https://www.cnet.com/news/csc-inks-post-office-deal/  – Teletech customer service account lost to CSC

https://www.sec.gov/news/press/2004-144.htm –  SEC charges Royal Ahold with fraud

https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail-amp-financial/tops-sale-marks-latest-us-divestment-ahold – Ahold dumping TOPS

https://www.mindtools.com/ay7xudd/whistleblowing– Details whistleblowers’ past experiences where there is a high likelihood of retaliation.  Possible retaliation could include the following:
Harmful gossip and harassment from co-workers; Negative job performance evaluation; Withheld wages; Loss of benefits or privileges; Work that’s carefully watched by supervisors; Demotion, or denial of promotion; Termination or forced retirement.

https://nffe.org/members-center/whistleblower-protections/
NFFE and other federal sector labor unions play an important role in in protecting employees against retaliation and wrongful discharge by filing whistleblower complaints. I find the hypocrisy troubling as these protections should also apply to the public. As evidenced in the narrative-Union solidarity appears to supersede protections applying to citizens. [refer video-whistleblowing]

https://www.dcfpi.org/all/dcs-earned-income-tax-credit/

DC refundable EITC available to workers without children who have incomes up $24,250 – with incomes up to $18,290 eligible to receive the maximum refund.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283151283_Personal_Responsibility_and_Work_Opportunity_Reconciliation_Act – welfare reform overview and legislative updates

https://www3.mruni.eu/ojs/public-policy-and-administration/article/view/4439 –

Article details that the following items affect implementation and success of policy: not implemented or executed according to their design; political interference; lack of motivation or incentive; a negative disposition among implementers; official commitment to statutory objectives the impact of economic, political and social conditions ; prevalence of self-serving goals of street-level bureaucrats and an absence of organizational willingness; and involuntary clients.

FOIA-Running out the clock — delaying responses in hopes the requester will give up — is a common tactic used by federal officials to avoid the law’s requirement that public documents be released on request

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/8146588_Businesses_are_buying_the_ethics_they_want – describes questionable behavior by Lilly and the use of bioethicists to deduce solutions that are in the corporations interest.

https://academic.oup.com/jmp/article/27/5/547/961630 – January 2002 Lilly sponsored study concluding it would be unfair NOT to include homeless people in research studies.

https://www.c2essentials.com/conflicts-of-interest-what-are-they-and-how-to-avoid-them/

Details organizational conflicts of interests as well as requirement of existence of a comprehensive ethics program

news.gallup.com/poll/185759/widespread-government-corruption.aspx

publicintegrity.org/accountability/how-does-your-state-rank-for-integrity/

publicintegrity.org/accountability/new-york-gets-d-grade-in-2015-state-integrity-investigation/

https://www.transparency.org/en/press/us-drops-out-of-global-corruption-index-top-20-scores-four-points-lower-tha#

https://www.economist.com/briefing/2012/08/18/earthly-concerns

Covers specifics of Catholicism including: labor crisis of ministry as minor seminaries has no entrants; substantial lobbying at state and federal level to restrict pedophilia lawsuits; a third of the nation are baptized into the faith and 74m identify themselves as Catholic; over 6,800 Catholic schools (5% of the national total); 630 hospitals (11%) plus a similar number of smaller health facilities; and 244 colleges and universities;  questionable financial management including diversion of funds; fraud and embezzlement at the parish level; and it is at least double the size of all US employers except one.  Regarding Catholic Charities USA and its subsidiaries: employ over 65,000 paid staff and serve over 10m people; distributed $4.7 billion to the poor in 2010, of which 62% came from local, state and federal government agencies. The American church may account for as much as 60% of the global institution’s wealth.

https://sojo.net/magazine/march-2019/rise-catholic-right

Details rising and well-financed right wing Catholics of both the political and ecclesial spectrum and how they are utilizing various means, including Catholic nonprofits, to accomplish political motivations.

https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3564174-illinois-based-catholic-hospital-system-plans-to-deny-lgbtq-workers-fertility-coverage

Details discriminatory LGBTQ practices in a dominating health system where 1 in 7 beds are Catholic [source]

https://www.propublica.org/article/we-dont-talk-about-leonard-leo-supreme-court-supermajority    [ 6 of current Supreme Court justices are Catholic]

Detailed account of the conservative judicial makeover of the courts from the top-down allowing for the “right” cases to be brought forward. Emphasizes influence of Catholic religion in this political project. States desire to expand the Federalist Society model to culture and politics. Highlights importance of allowing donors to bring policy priorities to public servants who can act upon them. 

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/the-dignity-of-work-and-the-rights-of-workers

Overview of Catholic social teaching regarding importance of work and pro-union attitude.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/19/alliance-defending-freedom-lgbtq-rights-america

ADF [Alliance Defending Freedom] has been a main driver in dozens of pieces of rightwing legislation and lawsuits, including the lawsuit  303 Creative, Inc. v. Elenis, designed to  chip away at LGBTQ+ rights. It’s a case that is classic ADF – a seemingly manufactured issue.

https://ssir.org/articles/entry/debunking_charitable_choice

 Cites that protections needed to be put in place that prohibit coercion while providing services. Need to respect personal choices regarding theism. Concern regarding hiring practices, maintenance of religious content. Does not find a bias towards religious organizations, rather collaboration and mutual dependence. Finds that only 2% of non-governmental funds usually used for social service. Advises “To the extent that charitable choice efforts amount to privileging religious organizations rather than removing discrimination against them, they should be resisted both on empirical grounds (there is no good reason to think these organizations do things better than secular organizations) and on normative grounds (in a religiously pluralistic society, it is a bad idea to make religious differences salient in competitions for scarce resources, especially for scarce resources distributed by government). Privileging religious organizations ignores the core sociological wisdom behind the First Amendment”.

https://www.propublica.org/article/utahs-social-safety-net-is-the-church-of-jesus-christ-of-latter-day-saints-what-does-that-mean-if-youre-not-one – Details how welfare reform, which was partially modelled after the parallel system developed by the lds to the new deal, allows for delivery of services by the church. In Utah this is overseen by Church leadership. This allows for discrimination based on religion, or when provided, sometimes require what some may consider indoctrination. This is exemplified by associated phrases “Get baptized, get help.” or ‘We’ll help you if.’”  This has also allowed for charitable spending to be counted towards state welfare requirements. This allows for tax dollars to instead be diverted to pet projects. It is of note, that, there are NGO’s that have deemed this as working against their mission and requested that their works not be counted in this manner.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/nigel-barber/why-religion-rules-americ_b_1690433.html

Details reasons for American religiosity. Specifies that US citizens 3 times as likely to describe religion as important.  Provides possible explanations including: exaggeration; a large immigrant population, and  economic insecurity. Specifies religion as very influential in American politics compared to other developed countries. Details that evangelical Christians, the Moral Majority, can appeal to immigrants through a conservative religious message. This consequently causes Democrats to emphasize religion.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2013/11/18/fraud-thriving-in-u-s-churches-but-you-wouldnt-know-it/#10120f75d9d4

95% of fraud in churches goes unreported. (approx 6%-8% of donations) Finds fraud prevalent in religious organizations noting that due to no financial reporting and accountability. Major crimes often attempted to be kept private.

This trend is increasing compared to other nations