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How Bank Of America Destroyed Football
As the NFL torments it players, coaches, and viewers by playing hardball over 'real' referee earnings, the truth of Monday's blown call is coming out. Courtesy of American Banker, we now know that the referee at the center of the most controversial call of the season so far is in fact a vice president for small-business banking at Bank of America in California.
The result of this call was over a billion dollars exchanging hands in Vegas bookies' offices from what was a certain winning position to certain losers, precisely due to just this one call, causing substantial losses for bookies in the process as well.
The man in question...
Lance Easley - previously at Wells Fargo, has worked at BofA since June 2011 - (we assume) moonlighting as a referee in the Santa Barbara area (officiating high school and junior college football and basketball games). Well done Lance, you have managed to move from the most-hated occupation (bankster) to the most-hated individual (outside of Seattle) in one weekend. Is it any wonder Small Business confidence and uncertainty is so high?
cue Gratuitous Green Bay Cheerleader photo to make up for all of this pain...
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Yawn...
Bread and Circuses.....
Just wait until the Romainian, Russian and Italy Men's Club get a hold of him. Bookies don't take kindly to bumblefucks.
Sign this, Robo Ref.
sorry tylers, this story goes into the giant "who cares" bin.....even more so that obummer has decided to help in the (union) matter.....of course grabbing some more headlines
They screwed up football when they fired Bocephus.
Yeah....I said it.....screw you ESPN!
Go fix that chink in your amour.
Expect Congressional hearings, investigation, subpoenas, DoJ charges, multiple new bi-partisan legislation and lots of Smiles on the View.
Bread and Circuses, Bitchez
I'm now a Packers fan.. Lovin this Season.. rejectRefs are a total wildcard.. awesome..
Redistribution of points.....level the playing ground.
Those guys are good......so we can't let them win.
What is this "football" thing of which you people speak? Has ZH been infiltrated by consumers of mass media?
Any excuse to trash a banker.
Not that I necessarily object, you understand... just sayin'. :)
What is "football"?
Rugby playes with helmets and sholder pads.
Girls passing around the hot potato cause they don't want to get hit.
Just pissed you off didn't I?
Hardly. I give fuck-all about sports.
For his next act, the guy shows up next month at Game 7 of the World Series, reachs over the railing to catch a ball, and screws the home team out of a championship.
I'm thinking BofA just got its bailout. (Hey Bob, put it all on Seattle and we'll make sure we double up or triple up on Monday night. By Tuesday all this shit about derivatives will be all covered for us. We will be rolling in fiat.) Now the only trick is to find out who he is pulling for next weekend so that we can double it up again.
My goodness, you mean it was a lowly retail guy who is bringing the NFL to its knees. You would have hoped it was one of those Master of the Universe Merrill Lynch guys.
My thoughts, too. Reminds me of Rodney Dangerfield in "Moving":
"Mr. Pear, are you a gambling man?" "No, I'm not." "Well, you are now! Look, I'm gonna level with you people: I just bet a big chunk of the bank's money on Hannah Blue in the 7th at Hallmark Downs." "That's embezzlement!?" "That's right. And that's exactly what I've been doing here for 22 years!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OM8gYZ_X5kg
"You heard him, God--Hannah Blue! He said he'd be true to his wife!" "Hey, take it easy, will ya? I said I'd go back to my wife!"
You didn't intercept that. Someone else made that happen.
Pro sports are gigantic money laundering conduits. Why should the appearance of actual bankers in an on-field officiating role surprise anyone?
i, mommy for throwing leggs in the air , daddy for proper ejack, school systems that gave you multiple second chances, iii stadium builders, iiii grass seed guy, coach who called hail mary and most of all the king of the jews who made it all possible...it takes a village. What about that MR. Fung? ...most hated in america? Really? Who said baffle them with bull shit? Like the previous refs never ass fucked a game?
Fav quote of the day
Had the same play been committed anywhere else in the game besides the game ender, it just would have been another bad call. Too bad for the GB Packers, too bad. Go BEARS!
