FOREX NEW YORK COMPANIES

On Nov. 6, Californians will vote on a statewide initiative, titled SAFE (Savings Accountability Full Enforcement) California, that would repeal our death penalty. If the initiative passes, the maximum penalty for murder in California will be life without possibility of parole (LWOP).

Those supporting the initiative argue that repeal of the death penalty will save the state $1 billion within five years. The claim is based on a 2011 essay written by federal judge Arthur Alarcon and his law clerk.

For a state teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, the idea of saving a billion dollars is appealing. But there is no reliable evidence that repealing the death penalty will save money.

One problem is that it is difficult to determine the true cost of prosecuting a capital case, instead of prosecuting an LWOP case. In both, the prosecution must prove (at trial) that the defendant is guilty of first-degree murder and that at least one special circumstance exists, making a defendant punishable by death or LWOP.

In an attempt to show that death penalty cases are far more expensive than non–death penalty cases, initiative supporters rely on the huge costs of infamous trials such as those of Scott Peterson and Charles Ng. Those trials were extremely expensive, but that was not because the prosecution sought the death penalty.

The Peterson case received worldwide attention because it involved the disappearance and murder of a young, nearly full-term pregnant woman and the mystery of who had done it. The Ng case involved one of the most horrifying and gruesome rampages of kidnapping, torture and murder in our state’s history. Because of extensive media coverage in each case, the court ordered the trial held in a county other than where the crimes had been committed, significantly adding to the cost of trial.

Whether the penalty sought is death or LWOP, the cost is the same for the prosecution to prove the defendant is guilty of first-degree murder and that at least one special circumstance is true.

If the prosecution does not seek death, and the jury finds the defendant guilty of first-degree murder and finds a special circumstance true, the trial ends. The only added cost comes when the prosecution seeks death. The trial court must then conduct a “penalty phase” in which the same jury decides whether the sentence should be death or LWOP.

A second issue involves the plea bargain effect. The overwhelming majority of criminal cases do not go to trial; they end in plea bargains, and such bargains save money because they eliminate the cost of trials and eliminate or greatly reduce the cost of post-trial appeals and habeas corpus proceedings. However, as the state Legislative Analyst’s Office reported, any savings from repealing the death penalty would be somewhat offset by elimination of a defendant’s incentive to enter a plea bargain and avoid trial in murder cases.

A United States Bureau of Justice Statistics study shows that while 18.9 percent of murder cases go to trial in jurisdictions without the death penalty, only 5 percent of murder cases go to trial in jurisdictions with the death penalty. California averages roughly 1,800 homicides each year. Assuming a similar reduction in the number of murder cases resolving by plea bargains, repealing the death penalty likely would result in a substantial increase in expensive trials and post-trial proceedings.

Health care for prison inmates is another complicating financial factor. Reliable data are difficult to obtain, but no one disputes that health care costs increase with age. An LWOP sentence means the state will be responsible for that defendant’s health care costs for the rest of his life.

The state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation estimates the cost of housing a 37-year-old prison inmate to be $49,000 per year. At age 55, the cost would increase to $150,000 per year, and that if the inmate lives to age 77, our state could spend as much as $4 million to keep him in prison for life.

The last issue involves deterrence. A 2008 report in the Journal of the Institute for the Advancement of Criminal Justice found significant evidence that when the death penalty actually is enforced, it does have a deterrent effect. Studies summarized in the report show that, depending on the years and geographic areas studied, along with other variables, each execution results in anywhere between 5 and 74 fewer murders the following year.

Assuming these studies are accurate, removing the deterrent effect costs innocent lives. Viewing the issue purely from a financial standpoint, researchers calculated that each murder costs taxpayers approximately $426,000.

The issue is complex, but it is unlikely that repealing the death penalty would save the state a dime.

O’Reilley lives in Napa.

Washington -- With thousands of jobs lost or slated to be lost at Avondale shipyards, the U.S. Postal Service and the Michoud Assembly Facility, Louisiana officials are working to protect one of the region's biggest remaining government employers, the National Finance Center in eastern New Orleans. In each of the past five years, Louisiana congressional members have inserted language into spending bills for the Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Finance Center, barring cutbacks there without advance notice and permission from the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The center provides human resources, payroll and administrative services for federal agencies.

The congressional mandates were prompted by the temporary reassignment of the center's federal payroll operations after Hurricane Katrina and fears that other cities would use the disaster to snare the facility and its 1,200-plus jobs.

For now, center officials say, the facility, which provides biweekly paychecks to 655,000 employees at more than 170 federal agencies, is secure.

"The center is well-positioned for the long term," Finance Center Director John White said. He said the center is continuing to "grow its ancillary payroll services" and its human resources work for the federal government.

