Greed at the upper echelons of our society is bankrupting our governments at every level. "Suggesting corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share," writes Deborah Burger, "usually earns one the reproof of advocating class warfare. But class warfare when practiced by the elites is apparently perfectly acceptable. The average CEO who was paid $27 for every dollar earned by an employer 25 years ago – during which wages have mostly fallen or stagnated – now gets a ratio of about $275 to $1."

Citing high costs, the California Hospital Association is opposing a bill in the state legislature that would require hospitals to tighten security and increase reporting of violent events, according to a report by the Los Angeles Times.

A California legislative committee gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a bill that would tighten security at hospitals and increase their requirements for reporting violent acts to the state.

A former West Texas hospital administrator accused of retaliating against two whistle-blowing nurses accepted a plea deal Monday and could testify in trials for a doctor, sheriff and prosecutor facing similar charges.

Tufts Medical Center nurses are ratcheting up their heated contract dispute with the Boston teaching hospital. Nurses planned to follow a flash mob at South Shore Plaza yesterday with picketing from 4 to 6 p.m. today outside the hospital in Chinatown.