One thought I had after watching the game was someone smart got ahold of at least one of these LFL rejects and paid them to throw the game to Seattle. I figured pay the guy $50K and bank $5 million in bets. Given this BoA connection, perhaps this is a new form or insider trading ?
From: http://freedomistheanswer.blogspot.com/
I'm sick of hearing about the NFL replacement refs. The regular NFL refs suck too. They blow calls every game, they blow replays ever game, and some blown calls change the outcome of games, but the press never says anything. Sure, the replacement refs are slightly more bad than the regular refs, but if the media spent as much time exposing the regular NFL refs as they do these replacement refs, nobody would complain about the replacements. I just watched the video of the play in question, it looked like simultaneous possession to me, and simultaneous possession goes in favor of the offense, so it looked like the right call to me. All this unfavorable coverage of the replacement officials seems designed to dishonestly support unions and strikes. Also the players are ripping the replacement refs. Of course they just suffered a lockout, and undoubtedly the players union is in solidarity with the referees union.
Interesting perspective.
Naw... he just has a reflexive hatred of any organization that uses collective bargaining....
So, you're a proponent of gang warfare, then?
(btw, you're gonna need a bigger gang if you expect to profit)
I thought collective bargaining was gang warfare....... Now I'm confused.
lol...six figure guys (referees) who work part time, in a dispute with ten figure guys (owners) who also work part time at this. The dispute seems to boil down to whether the actions of seven figure guys (the players) on the field can be properly judged by six figure guys who work part time.
Instead of (roughly) 140k base they want 170k base pay...for part time.
As a confirmed capitalist scab...I could do a night or two a week for 120k ;-)
Definitely interesting that he could watch that play and think there was simultaneous possession...
He must have been watching a different play...or he's an idiot.
So did he explain it by saying the Green Bay guy thought he had possession but it was actually rehypothecated to Seattle?
pods
Seattle fan.
No. Wife's a Greenbay fan.
And by the way, I did not write it. It is borrowed from a very good Libertarian website and this is his view on the play. I tend to agree with the bolded section and that is why I reposted it.
http://freedomistheanswer.blogspot.com/
The replacement refs suck, it's not even debatable. People keep bringing up, oh the refs make mistakes too, see they did this in 1998 or this in 2007 or this in 2003. Well the replacement refs have made all the bad calls the regular refs have done of the past 10-15 years in THREE WEEKS. Had Arizona not held after Seattle getting a 4th timeout and some other questionable calls, the Seahawks would have been gifted TWO WINS, not just the one they got against the Packers.
They have botch play after play, and most people are ignorant to it all. It's not just the big things, it's all the little things. The botch spots, they botch timing issues, they miss things left and right, the coaches work the refs to their advantage (see Pete Carroll smiling after calling that 4th timeout). Roger Goodell, the farce that he is, has made player safety his top concern publicly, well using replacement refs that are missing everything, and allowing teams to hold and do many dirty things during the course of the game is risking the players needlessly. Again over what a couple thousand dollars per ref per season?
These refs even have a hand holding official on the sideline to get information from (since they don't have it), and use replay not to confirm or deny what they called, but to get a call in the first place because they have no fucking clue what the hell happened. I've seen it time after time. Did anyone realize that's exactly what happened in the Monday night game? The ref didn't ask what they saw, he ran immediately to the booth to watch the replay. Anybody that has watched these games and doesn't know the difference is a fucking moron in terms of how much more these refs suck than the regular refs. I've seen plenty of bad calls by regular refs. But these refs make once a year mistakes, every quarter they ref. They suck so bad it's insane. How anyone can miss it is beyond me. How anyone can say there is no difference, is someone oblivious or ignorant of the differences. When I watch the games all I'm seeing is....that's a fuck up, that's a fuckup. Wrong spot. Hey asshole it's 2nd down, not 4th down. Hey you didn't mark the spot after the penalty it's at the 30 yard line not 20. Hey retard, you are supposed to mark the penalty off from the end of the run, or the spot of the foul. Nice spot, it was supposed to be the 36, and you marked the 34. 4th timeouts, fumbles, ints. They call more conferences than Europe and they are just as effective.
