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Bernard Madoff, convicted of running an $65 billion Ponzi scheme, was sentenced to 150 years in jail. What’s your take on his punishment?

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By Knight Kiplinger

The Kiplinger Washington Editors

July 2, 2009

By year-end or so, Congress will give the nod to a major rewriting of the nation's financial regulatory system. This week’s Kiplinger Letter explores whether the package will do more harm than good and what lawmakers are likely to include.

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE: The Economy, Business Costs, Taxes, Supreme Court, Energy, Workplace Regulations, Climate Change, Health Care Legislation and Foreign Policy

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I just attended a franchise seminar. The speaker represents a few hundred franchises that (he says) are hand picked. He has the prospect (aka victim?) answer some questions about themselves then he makes recomendations - based on your personality, capital situation, etc.. If you pick a franchise, then he does some due dilligence for you. If you both decide it's a good idea, he helps you get started. He says he offers this service free of charge, which means he gets a commission if he's able to sell you a franchise. Has anyone done this? Successfully? Unsuccessfully?

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Is Paid Sick Leave Coming to Your State?

Many employers hate the idea and see it as onerous, but a dozen states wonder if it's time to require that workers be paid when they are home sick.

Worth Reading: The Quick Take from Kiplinger

February 2008

Stateline.org

Stateline.org, a nonprofit organization financed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, tracks policy, political, fiscal and legal developments at the state level in all 50 states. It publishes every weekday.

Efforts are growing across the country to require employers to provide paid sick leave for their workers. Advocates say it is both unfair to employees and a public health hazard to make them decide between staying at home without pay or going to work ill. The business community says such a mandate could put many companies out of business or that workers will see pay and/or other benefits shrink.

So far, San Francisco is the only jurisdiction to actually have such a statute on the books. But Stateline.org, which tracks policy and legislative action at the state level, says 10 state legislatures considered paid sick leave bills last year but none passed, and that a dozen states are considering the move again this year. In addition, an advocacy group in Ohio is seeking to put a paid sick leave referendum on the November ballot.

Growing interest in paid sick leave does not just reflect concern over workers, but the threat to coworkers and the public. "In fact, the industries with the most employees who lack paid sick days are those with the greatest exposure to the public: hotels and food services, home health care and child care," Stateline.org quotes one advocate as saying. Stateline also says an estimated 85% of food service workers have no paid sick days.

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