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Media Hit | Budget, Tax

Washington Post: Government doing more to prevent corporations from deducting settlements

Federal agencies are taking greater steps to prevent companies from claiming tax deductions on settlements reached with the government, though loopholes in the tax code persist, according to a new study by U.S. Public Interest Research Group.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Tax

Does UBS Settlement Include $245 Million “Hidden Bank Fee” for Taxpayers?

The following is a statement of Ryan Pierannunzi, Tax and Budget Associate with U.S. PIRG, on the settlement announced today  between UBS and government regulators over the Libor scandal in which UBS and other financial institutions are accused of unlawfully tampering with interest rates. Along with agreeing to this settlement, UBS admitted to charges of fraud. The total settlement amount is $1.5 billion, of which $1.2 billion will be paid to U.S. agencies.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Tax

UBS Libor Scandal: Should Taxpayers Have to Pay for Bank Wrongdoing?

The following is a statement of Ryan Pierannunzi, Tax and Budget Associate with U.S. PIRG, on the anticipated upcoming settlement between UBS and government regulators over the Libor scandal in which UBS and other financial institutions are accused of unlawfully tampering with interest rates.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

FTC seeks information from data brokers | Ed Mierzwinski

Today, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued nine administrative orders seeking information to analyze the "Data Broker Industry’s Collection and Use of Consumer Data." The questions being asked track closely the questions posed both in a forthcoming U.S. PIRG/Center for Digital Democracy law review article and in similar information requests from the Bi-Partisan Congressional Privacy Caucus.

 

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

CFPB's #2 is leaving, replacement must meet standards to become #1 | Ed Mierzwinski

The industry trade press is all a-flutter with demands that when CFPB Deputy Director Raj Date leaves, that be replaced with what they characterize as "another" bank-friendly regulator when he leaves. Raj Date wasn't selected as CFPB special advisor and then deputy director because he had a banking background; he was selected because his additional consumer background made him qualified to become director.

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection

New York Times: Secret E-Scores Chart Consumers’ Buying Power

Ed Mierzwinski, consumer program director at the United States Public Interest Research Group in Washington, worries that federal laws haven’t kept pace with change in the digital age. “There’s a nontransparent, opaque scoring system that collects information about you to generate a score — and what your score is results in the offers you get on the Internet,” he says. “In most cases, you don’t know who is collecting the information, you don’t know what predictions they have made about you, or the potential for being denied choice or paying too much.”

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Higher Ed

CFPB Issues Consumer Advisory on Campus Debit Cards, Asks for Stories

Washington, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued a consumer advisory on its blog providing tips for students expecting scholarships and loans onto “what appears to be – a school-endorsed debit card.” The blog post comes just a day after the FDIC, a bank regulator, fined the largest campus debit card provider, Higher One, for unfair and unsafe practices.  The bureau is also asking consumers to share their experiences and provides a tool to submit complaints. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Higher Ed

FDIC Orders Higher One to Repay Students $11 million in Campus Debit Card Settlement 

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced an $11 million civil penalty and restitution settlement with the largest campus financial aid disbursement and debit card company Higher One and its bank affiliate for alleged “unfair” and “unsafe” practices involving overdraft fees imposed on college students. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Tax

Senate Finance Votes to Extend Offshore Tax Loopholes

Americans will pick up the $13 billion tab for multinational tax avoidance if two "tax extenders" approved by the Senate Finance Committee become law.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Higher Ed

Obama's Budget: Supporting Students, Not Banks

To help struggling students and families, President Obama has proposed a significant increase to the Pell grant for 2010-2011. The boost will be paid for by cutting excessive student lender subsidies out of the student loan programs and reinvesting that money instead in student aid. A report by the U.S. PIRG Higher Education Project estimates the impact of transferring $5 billion in student lender bank subsidies to Pell Grant recipients in each state.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Connecting California

Public transportation makes a vital contribution to California’s transportation system, providing an alternative to drivers tired of fighting congestion, reducing our dependence on oil, and curbing pollution. However, in many communities around thestate, transit systems are inadequate and cannot keep pace with demand.

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Report | Arizona PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Why and How to Fund Public Transportation

This document provides an overview of why transit should receive government funds and how those revenues should be raised. It also briefly discusses some ways to ensure that transit spending can best fulfill its policy goals.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Spending the Stimulus

As families all over America struggle to make ends meet, officials are under pressure to make the best use of the federal stimulus money soon to pour into state capitals. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is a critical opportunity for state and local officials to help those families by building a stronger economy now and jump-starting the completion of a 21st century transportation system.

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Report | Maryland PIRG Foundation | Transportation

Making Tracks

Transportation is an urgent problem for Maryland. Heavy automobile traffic is stealing time from Maryland families and businesses, and forcing consumers to burn more money at the gas pump. Traffic is also making our air less healthy, deepening our oil dependency, and creating more global warming pollution.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

What Will JP Morgan Chase Chief Jamie Dimon Testify To Today? | Ed Mierzwinski

(UPDATED) At 10am, the U.S. Senate Banking Committee will ask JP Morgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon questions perhaps including "What did you know and when did you know it?" and "Did your $3 billion in gambling losses violate the Volcker rule against betting you rown (and the depositors') money?" We will be there, tweeting from @edmpirg.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Spokeo to pay $800,000 in FTC settlement: Sold social network data for employment uses | Ed Mierzwinski

(POST UPDATED): The data broker Spokeo has agreed to pay penalties of $800,000 over multiple violations of the Fair Credit Reporting and FTC Acts. It's important as the first FTC case over the "sale of Internet and social media data in the employment screening context."

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Could portable bank account numbers ease moving your money? | Ed Mierzwinski

PIRG "Big Banks, Bigger Fees" reports have documented the many so-called "switching costs" problems consumers face when trying to move their money to a new bank (or credit union). Account number portability, which has worked well for phone company switching, could be a part of the solution.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Tell Jamie Dimon: "Leave the Fed" and Other Bank News | Ed Mierzwinski

JP Morgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon has been one of the leading opponents of strong bank regulations but still sits on the board of one of his bank's chief regulators-- the New York Fed --despite his bank's recent gambling losses. Help us tell Jamie: it's time to go. 

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Blog Post | Food

Crop Insurance: A Taxpayer Giveaway by Another Name | Nasima Hossain

Just like other agriculture subsidies, the federal crop insurance program directs billions of taxpayer dollars to the biggest agribusinesses, with the payouts biased towards commodity crops that are often processed into junk food ingredients.  The program directly subsidizes agribusinesses’ insurance premiums on coverage they would buy anyway, making it yet another way taxpayer dollars pad Big Ag’s profits

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Tools & Resources

  • FIGHT HIGH Rx COSTS
    Prescription drugs cost too much. Brand-name drug companies have been paying off generic drug makers to delay competition and keep prices high, and it's costing us billions. Together, we can stop them.
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  • 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.
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  • 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.
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  • 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."
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