It's OBVIOUS that in a market of football reffing, there is a need for the skill these refs have. They have to have smart minds and sharp minds. They tend to be lawyers and doctors, and by its nature this is their overtime. This is what they work from their 40th hour to 65th hour or so. The market has spoken. Replacements suck. The replacement refs are used to high school speed of the game, not the NFL speed of the game. No matter how much someone tries, some people just can't run a 4.3 40 yard dash. Just like some people just can't ref the speed of the NFL.
Did anyone know that all of this has been done over about 1.5-3 million dollars in a 9 billion dollar a year business, and one which is expected to grow (due to the new CBA) to 18 billion by the end of it? I would say nickle and diming, but it's really hay pennying. They are destroying the integrity of the game, and altering the season, risking coaching jobs, players jobs, incentives in contracts, not to mention player safety, for almost NOTHING.
It also goes beyond just the Packers and the Seahawks. It also involves things like playoff seeding, and thus also who will host games and who won't in the playoffs. Obviously it's impacting things like the betting world, and not to mention the fantasy football leagues, pick 'em's, survivor leagues. People pay good money to the NFL (what's the average over 100 a seat?), and all sorts of internet/tv packages to watch these games, and the NFL is purposefully putting out an inferior product for the cost of one fucking superbowl 30 second television ad. Does that put this in perspective?
Of course overall none of this matters, it's just a game. Not like the NFL can overcome the lack of Glass-Steagall. But it is once again another big business not listening to the reailty of the situation, the pleas of the fans, and the consequences on the field, and toeing the company line at all costs. (which again is peanuts)
Glass-Steagall
+1 for rant
The regular refs were getting too good at making the correct calls. So good in fact that it became difficult for the NFL owners to fix the games. By getting us used to the replacement officials they can now influence and direct the outcome through the officials without it seeming obvious.
I have to say though that I like the replacement officials. I stopped watching the NFL years ago because I find the product very boring, especially compared to college football. Now it is exciting and hilarious at the same time. You never know what's going to happen next (cue Benny Hill music)!
it was the Romainian, Russian and Italy Men's Club that bought the ref
Oh, Hell no. You can destroy America with your market and finance practices, but don't mess with football. There may be a storming of a BoA corporate office for this. Allahu football!
I'm waiting for a public uproar over the botched calls by the referees over at the SEC. Screw the NFL, that's kid stuff.
Proof that bankers are not worth two shits. But maybe three.
Owen Templeton
"Crazy Lucy Bitches"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"you didnt catch that!"
bring back insant replay??
In the banking industry everyone is a 'Vice President'. I've seen tom, dick and harrys call themselves Vice Presidents and Regional Vice Presidents when all they do is sit and home and cold call people for money to invest in their blackhole schemes.
Fuck pro sports.
And fuck the shallow, mindless, sheeplike fanatics ("fans") whose desperate attempts to fill their empty lives by obsessing over children's games played by adult strangers fuel those professional sports.
See you down in Arizona Bay!
I have no idea what that means, and I consider myself fortunate not to understand the reference.
As I have always said, if the average American would give just 10% of the attention they give to professional sports to politics or world events, or to ANYTHING with any real-world significance, this world would be a far better place.
Marx was perhaps correct in his time regarding religion, but today the REAL opiate of the masses is professional sports. The fact that this obsession fuels mindless, kneejerk group-thinking and collectivistic herd behavior on the most primitive, emotional, non-rational level is only a bonus for the powers that be, as it helps them manipulate and control the already-conditioned masses.
My allegiance towards my local sports team is greater than your allegiance towards your local sports team. THIS. IS. WAR!
It's no coincidence that some of the strongest professional sports fanaticism is consistently found among members of the military, both current and former.
But having grown up in the Midwest, in a town with a "Big Ten" university football team, I always found the extreme obsession over professional and college sports among many of my adult male family members and relatives to border on the pathological.