The center currently employs 835 people at its New Orleans facility, plus another 381 who work for related Agriculture Department divisions. The 1,216-worker payroll is down about 10 percent since Hurricane Katrina.

After Katrina, the center lost the administration of the federal government's thrift savings plan, but few people lost their jobs, mainly as a result of attrition as workers retired or relocated after the hurricane destroyed so many homes and facilities.

Perhaps because the center does little to court publicity and its mission of payroll management isn't all that sexy, its public profile has been much lower than the Michoud Assembly Plant, which for 37 years built external fuel tanks for the recently ended NASA shuttle missions and has, as a result, lost hundreds of jobs. It also is not as well as known as the Avondale shipyards, which built massive LPD amphibious transport boats for the Navy and is slated to close next year as its owner, Huntington Ingalls Shipyards, consolidates ship production in Mississippi.

"We don't hear much about the Finance Center, and maybe that's a good thing," said Michael Hecht, CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc. Often when a facility is in the news, Hecht said, it's not good news, such as the New Orleans mail-processing facility falling on the U.S. Postal Service's closure list, which could cost the city more than 800 jobs.

Hecht said the Finance Center is critical to the economic future of eastern New Orleans and government and business leaders will continue to work hard to keep it operating at full strength.

White, the Finance Center director, recognizes the center's importance to the local economy. Pay for workers at the center ranges from about $25,000 for its GS-4 federal employees to $165,000 for senior executive service workers.

"The National Finance Center is a critical institution, not only for the federal government, but as an employer in New Orleans," White said. "The staff and leadership of the NFC are intent on managing back-office functions in an efficient and effective manner on behalf of its client agencies."

Like most employees, federal workers are paid almost entirely through direct deposit to their checking or savings accounts. That has cut costs because those functions can be done through automation, but it hasn't resulted in big job losses.

White said that's because, for the past seven years, the center has taken charge of many federal government's human resources functions.

In addition, the agency is partnering with the Department of Human Services to execute some requirements of the Obama administration's health-overhaul legislation -- though that work could be jeopardized if the law is overturned and the program is rolled back.

The most recent audit of the agency by the inspector general for the Agriculture Department and other officials at the facility concluded that the center had implemented sufficient controls to ensure that paychecks go out without error. But it was written with the kind of bureaucratic language that meant the report would not make any headlines.

The center's system of controls "are suitably designed and operating with sufficient effectiveness to provide reasonable assurance that associated control objectives would be achieved if customer agencies and subservice organizations applied the controls contemplated," the inspector general's report concluded.

Bruce Alpert can be reached at balpert@timespicayune.com or 202.450.1406.

The most recent AbsoluteWealth.com article said getting money for scrap gold is a cinch with the “Gold Profit Formula.”

Austin, TX (PRWEB) June 10, 2012

Money for scrap gold is a popular transaction these rough and tumble days, said today’s AbsoluteWealth.com article. In turbulent financial times, people look for any way to generate extra cash. Gold prices are peaking at skyscraper levels, and exchanging scrap or unwanted gold jewelry is helping people pay the bills. But the article said gold dealing is where the real money is being made, and Absolute Wealth is helping explain how.

The “Gold Profit Formula” is a guide and training course that shows people how to become a scrap gold and silver dealer. It’s the industry’s most comprehensive wholesale buying and selling system, said the article, and provides a proven business model for entering the personal jeweler arena.

Gold rings, silver necklaces, watches, outdated pieces, mismatched items, coins, bullion, and silverware can all produce profitable business. As long as people know the percentages and formulas for figuring out their worth, dealers can make educated offers that the customer will be pleased with. The article said dealers will then turn the gold over to refiners and in some cases earn double what they paid for it.

Once someone finds out how to profit from gold, they catch the bug and can’t stop, said the article. It’s an addictive practice, especially when such huge profits can be made on a daily basis. The article said the amount of money that can be made in a day sends people into shock.

The reasons for the scrap gold craze are multifaceted. Last year gold prices hovered around $2,000 an ounce, an all-time high. They’ve since settled, but are still in the $1,600 range, which according to the article is more than enough to be profitable.

Combine that with economic downturns, and the article said it leads to low level income, unemployment, and penny pinching. People are looking in every nook and cranny of their lives for extra income, and they’re finding it in their jewelry cases.

Absolute Wealth is an expert team of real investors and advisors devoted to identifying winning strategies for exceptional returns. Members subscribe to the Independent Wealth Alliance for professional investment analysis and recommendations on the latest trends and progressions. For more information and subscription instructions, visit AbsoluteWealth.com.

The “Gold Profit Formula” provides audio, video, and written training modules to teach people how to cash in on this trend. The article said it is the best way for people to get money for scrap gold because it’s from Absolute Wealth, the experts in financial information.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/prwebmoney_for/scrap_gold/prweb9589175.htm