A group of black Southern California Edison (SCE) employees recently filed a class action lawsuit against the company, alleging racial discrimination dating back to the '70s. The plaintiffs claim that SCE has routinely passed over black employees for promotion, and discriminates based on race in hiring. The plaintiffs also allege that they contend with a racially-hostile work environment, in addition to unequal pay and job assignments.

This is not the first time that SCE has been accused of racial discrimination, having faced discrimination class action suits in 1974 and 1994. Consent decrees from both lawsuits required the company to make "good faith efforts to increase the employee population and improve the opportunities for African-Americans ." However, as reported by Southern California Public Radio, the numbers of black employees at SCE has decreased by approximately forty percent since the most recent suit in 1994.

Although we should not jump to conclusions or presume guilt based on previous behavior, the allegations made by the plaintiffs in the SCE class action suit are disturbing. If true, these allegations show a pattern of racial discrimination against black employees embedded so deeply in the culture of SCE that two previous lawsuits weren't enough to get the company to change its management style. It appears that SCE does not even want to make the slightest attempt at treating black employees fairly.

According to a recent Newser article, an astonishing 1 million Americans will likely lose their homes to foreclosure this year. This is even more incredible if you consider that during a normal year before the recession, about 100,000 homes were foreclosed upon. In addition, 1.7 million Americans, or 1 in every 78 homeowners, received foreclosure notices between January and June of this year.

Although there may be some who are voluntarily giving up their homes due to decreasing value, the vast majority of those being foreclosed upon are people who have fought hard to keep their homes and simply can no longer make the payments. Even with various loan modification and foreclosure-prevention programs available, many homeowners are still unable to keep up. This is not surprising given that many have lost their jobs, and others could not even really afford their subprime mortgages once they ballooned.

A French businessman has recently made news by pledging to financially defend the right of Muslim women in France to wear the niqab, a garment worn to cover the majority of the face.

Upon hearing the news of approval of the veil ban in the lower house of the French parliament, which opened the door for it to be ratified into law in September, Rachid Nekkaz decided to do something to combat it. A French citizen and Muslim of Algerian descent, Nekkaz declared that he would set aside a fund of $1 million euros to bail out and defend any Muslim woman charged under the new law. Nekkaz, who made his fortune in real estate, was not planning to take action; however, when the planned ban on the veil was extended from town halls and post offices to all public areas, he felt obligated to act. He calls the veil ban an unconstitutional violation of a woman's personal freedoms.

A couple of articles recently have addressed the growing trend of major concert tours having a difficult time selling tickets. Even artists as well known as Rihanna have had to cancel tour stops because of poor ticket sales. The obvious reason to give for the recent struggles relating to ticket sales would be the still precarious state of our economy, and the high unemployment rates throughout the country. Though the economy is definitely playing a part in slow ticket sales, it is not the only factor involved. Anyone who has attended concerts over the past 10 years can bear witness to the skyrocketing cost of concert tickets, which were totally out of line even when the economy was doing well. A large chunk of the cost of a ticket are a variety of fees that make no sense and seem to increase by the moment.

Although other companies have attempted to make a dent in its monopoly-like power, Ticketmaster still has a great deal of control over the industry, and this likely will continue given its recent merger with Live Nation. Even the most psychotic of fans has a point at which he or she will say: "I love (insert artist here), but I'm not paying that!" Hopefully, the modifications forced upon the merger by the Department of Justice will allow for more competition, which will lower ticket prices. I wouldn't count on it though.

In a recent article on The Grio, NAACP President Ben Jealous outlined the fact that jobs and related employment issues will be a priority of the NAACP in the coming months. To support this new focus of the NAACP, Jealous also announced a march sponsored by his organization that will take place in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 2, 2010, aimed at "jobs and justice." In addition to the NAACP, 100 other organizations are also sponsoring the march.

It has become almost reflexive for many black people to belittle anything the NAACP does. I must admit there has been plenty to criticize over the last several years. However, it is only fair when providing criticism to be able to give praise when it is due. Thus, I must give Jealous credit for many of the things he has done since taking over at the NAACP. Jealous seems to have listened to critiques directed at the NAACP, such as the belief that it is a "do-nothing" organization and relic of the civil rights era unable to adapt to present times. He has taken measures to focus on issues that are directly relevant to the lives of millions of black people of varied socioeconomic status. I have to commend the fact that Jealous has decided to focus on jobs -- and do something about it!

