 125
New Mexico, 108
New Orleans, La., 77–89
New Orleans Times-Picayune, 84, 85
News Corporation, 222
New York, N.Y., pipelines in, 107–8
New York City Fire Department, 107
New York Life, 184–85
New York State, 9–10, 73–74, 82, 112–13, 118–19, 222
New York Telephone Company, 178, 179
New York Times, 82, 88, 89, 170, 173, 174, 180, 202, 250
NextEra Energy, 99
Niagara Falls, 73
Niagara Mohawk, 177–81
Nixon, Richard, 29–30
Nober, Roger, 45
Norfolk-Southern, 48
Norquist, Grover, 96, 232–33, 269
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 250
North Carolina, municipal systems in, 62
Norway, 23
NV Energy, 64–65
Obama, Barack, 99, 143, 201, 253
Obama administration, 72, 110, 167, 251
Occidental Petroleum, 73
Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 116–17
Occupy Wall Street, 206
O’Connor, Jim, 140
Office of Pipeline Safety, 109–10, 114, 115, 117
oligarchy, 18–19
oligopolies/oligopolists, 10, 128–29, 145, 237, 240, 246, 275
Olin, 73
Olmsted, Frederick Law, 131
Oracle, 256
ordoliberalism, 246
Oregon, 38, 199
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 60, 228
Ostrowski, James, 9–10
outsourcing, 252
overdraft fees, 145–46, 147
Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), 65–66, 72–73, 106, 109–10, 113–14, 125, 266
deferred taxes of, 71
proposed buyout of, 74–76
Page, Larry, 235
Pando Networks, 60
Pareto, Vilfredo, 242
Pareto improvement, 242–43
partnerships, 92–93
Pataki, George, 180
Paulson, Henry (Hank), 150, 166
PBS Frontline, 174
Peevey, Mike, 72
Pennsylvania, 222, 224
pension plans, 23, 152, 187, 1
90, 184–85, 193, 258, 271
defined benefit, 195
Perez, John, 73
pertussis, reduction of, 137
Pfizer, 211, 213–14, 251, 270
“pigs” (pipeline inspection tools), 113–14
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 110, 114, 115
Pipeline Association for Public Awareness, 115
pipelines, 91–92, 100–104, 107–8, 143, 162, 169, 196, 247, 260–62, 264
compressor stations for, 116–17
corrosion of, 110–11, 114
dangers of, 107–9
de-rating of, 110–11
disasters of, 105–7
inadequate safety warnings about, 115
income tax not paid by, 92
inspections of, 109, 110, 112–17
inspection waivers for, 112
“performance” fees paid by, 102–3
as Ponzi schemes, 102
profits of, 92–99
safety planning, 116
safety problems of, 109–10
Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (2002), 109, 115
Pipeline Safety Trust, 109, 110, 114–15
Plains Justice, 116
Plato, 18
Plessy v. Ferguson, 273
police, taxes needed to maintin, 133, 134
polio, reduction of, 137
Portland General Electric, 199
Posner, Richard, 154, 157
Potok, Leon, 166–67
poverty, 28
childhood, 20
in U.S., 20–21
Powder River Basin, 27–28, 29, 30
Power, Patrick J., 264
power plants, 68–69, 262
price competition, 31
price gouging, 11–12, 32–34, 44, 256
price revolutions, 192
Prins, Nomi, 170–71
prisons, taxes needed to maintain, 134
private-equity managers, 204–7
private letter rulings, 196
Procter & Gamble, 9, 234
Progress & Freedom Foundation, 56
Progress and Poverty, 48–49
progressive taxation, 18
promissory fraud, 161–62
property law, 15
property rights, 25
property taxes, 237
Proposition 13, 120, 129
prosecutors, taxes needed to maintain, 134
PSEG, 69–71, 80, 262
“pseudo promises,” 162
Public Enemies, 218–21, 224
public health, 137, 138
Public Utility Holding Company Act (1935), 67
Pure Food and Drug Act, 137
“pyramiding,” 67
Quarterman, Cynthia, 110
QuickBooks, 233
Quicken, 228
Quinn, Pat, 234, 236
Qwest, 50–51, 62
railroad industry, 42–49, 96–97, 260, 261, 264
bottleneck decision and, 42–44
competition in, 35–36, 39–40, 43, 45, 47–48
consolidation of, 31, 33
cost of capital in, 41
labor productivity of, 48
market power in, 36–37
monopoly power of, 40–41, 42–44
“paper barriers” and, 44–45
price gouging by, 33–34, 35
profits of, 40
service quality of, 45–46
Rail Theory Forecasts, 35