It's the same conditioning as that of God and nation... an undying love for your own and a deep resentment towards the competitors. Throw a few drinks in there and you've got yourself the perfect thing to fight over...
Exactly --- those have always been my sentiments as well. I only wish that those who scream their lungs out and raise their blood pressure to dangerous levels at sporting events (even on TV) could only see how insane they seem to me. The father of a friend of mine actually gave himself a heart attack during a SuperBowl game (both of which I was unfortunately present to witness).
I must add my surprise that I did not (yet anyway) receive a whole slew of downvotes for these posts of mine in this thread, which are admittedly somewhat inflammatory and outside of the mainstream of public opinion.
Just admit it. You grew up a nerd and you didn't get laid. LOL
If growing up a 'nerd' (read: non-conformist) and not getting laid was the price of my (semi-)enlightenment and (partial) awareness of the insanity of the world we live in, then it was a small price to pay.
Being aware of something you have no control over, and surrounded by people who don't give a shit, sucks! Try having a beer and watching a footbal game some Sunday. It's relaxing. You still have no control, but the conversation with your friends / neighbors is more fun. Who cares if it means nothing at the end of the day. It was fun.
Sometimes I hate being aware.
You make an interesting point: sports are not just the opiate of the masses, they are also the glue.
Akin to: "I finally have a reason not to hate my neighbor--we share consumerist tendencies and contrived loyalties, which gives us just enough to talk about so that we can avoid all the loathsome topics; (I mean, for god's sake, if that sonofabitch once mentions who he's voting for, or his membership in some other goddam church, there's at least a 50% chance I'll have to choke the life out him right here in my living room!)"
I share your contempt for sports culture. A shame, too. In the days of my innocence I really enjoyed playing football and rooting for the Buckeyes. I really cant stomach it anymore though.
But this: "and not getting laid was the price". Now I know that not only are you a loser on ZH, but in real life too. But I'm going to quit egging you on b/c I have a wife and kids and a real life to worry about. Just wanted to toss one more insult at you.
Sorry, that would be a quote from Brother Maynard of Tool (based on Bill Hicks views of LA).
http://www.toolband.com/album/lyrics/aenima.html (scroll down to aenima lyrics)
OK, I assumed it was just another cryptic (to me) reference to something to do with professional sports, all talk and mention of which is just so much background white noise to me --- "blah blah football blah blah blah stadium blah blah blah blah MVP blah blah blah blah third down blah blah blah blah ...."
You would love this song. Listen with good speakers or headphones.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEBujpqKeAw
Gotta second skateboarder's recommendation, if you want a song to match your rant that is it.
akak said:
...and television is the giant hookah in the opium parlor.
...means that there is a constant danger that just a few more beers could lead to shameless and flagrant roadside crapping.
I sorely missed AnAnnoyingMouse's insights into this oh-so-American-Citizenism topic.
+1 for the Tool reference.
You were damn close, akak. It's actually "overgrown boys smashing into each other mercilessly and causing long-term brain damage."
Hey, they aren't overpaid ball-carrying strangers if you can swing an official jersey emblazoned with your favorite player's number. It may seem infantile to the undoctrinated, but in that moment, they become the chief of your tribe, and you are demonstrating your humility by forsaking any ounce of male dignity.
That is one way to look at it....
Definitely tribal, woe be to the outcast...
. . . however silly, yet syllogistic:
? body language. body logic ?
In the Shreve High football stadium,
I think of Polacks nursing long beers in Tiltonsville,
And gray faces of Negroes in the blast furnace at Benwood,
And the ruptured night watchman of Wheeling Steel,
Dreaming of heroes.
All the proud fathers are ashamed to go home.
Their women cluck like starved pullets,
Dying for love.
Therefore,
Their sons grow suicidally beautiful
At the beginning of October,
And gallop terribly against each other's bodies.
