Executive Compensation at University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) is a private research university in Philadelphia that is also a member of the Ivy League. With more than $12 billion in the school’s endowment, Penn also includes a hospital, five outpatient facilities, an in-patient rehabilitation center, and 10 research facilities.
The IRS Form 990 (2015) covering the year beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016 reports the following key information about Penn: Read more 
Remembering the Children on 9-11
Today marks 17 years since 9-11 and yet the wounds continue to feel raw, especially for the people who lost family and friends that day. Nearly 3,000 people were killed that day, the majority of whom were adults but there were also eight very young children (ages 2 – 11) who perished when the planes they were on crashed. Had those children lived, they would be 19-28 years old today, in the prime of their lives.
American Airlines Flight 77 departed Washington, DC for Los Angeles but was hijacked and crashed into the Pentagon. On board, were five children: Read more
Executive Compensation at the NRA
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a non-profit 501 (c) (4) organization that fights tirelessly for our second amendment rights. Whether or not you believe the second amendment refers to “militia” or “the people” has always been controversial but is even more so in the wake of the near weekly occurrence of mass shootings in this country. People are speaking out for gun control because quite frankly, there are too many guns and assault weapons in the hands of the wrong people, and too many people are dying. Read more
10 Health Things That Make You Go Hmmm
Dr. Greger, MD of Nutrition Facts (www.nutritionfacts.org) has shown that “plant-based nutrition is the only diet that’s ever been proven to reverse heart disease in the majority of patients” and is effective in “treating, arresting, and reversing some of our other leading killers as well.” Knowing this, there have been many situations related to health that have caused me to pause and question the advice given, the reasoning offered, or the justification provided by doctors, nurses, nutritionists, and the general public. Here are just a few……. Read more
My Renewed Faith in the Democratic Party
A few years ago (2016) right after Hillary Clinton won the democratic primaries, I was at a cocktail party where the host was Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney of New York. She was there supporting several democratic candidates running for office in New York but opened up a question and answer session where we could presumably ask whatever we wanted. Read more
Who is Jeremy Dixon?
You may not have heard of Jeremy Dixon but you will. Dixon, a native New Zealander is the founder of Revive Cafe – restaurants serving delicious, fresh whole grain plant-based food in Auckland, the man behind Cook:30 – the 30 minute television series (www.3abn.org) in which he makes a complete meal using fresh, wholesome plant-based ingredients, and the author of eight cookbooks (The Revive Cookbooks 1-6, and the Cook:30 Cookbooks 1 and 2). The guy is busy (it’s gotta be all that plant-based fuel)! Read more
Tell Me What Mother Doesn’t Grieve For Her Child?
Earlier this month a story was circulating about an orca whale who gave birth to a calf only to have it die about 30 minutes later. The mother whale carried the baby calf on her nose for weeks while she swam miles and miles along the Pacific Ocean off the northwest coast of Canada in what most animal behaviorists say was a form of grieving. That the calf was the first one born since 2015 (the whales have been tracked because of their dwindling population) makes the loss more heartbreaking for environmentalists who are trying to save the mammals from extinction by repopulating the seas, which have been depleted, with salmon. Read more
Vegan Dining Options in Asheville, NC (Part 4)
The Asheville dining scene for plant-based or vegan eaters has never been better. Years ago, I could write about the vegan options in virtually any town or city in one or two posts but not for Asheville, a city known for tolerance, compassion, and a deep respect for personal choice. It’s not that Ashevillians eat less animal products then the rest of the population (they probably eat just as much, if not more); the vegan-friendly approach has more to do with tolerance, accommodation, and a desire to please the people sitting at a table in their restaurant.
This is the fourth installment of vegan dining options in Asheville and there’s still two to go. Enjoy. Read on and taste what Asheville has to offer in plant-based dining on your next visit. Read more
Brown Rice Syrup and Arsenic
If you’re the least bit health conscious, then you’re probably a label reader which also means when looking for ready-made sweets, you search for alternative ingredients to refined sugar, corn syrup, or high fructose corn syrup. So, when you see brown rice syrup listed as an ingredient in energy bars or other treats, you may be somewhat satisfied thinking you’re making a wiser choice. But, you need to think again because brown rice syrup has been called out for having “high” levels of arsenic – a chemical element that is often used in the production of pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides (and in the feed for poultry and pigs to prevent disease). Read more
Executive Compensation at Vanderbilt University
Vanderbilt University is one of the top private universities in the South and in the USA. At nearly $70,000 a year for tuition, room, and board, Vanderbilt’s fees are right in line with other top private colleges and, yet people still wonder why a 4-year education at Vanderbilt costs nearly $300,000?
The answer: tuition dollars are supporting a huge education machine where, in the case of Vanderbilt, nearly half of the total expenses ($640 million out of $1.4 billion in expenses, not including depreciation) are compensation-related costs for the 37,165 employees in 2016 (an average of $17,000 per employee – compare this to $75,000 at Yale, $68,000 at Penn and $64,000 at Princeton) although the prior year, it is interesting to note, $2.3 billion was used to compensate 36,272 individuals, which equates to an average of $64,000 – more in line with the industry averages above. The IRS Form 990 offers no explanation explaining this discrepancy. Read more
Paddock Post 