GQ: Reed, Abramoff Discussed "Mortgaging Old Black People"

[Rose Siding]

This is so ugly, it'll bring tears to your eyes-

snip>
In July of 2003, Abramoff and Reed considered launching something called the Black Churches Insurance Program.

We know how this scheme would have gone, because Abramoff pitched something similar to a cash-strapped Texas tribe, the Tigua. Basically, since the tribe couldn't pay Abramoff, he offered to arrange "a life-insurance policy for every Tigua 75 or older." When those elders died, the death benefits would have gone to Abramoff through one of his non-profits. The Tigua didn't take Abramoff up on the offer, but it was too good of an idea to let go.

So Abramoff apparently thought black churches were a good target. This would have been the same thing, according to GQ's Sean Flynn, except that it was African-Americans. Or as "a former associate of Reed's" told GQ, "Yeah... it sounds like Jack approached Reed about mortgaging old black people.”
.......
Reed would have been the point man with the church leaders, one assumes, ushering them through the sticky process of getting all of their elders to sign up for life insurance policies payable to Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed.

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001121.php

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. These are the kinds of people who should make it into Bush's torture

prisons. This is just disgusting! And I bet this would produce a snicker from most Republican voters!

[RethugAssKicker]

3. The rethugs would have a hearty laugh !

[saltpoint]

2. And Ralph Reed was the director of what Christian organization?

Gee. They must have had a REAL different interpretation of the New Testament than most folks.

[LynneSin]

8. Try Xtian - surely this man is no Christian

Jesus weeps

[saltpoint]

12. Hi, LynneSin. I meant it facetiously. He claims to be a Christian

and behaves like Satan's handmaiden.

A repellent little worm.

[havocmom]

4. Didn't Wlal-Mart get caught getting life insurance on employees?

Who else might be doing it? Might it explain a lot of dergulation, loosening of safety laws, failure to enforce much?

They profit from killing in war. Why not at home and at peace?

[underpants]

6. janitors/dead peasant insurance-subsidized by tax breaks YOU pay for it

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Representatives Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Trent Franks (R-AZ) and Gene Green (D-TX) and 12 other Members of Congress today introduced the “Taxpayer Savings and Employee Notification Act of 2003,” a bipartisan bill that would end the tax shelters enjoyed by businesses who purchase corporate-owned life insurance (COLI) policies on their rank-and-file employees often without the employees' knowledge or consent.

These policies are often referred to as “janitors insurance” because they are taken out on workers such as janitors, secretaries and clerks. Companies buying these policies receive tax breaks each year. In addition, companies receive the entire death benefit when the employee dies, even if the employee doesn’t know about the policy or work at the company anymore.

According to the Wall Street Journal, and based on President Bush’s FY 2004 budget, corporate-owned life insurance as a whole, including the money accrued from the purchase of janitors insurance--called “inside buildup”--will cost taxpayers $1.9 billion a year, and $9.3 billion over the next five years, in lost revenue. When employers purchase janitors insurance, the premiums they pay for these policies grow tax-free, and the company receives the tax exemption on life insurance investment gains, or “inside buildup.” Any annual gains flow directly to the company's income statement, similar to pension income. Then, once the insured dies, the company receives the tax-free death benefit, and the family receives nothing.

http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il05_emanuel/pr_030515_taxshelter.htm

What Is Janitor Life Insurance, and Why Are Companies Buying It?
http://www.taxfables.com/Columns/Business/Janitor_Life_Insurance.html

Hundreds of companies -- including Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, Wal-Mart, Walt Disney and Winn-Dixie -- have purchased this insurance on more than 6 million rank-and-file workers.
http://moneycentral.msn.com/content/Insurance/P64954.asp

[Straight Shooter]

7. That sure lessens the incentive for a safe working environment.

:banghead:

[underpants]

9. They own the policy even after you leave the employment

NAsty nasty business.