-james wright. x-hs lineman
Usually an accident of this magnitude has multiple parties at fault:
a) Coaches who have to call hail mary's.
b) Quarterbacks who have to throw hail mary's.
c) Receivers who have to catch hail mary's.
d) Defenders who don't know how to defend hail mary's.
e) League adminstrators who don't know how to hire contractors.
f) Pop Warner referees who don't know how to officiate.
Close your eyes and imagine the referee hand signal for GFY.
RCD, you've been sniffing too many Nascar exhaust fumes which invariably leads to sex with your step-daughter.
Sure...but is she good lookin'?
You're right...the Pack D'backs should not have gone for the interception. Swat the ball away.
at least they aren't changing uniforms every week like Oregon is.
Too funny. Just too funny.
Ironic wouldn't it be if he was the first banker hung--over this?
Buried in cement under the twenty yard line.
The sensationalism in the headline is awesome.
So are her mammaries...................
This whole picture has meaning on so many levels.
What happened? This, whatever it was, is a non-event...
I'm with you K. Its a game! I like watching football but still, its nothing but a game played by big boys. There are many more important things to talk about rather than football. Notice how lots of the pols are giving their opinion on the lockout; they'd rather pass on the tough issues we face.
The game is the small picture. The big picture is the labor battle...
I've got Scott Walker on my fantasy roster.
Damn! You must have had first or second pick. That dude is leading the league in UMAs (union member antagonizations)...my team would be much better if I had him rather than Reagan's Ghost.
The Pack may have gotten screwed, but at least this incident provides an example of bankster incompetence that most people can relate to. Sad that most people are that ignorant, but I'm trying to look at this as a glass half-full.
looked like a touchdown to me...
Then the blue guy should have caught the ball.........not the yellow guy.
This was simply the worst and most visible error by the refs in this game. There were other bad calls earlier in the game which hurt Seattle.
Disclosure: Seahawk fan
Then there's the whole idea of the Packers trying to catch the ball in the first place. They should've been trying to swat the ball down and/or away from any Seahawk, but no, stats are more important, so hey, let's go for the interception!
All the ball had to do was to touch the ground.
True, but if your contract has incentives based on INTs, tell me you ain't gonna try and catch that ball...
Those should be written out of the contract, then. Or at least replaced with "preventing a successful catch." There should never be an incentive that creates the opportunity to help yourself while causing your team a loss. (well, except for Olympic badminton, then it's funny as hell)
I wonder if it even entered his mind while he was lying on the ground wrestling for the ball, prolonging the game?
Nice to see that Green Bay is represented here (i.e. 'down votes')....
and the defensive pass interference call that was clearly offensive pass interference on seattle that got them to the point of even being able to have a hail mary into the end zone? I think it was 1st and 25 lol... or, alternatively, the roughing the passer call when seattle's qb was outside the pocket? Or, alternatively, on the final play the offensive pass interference where a green bay defender got thrown down when the ball was in the air? I'm not sure how you can chalk all these up to poor officiating...
Green Bay won the game... and the refs were not remotely egalitarian in their bullshit calls.
Funny. With the moral hazard still not addressed, this should suprise no one. Cronyism and fascism will continue to thrive. enjoy the humor of this non-event though.
Know who I hate? I hate all the adults who indoctrinated me from early childhood to be a sports "fan." What a waste of many hours of my life that could have been put to some meaningful use.
I agree 100%.
Born losers...?
Too funny.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-7v_6uGlWQ&feature=related
THey had to come with something so we didn't play with dingers all damn day.
I think we were designed to have a warrior side, so sport was born. Most people think you are goofy if watching atheletes perform and you don't "root" for one side.
Next week, I will root for refs to make bad calls and watch the fans faces.
While excessive sports viewing is likely a sedentary lifestyle, the entertainment factor is actually very good for your health, in the form of decompression from daily stress.
As always, everything is best in moderation.
Could say the same thing about the other age old decompression avenue.
Moderation, or you will go blind.
pods
superstition
Also probably a necessary endeavor... prostate health... mental health... positive release of natural chemicals...
