By Rachel Goldfarb, originally published on Next New Deal
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The quest for high-speed fiber: a conversation with Susan Crawford (The Verge)
Russell Brandom and Roosevelt Institute Fellow Susan Crawford discuss how America can improve its high-speed Internet access. Susan says she's given up on the federal government and is focusing on lobbying mayors as the best option to get high-speed fiber access to the most Americans.
The Financial Crisis: Why Have No High-Level Executives Been Prosecuted? (NYRB)
Judge Jed S. Rakoff speculates that a major reason for the lack of individual prosecutions for financial fraud is the systemic shift toward prosecuting companies instead of their agents, which saves time and resources but is not, he argues, the most morally sound option.
Secret Inside BofA Office of CEO Stymied Needy Homeowners (Bloomberg)
Hugh Son looks at the various ways that Bank of America prevented homeowners from successfully modifying their mortgages, from repeated requests for paperwork to understaffing the warehouse that all the related mail passed through.
Finally Paying for Wal-Mart’s Sins: Wage Theft Settlement Yields Millions (Salon)
Josh Eidelson reports on a proposed settlement in a wage theft case that would grant one group of warehouse workers $4.7 million. The warehouse was operated by a contractor, which will pay the fine, but there's an ongoing parallel case that names Wal-Mart as a defendant.
Stealing Pennies from Chileros (In These Times)
Joseph Sorrentino reports on green chile farming in New Mexico, where workers' hours are doctored to create the illusion of compliance with minimum wage laws. Even when the workers do report their bosses for violations of labor law, nothing seems to come of it.
The Year in Preview: Paul Ryan's Misguided Poverty Plan (TAP)
Monica Potts examines Paul Ryan as the face of anti-poverty work in the Republican Party. She says that for all that Ryan wants to position himself as a leader in the modern War on Poverty, he appears to have little interest in getting government involved in the fight.
How A For-Profit College Created Fake Jobs To Get Taxpayer Money (HuffPo)
Chris Kirkham looks at Everest College's practice of paying employers to hire their graduates for short stints of work. This raises the school's job placement rate and secures its accreditation, which allows Everest to access federal student loans.