BARBWIRE
by
 Charity is a very disfavored activity. It must produce a quadruple return
to a modern organization's bottom line. First, charity must be directly
subsidized by taxpayers, preferably wage earners. Next, it must allow large
taxpayers to double-dip: shoving responsibility for the social safety net
toward volunteers and churches relieves pressures for taxation to help the
less fortunate. Calling on a thousand pointed heads to volunteer is thus a
perennially beloved tactic of politicians of all persuasions. Corporate
taxation has plummeted over the past three decades, while individual levies
have skyrocketed.Third, tax-deductible charity must be useful in pre-empting criticism of the benevolent organization whenever it gets caught raping and pillaging the public. Good works must also offer a fourth payoff: PR.No good deed goes unpublicized in our shamelessly propagandized society.
Last week's seemingly innocuous Nevada Women's Fund Women of Achievement
awards illustrate all of the above.The Reno Gazette-Journal, dutifully reported that
some 70 local women were justly honored. I applaud all of the honorees. The
organization has apparently done a lot of commendable work over the years.But there's more to the story. The honorees were pictured in a full page
ad in the Reno paper. If the paper received money for the ad, would not
that money have been better spent furthering the organization's goals? Even
if the space were donated by the Gazette-Journal, it raises serious
questions. Women's Fund supporters were listed at the bottom. Some have
much to be ashamed of in their treatment of women. Judge for yourself:RENO HILTON/FLAMINGO HILTON: Hilton's corporate record for abusing women
is legendary. Go down to the federal courthouse and look up the long list
of cases. In 1995, the Reno Hilton lost a major federal lawsuit for firing
a pregnant cocktail waitress for leaving during her shift because she went
into premature labor. They also cancelled her health insurance, effective
the moment she left for the hospital. Hilton had to reinstate her, but only
give her back pay and medical expenses. Nevada law does not allow punitive
damages, so it remains open season on pregnant women. This precedent has
not gone unnoticed in Gomorrah South. In the past week, I have personally
interviewed several fired mothers-to-be.In a more infamous incident, after losing the Tailhook case to former U.S.
Navy Lt. Paula Coughlin, Hilton succeeded in passing the Tailhook Bill at
the 1995 Nevada Legislature. As a result, future sexually molested women
will find it almost impossible to sue Nevada hotels.Just before last Christmas, the Reno Hilton notified its longtime security
guards that they would be replaced by low-wage doorshakers. Then, the
company got Washoe County to lower its taxes because it only made $20
million in profit. Hilton thus cut its contribution to the community just
when its terminated workers and their families were applying for public
assistance.LIONEL, SAWYER AND COLLINS: Nevada's ultimate juice law firm is home to
Harvey Whittemore, the heaviest of heavyweight Carson City lobbyists.
Harvey was one of the principal pushers of the Tailhook Bill. He and his
cohorts are behind the current legislative move to raise sales taxes
statewide as a way to keep pressures off the gaming industry to pay its
fair share. (Nevada casinos pay the lowest gaming taxes in the United
States.) Our tax laws present a textbook case of regressive unfairness,
with hidden levies lurking in everything from gasoline to Band Aids. The
lower your pay, the greater your penalty in sales taxes.Last Friday's Gazette-Journal carried a front-page article with several
color photos trumpeting Mr. Whittemore's purchase of the Glenbrook Golf
Course at S. Lake Tahoe in Douglas County. It failed to mention that Harvey
and his law firm have been retained to chop a new county out of the Tahoe
portions of Washoe, Carson and Douglas. This would prove a windfall to
Tahoe casinos and other major property owners, including Mr. Whittemore.Most of the industry's worker bees can't afford to live at the lake. They
are housed and schooled down below. So the flatland residents of the three
affected counties would be stuck with the associated costs, while the
lakefront fat cats take their tax cuts to the bank.AIRPORT AUTHORITY OF WASHOE COUNTY: This outfit's oppression of women is
legendary, again with the court cases to prove it. One guy even allegedly
ordered his female subordinates to identify potential breeding stock for
himself among employment applicants.RENO AIR: This outfit pays its people so poorly that flight attendants
working full time qualify for welfare and food stamps. Workers are paid
only for hours in the air. Pre-flight setup and post-flight cleanup are
unpaid. No wonder Reno Air workers recently voted 95% in favor of the
Teamsters Union.UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE SYSTEM OF NEVADA: I can't say enough
about these guys. They add insult to injury in the women's fund ad while
honoring world-class UNR women's basketball coach Ada Gee. The university
jockocracy is currently hustling the legislature for millions in the name
of federally mandated gender equity in athletics. They wouldn't need to ask
if they properly managed the billions that already run through their hands.
(For more information, get my university files, below.) The U-Boat
commanders have a pretty shabby record in the treatment of female
employees. One of the best examples lies in the resignation of the late
Clark Santini from the university's alumni council in protest of a blatant
case of sex discrimination. (Barbwire, 11-17-96)UNITED WAY OF NORTHERN NEVADA has long been used by major local
corporations as an excuse to refuse contributions to non-United Way
charities. Many major employers have for years coerced their workers into
contributing to United Way, matching whatever the workers give. The bottom
line: the boss gets the workers to pay half; the employer's half is fully
tax deductible, and he further gets to cut his charitable expense by
turning down or reducing contributions to other charities.HOMETOWN HEALTH PLAN, THE RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL, UNR: These three employ
the same PR tactic, forming advisory boards of heavy hitters as shields
against criticism and accountability. The UNR Foundation, the
Gazette-Journal's Forum for a Common Agenda and Washoe Health System's
myriad of advisory boards represent a who's who of the power structure of
this community. (Washoe Health System is the conglomerate parent of Washoe
Med and Hometown Health.) Whenever these large outfits get caught screwing
the public, their advisory board members provide substantial cover. And
great PR.R&R ADVERTISING: Major lobbyists for the Tailhook Bill and corporate home
of Scott Craigie, lobbyist for Columbia/HCA, the notorious outfit trying to
privatize Nevada Medicare for heavy profit. (See last week's column.) Mr.
Craigie is also working hard to pass Sen. Randolph Townsend's (R-Reno) SB
243, which will cost the state workers compensation insurance system about
$150 million a year. (It would allow employee leasing companies, such as
the outfit which provided the Reno Hilton security replacements, to bail
out of the state system and "self insure" their workers. The track record
of self-insurance has been replete with fraud and lack of coverage.)WORST, BUT NOT LEAST: In a bygone time, advertising charitable activity in
order to maximize return on dollars invested was viewed as shameful. Today,
it's just modern marketing targeting today's woman--exploited as usual.Be well. Raise hell.
Andrew Barbano is a Reno-based syndicated columnist and 28-year Nevadan.Barbwire by Barbano had appeared in the Sparks Tribune from 1988 until last Sunday.Nevada Instant Type in Sparks and both Office Depot Reno locations. |
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