Bread and circuses are nothing new, but yes, great post.
I second this. Just another example of a corrupt and declining society.
When I think of all the time I wasted in the previous 10-15 years on things I find meaningless now I can't help but feel just a bit sorry for myself. Then I go and lookmy book shelf and pick out some thought provoking work or listen to an enlightening podcast or interview and am grateful that I snapped out of the metal prison I was encouraged to build around myself as a youngster. I still feel bad for the people that go through their whole lives as a fanatic (could be religious, political, sports, music, entertainment) and never really get a grasp of reality.
I just consider the crap that wasted my time for so many years as the bridge that got me to the better place where I live today.
However, reality still keeps slipping from my grasp.
You (and I) would have found some other outlet for this deep-seated need to be part of a tribe.
Oh, and by the way - fuck you Pete Carroll.
Know what I hate? People who attribute their own weaknesses/addictions on someone else. If one can recognize one's problems one can do something about them. I hope you've overcome your indoctrination.
You know, you're only reinforcing their victimhood. ;)
"Know what I hate? People who attribute their own weaknesses/addictions on someone else. If one can recognize one's problems one can do something about them. I hope you've overcome your indoctrination."
Know what I hate? People who lack the critcal thinking skills necessary to reach a logical conclusion. I've long since overcome, thank you. And for those, fat assed, dyspeptic, uncoordinated wannabes amongst you who would hold me in judgement; I excelled at sports as a participant. No sour grapes or unfullfilled fantasies here. In fact, I perform manual labor every day on my farm and would match my middle-aged stamina against anyone reading this.
"Well, the cowboy's name was Jingo, and he heard that there was trouble, so in a blaze of glory he rode out of the west. No one was ever certain what it was that he was saying, but they loved it when he told them they were better than the rest." - Don Henley
The fact that people lack critical thinking skills isn't really a reason to hate them... however, if they refuse to acknowledge or accept that they lack critical thinking skills, then that's another ballgame. Culpability is a tricky mistress.
Bingo.
I'm an alcoholic (mainly binge type, I don't need to drink everyday, but when I do drink on the weekends, I drink way fucking more than anyone else)
But I like to drink and I will continue to drink until I change my mind or die.
Since I'm not worried about some magical fucking afterlife up in the sky, I'd rather enjoy what time I have left alive doing what I enjoy.
You underestimate the importance of re-creation.
No GOLDen tate BITCHEZZZ?
Silly Tyler, everyone knows the green bay fudge packers don't have cheerleaders.
more cheer leaders please
Four quarters of cheerleaders please.....if those guys in pads want to do something....let them do it on the sidelines.
Oh... and they don't look real....
Yeah like two opposing magnets.
No their definitely two refs.
Scabs, you mean.
Why not? Bank of America screws everything else up it touches.
fake tits are so ugly.....
seriously hannah...ugly and un attractive.
ori
A case of tit envy..., maybe?
Seriously, ORI, what the hell is wrong with you?
Who cares about her tits Mr Peabody, does she give good head?
Sherman, I've raised you well.
As a rule, women that are superficially attractive tend not to give good head... They are usually too hung up on themselves....
No. They don't give good head because they don't have to give good head. There is no discounting of the products the people want...only the inferior ones that people need a reason to choose...
How do you know they are ungly unless you throughly inspect them. Rehypothicated naughty assets need to be delevereged fully and thoroughly before we commit our liquid assets into their portfolios. hmmmm
I'd like to pack her.
Fudge?
All this NFL bullshit is the equivalent to Orwell's two-minutes-hate. Forking sheep are unwilling, or unable, to concentrate on the true stupidity that actually messes up their lives, and bleat on and on about a damn game.
Fake boobs, fake calls....
If I were these guys, I'd just go back to my day job. Not worth the aggrevation. Not sure what people were expecting from a bunch of high school refs, but this looks about right to me.
Blame the league, not these poor schmucks.
Yes, yes. Blame the league for not handing over whatever is demanded by the officials union. Can anyone explain why these jackasses (who blow calls every week, too) should have a pension??
