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Reducing the Deficit

By Emily - 2010-02-23 In light of the Obama Administration's creation of a "Debt Commission" to balance the nation's budget by 2015, my colleague Nicole Tichon released a new study today highlighting ways the government can save the first trillion dollars.

Senator Tester Agrees: Financial Reform is NOT a Bailout

By Emily - 2010-02-12 Kudos to U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) for criticizing TV ads running in Montana and around the country which claim that Congressional efforts to rein in the reckless Wall Street bankers will amount to another "bailout."

Frank Luntz said what???

By Emily - 2010-02-04 Bank reform is so popular with the public, pollster Frank Luntz is telling Republicans to LIE and call the bank reform bill a bank bailout. Misleading ads are already running.

Interchange Fees: Credit Card Companies Nickel and Diming Consumers

By pedro - 2010-01-26 In 2008 banks raked in $48 billion in interchange fees. These are fees they charge merchants for the privilege of being able to accept their cards.

Corporate Democracy – The Citizens United Decision

By Emily - 2010-01-21 “A corporation is not, nor has it ever been, a person with voting rights. Corporations cannot get married, they cannot die, and a corporation is not a part of ‘We the People’.

The last health care fight?

By mike - 2010-01-14 How an obscure ten-page provision in the Senate health bill could save us billions.

The State of Transportation.

By erin - 2010-01-08 As we break into the next decade, it seems fitting to ask two questions: What were the three most important transportation developments of 2009? And what should be the top three transportation policy priorities of 2010?

How Ticketmaster’s Fees Could Get Even Worse

By Emily - 2010-01-06 In late December, the British Department of Justice gave their stamp of approval to the proposed merger between Ticketmaster and Live Nation. Will the U.S. Department of Justice allow this music monopoly to form or will they enforce our anti-trust laws?

Smart Job Creation

By erin - 2009-12-22 New data shows stimulus spending on transit creates more jobs than highways.

Will Pres. Obama’s Job Summit Result in an Infrastructure Overhaul?

By erin - 2009-12-03 As leaders debate what to do about the country’s unemployment crisis, many hope leaders recommend policies that promote job creation over the long run by expanding investment in our infrastructure.

Obama Taking Banks To Task:

By pedro - 2009-12-02 Loan servicers are taking their sweet time figuring out how to deal with the flood of troubled borrowers in need of a loan modification. Frankly, the lollygagging is unacceptable.

Toxics, hearing loss threats, and choking hazards, oh my

By Emily - 2009-11-24 What should parents watch out for when shopping for presents this holiday season? Find out more at CALPIRG’s new smart phone toy safety site: www.toysafety.mobi

Loan Modifications: The Banks Need Help

By pedro - 2009-11-12 Testimony from this morning on a loan modification mediation program proposal. The testimony focuses on three problems with the current loan modification situation that mediation would help alleviate.

Making Health Care Worse?

By mike - 2009-11-04 A new proposal by lawmakers opposed to reform shows that yes, it is possible to make our system more expensive and lower the quality of care.

Banks Seek to Rein in State Attorneys General

By pedro - 2009-11-03 This is a re-posting from the USPIRG Blog earlier today. "As Congressional action continues on financial reform, bank lobbyists seeking to preserve the system that failed have asked Congress to overturn a recent PIRG-backed Supreme Court decision, Cuomo v. Clearinghouse, that reinstated some authority of state attorneys general to enforce their own consumer laws over national banks."

Apparently Failure is an Option For the Banking Industry

By pedro - 2009-10-26 This weekend the number of failed banks nationally for 2009 passed 100. California is home to 10 of the 105 banks forced to close their doors since January 1st of this year.

Not With a Bang But a Whimper

By mike - 2009-10-22 Did the death knell just sound for wasteful, ineffective fee-for-service medicine?

Moving Los Angeles Along

By erin - 2009-10-15 A key public transportation project for Los Angeles, the Wilshire Bus Only Lane, has made significant progress lately. It will provide better, faster service to an area experiencing some of the region’s worst traffic.

Governor Finally Steps Up On Mortgage Reform

By pedro - 2009-10-12 Governor Schwarzenegger signed a group of mortgage reform bills including CALPIRG sponsored AB 260 (Lieu). The bills are the first in the state that address the causes of the mortgage crisis.

A 20-Page Application With Your Coffee?

By mike - 2009-10-08 If California small businesses were run the way the health care industry is, things would look a little different.

Internet Password Best Practices

By pedro - 2009-10-06 There is a good article in today's Washington Post about Hotmail losing a bunch of users' email passwords. They took it as an opportunity to highlight some password best practices so I thought I would do the same.

Banks Need To Come Out Of The Bunker

By pedro - 2009-10-05 In two weeks CALPIRG along with a host of other consumer groups and state and local officials will start work on another good proposal to increase loan modifications in California. But for any real head way to be made we need the banks to come along as well.

Parsky Commission's Tax Proposal DOA

By Emily - 2009-09-30 I try to avoid doomed proposals like the plague. There are too many solvable problems in our state to waste energy and resources on ideas that are going nowhere fast. You would think, especially with his poll numbers, that the Governor would do the same. But yesterday he called a special session of the legislature to overhaul our state’s tax code, cheerleading a proposal almost nobody else likes.

Out with the Old and In with the New

By erin - 2009-09-30 As our nation’s transportation law ends, we are left wanting more for our $300 billion investment. Now, will Congress lead us into a cleaner, more efficient system?

Young People and Health Care Reform

By mike - 2009-09-25 Are young people really AWOL when it comes to winning health care reform?

We're So Over Overdraft Fees

By Emily - 2009-09-22 What a rotten feeling it is when you realize you are now paying $40 for that cup of coffee, instead of $4, thanks to an overdraft fee for insufficient funds (even though you would have much preferred to just have had your card denied!) Today Chase and Bank of America announced changes to their overdraft policies. But a press release is by no means a law.

What to Make of the Baucus Bill

By mike - 2009-09-18 This week saw the release of Senate Finance Chair Max Baucus' health care reform bill. It's come in for a lot of criticism -- much of it deserved -- but is that the end of the story?

Long-Awaited Transportation Projects Threatened

By erin - 2009-09-15 Today, over 20 amendments were proposed to a transportation bill that would block funding for long-awaited local transportation projects while highways were all but spared.

Playing Games in Sacramento

By pedro - 2009-09-14 In the wee hours during the last night of the legislative session here in Sacramento some in the state senate were still in the mood for a little political chicken. 20 bills were held hostage, and eventually failed, because of a small set of completely unrelated demands.

It's Crunch Time in Sacramento

By pedro - 2009-09-04 Today is the one week mark before the CA legislature has to send all bills to the Governor. It has been a brutal year due to budget concerns, but there are still quite a few bills worth pushing for. Here is a list of those bill that the consumer community has compiled and will be focusing on next week. -Pedro

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