Training Gansters: Our tax money hard at work.

Here's something that not too many of us think about: Gangsters in the military.
Most of us probably don't even link the two together, thinking "How is a gangbanger going to handle the discipline and honor involved in serving our country?" Well, think again.

In a government report issued 2007, they reported that gang activity was so bad that even the FBI stated gang activity was becoming a major threat to national security. Apparently, we're training gangsters to fight like soldiers so that they can go back to their gangs and kill police officers in the most efficient and effective way. Isn't it great? I don't understand why the government allows these types of people to join the military in the first place. If you can't execute all gangsters and make our world a safer place, then at least screen them from entering the military!

The MedQuest Hoax: This is where your tax money is going.

In the US, there is a government provided insurance plan for the people who can't afford it otherwise called "MedQuest". It has relatively excellent coverage, including Medical, Hospital, Dental, and Drugs. I am not familiar with the details, but I hear it is a lot better than what some people PAY for.

It turns out that there are many people who abuse the system and recieve this plan even though they aren't qualified for it. There are a few ways to do it, but the most common ways seem to be either falsely reporting income, reporting income under someone else's name, or paying off somebody inside to do the dirty work. In fact, not too long ago, a man who shall not be named who worked for MedQuest was caught doing just that. For $2000 per person, he would arrange it so that on file they looked like they were elligible to recieve benefits, when in fact their income could range anywhere between $25,000 a year to $2,500,000,000,000...you get the picture. It seems that so far, the majority of people who are involved in this are of Korean, Japanese, or Chinese ethnicity, although it appears to be spreading beyond East Asians recently.

The best part is, MedQuest does not have the resources nor manpower to go investigate every single case to make sure it is not under false pretenses, so this is virtually unstoppable. Isn't it great? The rich taking advantage of what is meant for the lowest income citizens. Of course, this means an increase in costs, meaning a hike in taxes or relocation of funds from somewhere else, which in turn will mean problems in another area, etc...until it comes full circle and makes it even harder for the low income citizens to recieve medical care, or puts the heaviest burden on the working class and middle class citizens who pays the majority of the taxes. This in turn makes the disparity between upper and non-upper class even more wider...and you get the idea.

I don't hate rich people, I just despise those who take advantage of others in a less fortunate situation. Are you one? I hope not.

You are where you live! .....?

Check this out.

A recent research by a korean government agency found out the following correlation:

1.Yearly income is positively correlated to level of college graduated.

2.Level of college graduated is positively correlated to one's score on the national academic ability test (kind of like the SAT, but not really).

3.Score is positively related to level of High School graduated.

4.In Korea, where you go to school is decided by where you live.

5.Therefore, Income is positively correlated to the relative prosperity of WHERE YOU LIVE!!!

This may sound obvious to you, but in a tiny country like Korea where you can drive from one side of the country to the other in 5 hours, this IS a big deal.

Isn't this kind of sad?

If you are interested, AND can read Korean, you can go here for more information.

LA's new crack down on gangs

It seems that LA has become more firm-footed with gangs these days. A project called "Project T.O.U.G.H (Taking Out Urban Gang Headquarters)", which was started a couple years ago by City Attorney Rockard Delgadillo. Here are some links where you can read about it:

Here
Here
Here
Here
Here

I've got some mixed feelings about it though. Basically, it's a plan to sue gangsters and kick them out of their gangster gathering points, albeit with some forceful tactics. Sounds good for sure, but will it work? That's a different story.

We're not talking about a gang of 16 year olds in high school. These are gangs that are heavily involved in anything from shop-lifting, money laundering, or drug selling, to more heinous crimes such as human trafficking, prostitution rings, or murder. They probably don't care the least if they "aren't allowed" to be in a certain area. Deport them? They'll be back. Send them to jail? Like that would make a difference, regardless of how much that would cost ME. I do like the idea of relocating them and keeping them constantly on the move, making it impossible for them to really "claim" an area for themselves and gripping the residents in fear.

To be honest with you, though, I think LA, no, the whole country, should be doing what they do in some other countries: when dealing with gangsters...show no restraint! Aim to maim, shoot to kill. They are a menace to society and our, MY, safety, and they should know that they have no place here. Want to be a gangster? Fine. Want to come in to this country illegally and make a problem of your self? Fine. Want to put our lives in danger? Fine. Just make sure they know we are not willing to tolerate ANY of it, and that consequences are severe. That's how I wish it was, anyway.

Unfortunately, under current laws and regulations these people get off very easy compared to the harms and losses they cause to our society and economy. How about we do something about it?

Internships for SALE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

I may be late in joining the controversy, but I learned yesterday that several websites were selling unpaid internship positions at major companies for prices up to $9000 and still climbing. Is it just me or is this a serious problem?

The whole point of an unpaid internship is for someone who is 1) dedicated to working in that field enough to work for experience and not pay and 2) is qualified to work in the position and is able to learn the most from the experience. It is also one of the few ways for students who don't have connections or family backgrounds to make their way in to the industry. From the hiring companies' point of view, an internship is a good way to find and train someone that could possibly be a valuable addition to their company, should things work out.

Selling such a position, whether to a set price or to the highest bidder, seems unreasonable to say the least. It would seem that any company looking for an intern would look for someone that fits their needs, who has the set of skills required to work in that specific field and is able to learn fast and efficiently. Not only does this auctioning of internship positions make it impossible for companies to choose who they want, it also exacerbates a social phenomena that is already highly exacerbated: The rich get richer, the poor get poorer. Since an internship is one of the few options available to students with less means that enables them to enter a industry and make connections or at least earn a chance, selling this opportunity to those with money is somewhat along the lines of "keeping the money in the family", or industry instead, if you will.

Since it is no secret that it is difficult to gain access to high level firms without inside connections, depriving the non-connected person of this already super-rare opportunity just seems very unfair, and against what America stands for. I will not name those who are involved in this controversy, but those parties really need to think twice about what they are doing and what the results of their actions can be, not only on the short term, but more on the long term. The disparity between "Upper class" and "Working class" is already extreme, with 1% of the country's population earning over 20% of total income, and the fantasized "middle class" has all but disappeared. Do we really need to rub salt in the wound?