I get that they can ask for this stuff, but when they don't have their absurd demands met and choose not to perform the job then, you shouldn't just blame the league.
I get it that the NFL makes ridiculous money and they are pinching pennies. But that really isn't any reason to give more money to Ed Hoculi. If anything, they need to pay my beer vendor more so he can afford to go to the gym and then be able to get to my seat faster/more often...
Not that I totally disagree, but after doing some research on pay for the refs.... I was surprised at how little the pension amount is when you compare it to what the NFL makes. I personally don't think it's worth the black eye the NFL is getting when you consider the cost in injuries to players and a tarnished brand.
Hell it's not like anybody funds these pensions anyway. Give them their pension, underfund it then sluff it off onto the tax payer. We will borrow the money from the Chinese..... It's the American way.
The sticking point that I heard was unresovable wasn't pension but that the NFL wanted to hire more Refs AND have the ability to shitcan Refs who consistantly make or miss bad calls. With the extra hires, the NFL could easily dump a Ref and plug in one from the Ref Pool not bothering the upcoming games.
But then again, who knows what is truth and what is spin.
they deserve a pension because they are spending their productive years and health working for someone else.
period.
the same reason everyone who works instead of going fly fishing or watching football deserves a pension. because we will eventually be too old and crippled to run up and down the field and we dont' want to be begging down at the shelter.
that includes you too, young man. those of you who think you'll now have to work until you're 70 are kidding yourselves. nobody over the age of 50 gets hired anywhere to do anything except greet at Walmart.
Basic human rights does not entail a pension... you need to remove that "deserve" word and think of something else. If pensions are deserved, and a basic inalienable human right, then how do you propose to fix the municipal/state pension issues? Your premise necessarily entails a free lunch. Check your premise.
consider again the employer, the money generated by the enterprise, the preparation for and length of the career. you con't think they deserve a pension. then you and i disagree. and always will.
Why do you need to complicate matters with a retirement system held by other people, based in currencies desperately being devalued by their respective central banks, and shoved into incredibly risky assets chasing yield to give bigger bonuses to their respective managers? This is patently ridiculous.
You get what you're paid and that's it... if it's not enough money, then you either don't work or negotiate higher wages... but you do not wave a magic wand and demand pensions for everyone... when the employers are broke, taxpayers (me) pick up the dime. Fuck off with your nonsense. Retirement accounts are nothing more than a direct tax, an idiot tax, and/or snake oil. There is simply too much incentive to steal from the cookie jar and there is no governmental or other organization that can stop it. The only way it can be stopped is to not participate, which in this case means not dictating that employers provide pensions.
I'll also say that you need to be incredibly careful about demanding to give the government the power necessary to force employers to provide pensions. That pendulum swings both ways, but somehow never in your favor. Be warned.
A book you might like:
"Uncommon Cents - Benjamin Franklin's Secrets to Achieving Personal Financial Success",
ISBN: 0-939817-06-3, by Lynn G. Robbins
Total b.s. They're part time and most of already have full-time jobs elsewhere. The average starting salary for a first year NFL official is $78,000 – certainly a great deal for a part time job. But compare that to the starting salary for, say, an MLB umpire --$120,000 a year. That's about as much as a ten year NFL veteran referee makes. NBA and NHL refs similarly make six figure salaries from the start. Of course they officiate dozens, if not hundreds, of games a year, while the NFL ref will top out at about twenty. The NFL is offering a five-to-eleven percent raise for its officials. So how many of you bastards can get a part-time job that pays $78k per year???
When did the NFL start playing football?
When did the NFL start hiring bankers as refs?
IIRC, the sum involved in reconciling the impasse are something on the lines of $10 million over 10 years. One banker bonus clawback could fix all of this - and it would only be fair that it come from BAC.
I believe the replay official (not a replacement) could have easily overturned the call. He didn't.
What they really need is more flag waving and military presence at the NFL games. LOL...
Three guesses as to which team he had his money on, eh?