CNNMoney.com just released its 2010 list of top small cities to live in. The top 10 are:

1. Eden Prairie, MN
2. Columbia/Ellicott City, MD
3. Newton, MA
4. Bellevue, WA
5. McKinney, TX
6. Fort Collins, CO
7. Overland Park, KS
8. Fisher, IN
9. Ames, IA
10. Rogers, AR

Now, any "best" list has to be taken with a grain of salt; however, looking over this list of cities would not be a bad starting point for someone who is searching for employment and is willing and able to relocate. These cities are comfortable places to live with a reasonable cost of living. If you are looking to move from a more competitive, congested or stagnant area -- especially if this move is warranted by a job loss -- a city on Money's Best Places to Live 2010 list may be for you.

It's easy to see personal finance as a complicated manner, but in some ways the old advice holds true. Let's revisit some of that old-school financial advice that your grandma used to give:

1. Limit (or don't use at all) credit cards or other forms of high-interest credit: Although I was a stubborn child who had to learn things the hard way, I remember my parents and other elders telling me repeatedly to leave the credit cards alone. At most, they would say, keep an "emergency" card for that purpose only. If you can't afford to pay for something, just wait! Never let yourself think, "let me use my credit card." And never (although it should not even have to be said) take out a payday loan; this is simply legalized loan sharking.

A recent article featured on The Root focuses on a controversial alternative to the traditional methods used to enforce parental responsibility in this country. In a proposal by Brown University professor, Frances Goldscheider, a "financial abortion" would allow a man who makes it known to his partner prior to sex that he does not want to be a father to void all responsibility for any pregnancy that results from subsequent sexual activity. This means that at no point would that man be liable for financially supporting any children that he produced.

Ideally, all fathers would be present in their children's lives and also provide for them financially; however, reality tells us that this is not always the case. Many men who want to provide financially for their children, simply aren't able to. This of course disproportionately harms working class black men, who are impacted heavily when they are unable to make court-orders support payments. Is offering these men the option of a "financial abortion" the solution?


The Root outlines Professor Frances Goldscheider's position:

Did you know that a black man owns the second-largest airport in London? According to an article from The Network Journal, a Nigerian entrepreneur with an impressive resume of accomplishments recently purchased a British airport. Adebayo Ogunlesi, chairman and managing partner of Global Infrastructure Partners, purchased Gatwick Airport, the second largest airport in London in December of 2009 for approximately $2.2 billion. Global Infrastructure Partners is Mr. Ogunlesi's investment company.

Mr. Ogunlesi's purchase of the Gatwick airport is just another in a long line of impressive achievements. After graduating from England's Oxford University, Mr. Ogunlesi attended Harvard Law School, where he obtained a law degree and an MBA. Upon graduating from Harvard, he earned a prestigious clerkship with the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. He followed that up by practicing law at a major corporate firm for a while, before eventually joining Credit Suisse First Boston in 1983. While helping to turn around the then struggling investment bank, he rose to the position of Executive Vice Chairman.

A recent CNN article explains how credit card users may still have leverage in negotiating lower interest rates despite the rhetoric coming from many of the larger U.S. credit card issuers. Many of those issuers have claimed that the recently passed Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act would be devastating to customers, because it would require the companies to raise prices, and reduce consumer choices and access to credit cards. Interest rates have increased, but not as dramatically as increases prior to the enactment of the CARD Act legislation. In addition, credit card companies will be forced to adapt to the new rules that benefit consumers, and provide access to credit to a variety of customers, in order to stay in business.

In addition to being able to negotiate lower rates, there are other positive changes for consumers that have been occurring through CARD. The good news for us is that the CARD Act:

-Requires credit card companies to provide notice to customers before raising rates or fees;
-Requires monthly statements to show how long it will take to pay off your total balance if you are paying the minimum each month;
-Strongly limits advertisements for credit cards aimed at college students and young adults in general; and
-Requires mandatory consistent payment dates and times to be spelled out by credit card companies.