[havocmom]

11. And you never even know there is a policy!

Hey, can I take out a policy on my ex? Wonder how THAT would go over

[underpants]

13. I am not sure about that

Having worked around insurance salesmen I can tell you that they wouldn't put up much of a fight about selling you a policy.

I don't know if anyone can buy a policy on anyone else. This might just be for employers you know you have to be owned by the corporation.

:spank: oh that was bad.

[havocmom]

10. ah-yup. They save money by ignoring safety regs

then make money on death.

Capitalism will fall for the same reasons Communism is failing - greed at the top

[tanyev]

15. Surprise, surprise. Phil Gramm lobbied the state of Texas

to sell dead peasant insurance to the the Teacher Retirement System.

Commentary of the Day - January 26, 2004: Doing the Texas Two-Step.

As any regular reader of Molly Ivins knows, the great state of Texas is a top-notch incubator of crazy public policy schemes. According to an article in yesterday's Los Angeles Times by staff writer Scott Gould, the latest of these is a clever variation of the "dead peasant" scam that is being foisted on the Texas Teacher Retirement System by none other than former Texas senator Phil Gramm, who now works for the UBS Investment Bank of New York. Alert readers of The Irascible Professor might recall that Phil Gramm's wife Wendy Gramm, while Chair of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, played a key role in pushing through key regulatory exemptions that allowed Enron to game the electricity trading market without government oversight. (At the same time Phil Gramm was collecting six-figure campaign contributions from Enron.)

For those of you who might not be familiar with Russian history, the "dead peasant" scam refers to the practice of buying the ownership rights to dead serfs then selling those rights before the buyer becomes aware of the fact that the serfs are dead. Under the variation of the scheme being promoted by Phil Gramm and Texas governor Rick Perry, the state of Texas would float a bond issue using Gramm's employer -- UBS Investment Bank -- as the underwriter. The proceeds from these bonds then would be used to buy annuities through UBS PaineWebber Inc. The annuities would be used to pay the premiums on life insurance policies that would be taken out on members of the Texas Teachers Retirement System. These life insurance policies would not provide any benefits to the members or their families. Instead, upon the death of an insured member, the proceeds from the life insurance policy would be used to retire the bonds, and if anything is left over it would go to the Texas Teachers Retirement System health fund. The fund currently faces a major long-term shortfall owing to a $30 million loss they suffered when Enron went into bankruptcy and the poor investment climate from 1999 to 2002, as well as to changes in the system put into place to help cover the deficit in the Texas state budget.

More at the link:
http://irascibleprofessor.com/comments-01-26-04.htm

[whistle]

5. What a concept nearly 18.0 million persons in the U.S. are 75+

...years old. So, if Abramoff could have sold this idea to select groups of the elderly both Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed would have stood to profit handsomely from the mortgages, the commissions on the sale of the mortgage life insurance policies and ultimately the premature deaths of the elderly who would have been unnoticed targets. Compassionate conservatism working at its very best!

[unschooler]

14. Excellent article. Highly recommended. Thanks. n/t

[Joanne98]

16. This makes me wonder if the thugs are in the nursing home business.

[gordianot]

17. You bet they are, I know at least 2 re thugs in the nursing home racket..

Nursing homes are a great way of collecting property and estates, the real death tax.

[havocmom]

18. Certainly clears up why they made medicare so difficult

If you can't convince 'em, confuse 'em They may die from lack of care due to being intimidated by all the changes in their coverage

Ka-CHING!

Bastards. Rat fucking bastards!

[cantstandbush]

19. This is the kind of information that the Black Caucus should have

and maybe launch a "wake-up" campaign withing the black community?

[one_true_leroy]

20. How...

Being as she's GAian, maybe Cynthia Mckinney could use this info against Reed here in the primary or later in the general election. Man, I'd do anything not to have that MFer in my governor's mansion!!

Anyone know how to get this info to her or others with a good platform for getting the word out?


edit, spelling