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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

LA Times highlights failure to provide cheap broadband Internet | Jon Fox

LA Times columnist David Lazarus highlights the fact that the USA is falling behind the rest of the world in providing access to low coast quality Internet service.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

CFPB Release new tools to help students manage debt | Jon Fox

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launches a beta version of the Financial Aid Comparison Shopper - an interactive online tool designed to help students plan for the costs of higher education.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Tax

Offshore Tax Havens Cost Average California Taxpayers $423 a Year, Each California Small Business $2,010

With tax day approaching, a new study released by CALPIRG found that the average California taxpayer in 2011 would have to shoulder an extra $423 tax burden to make up for revenue lost from corporations and wealthy individuals shifting income to offshore tax havens. The report additionally found that to cover the cost of the corporate abuse of tax havens in 2011, small businesses in California would have to foot a bill of over $2,010 on average.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Tax

Picking up the tab

Some U.S.-based multinational firms or individuals avoid paying U.S. taxes by transferring their earnings to tax haven countries with minimal or no taxes. These tax haven users benefit from their access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security; but they pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system and forcing other taxpayers to pick up the tab.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

CFPB to announce mortgage servicing rules and other consumer news of the week | Ed Mierzwinski

(Update: phottos added.) Today, U.S. PIRG will be an invited guest as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposes new mortgage servicing rules to prevent, among other things, a recurrence of the robo-signing scandal. Among the other important news items of the week, in case you missed it, Ohio has made it harder for aggrieved consumers to obtain redress when ripped off.

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News Release | CALPIRG | Health Care

Blue Shield Refund Shows Need for Stronger Rate Review

Blue Shield of California followed through on its promise to cap profits at 2% of revenue resulting in a refund of $295 million to policyholders.  This action comes in the midst of increased public scrutiny about major premium increases from several of California’s major health insurers and a push for legislation that would give regulators the authority to reject or reduce unjustified rate hikes. 

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News Release | CALPIRG | Health Care

Governor Signs Health Care Bill to Limit Insurers' Overhead

Governor Brown signed a new health care bill into law that will require insurers to use a higher percentage of consumers’ premiums for actual health care costs.   If insurers fail to meet this target consumers will be eligible for an annual rebate. 

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News Release | CALPIRG | Democracy

Californians Will Soon Be Able to Register to Vote Online

Thanks to SB 397, signed into law today by Gov. Brown, California’s Secretary of State is officially allowed to pursue online voter registration, and has a goal of getting a system up a running in time for the 2012 elections.

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Media Hit | Higher Ed

The Daily Californian: ASUC to launch rating website for student housing

UC Berkeley senior Dana Rebitz would have benefited from knowing the quality of her Benvenue Avenue apartment before she moved in this semester. Her landlord failed to tell her about the apartment’s lack of a screen door, the mold growth in the bathroom and the fake thermostat that had promised indoor heating.

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Media Hit | Budget, Food

Los Angeles Times: Report: U.S. spending billions to subsidize junk food

The report, “Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food” by CALPIRG and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, studies the interesting question of whether the nation's problem with obesity is fueled by farm subsidies.

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Tools & Resources

  • YOUR TAX DOLLARS BECOME CORN SYRUP
    At a time when one-in-three kids is overweight or obese, over a billion taxpayer dollars go to high-fructose corn syrup and junk food ingredients.
    Learn more
    Take Action
  • STOP TAX DODGERS
    Corporate tax avoidance cost taxpayers $100 billion last year. We're working to close the loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying the taxes they owe.
    Learn more
    Take Action
  • FIGHTING UNJUSTIFIED PREMIUM HIKES
    It’s time for health insurers to get serious about lowering the cost of care instead of raising deductibles and hiking premiums.
    Learn More
  • Reclaim Democracy
    The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ushered in an era of unprecedented spending by big money in our elections, but we're working to return our democracy back to the principle of "one person, one vote."
    Learn more
    ADD YOUR VOICE

You Can Help

We have a chance to cut billions in junk food subsidies this year. Your support will help us do the research, advocacy and grassroots organizing to convince our elected officials to act.

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PRIORITY ACTION

Each year, our tax dollars pay for enough junk food additives to buy 8.5 two-liter bottles of soda for each person under 18. Help stop the subsidies for junk food.

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Consumer Alerts

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