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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Budget

Small Farmers and Citizens Speak Out Against Agricultural Subsidies in Farm Bill

Washington DC, Sep. 10 –Small farmers and ordinary citizens across the country are taking a stand against wasteful agricultural subsidies in the federal Farm Bill. With only a few weeks left before they adjourn for the election, reauthorizing or extending the Farm Bill is one of Congress’s top priorities.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

Bank lobby launches dark money group to kill reform and other Friday Follies | Ed Mierzwinski

(UPDATED) The American Bankers Association's latest effort to kill financial reform is to raise millions of dollars through a new dark money group (like a secret SuperPAC) disguised as a social welfare organization but designed to elect Senators who agree with their Bizarro-World narrative that the financial collapse of 2008 was not their fault.  Meanwhile, read more Friday Financial Follies, because in Washington, we don't have to make this stuff up.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Budget, Tax

Aggressive New Stance by Justice Department on BP Spill Offers Little-Known Benefit for Taxpayers

Statement of Ryan Pierannunzi, U.S. Public Interest Research Group Tax and Budget Associate, on the Department of Justice's August 31 court filing that charges BP with gross negligence for its role in the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which may impact the tax-deductibility of a future settlement and protect the public from having to pick up the tab.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Survey: Consumers happy with Credit CARD Act | Ed Mierzwinski

Over at Time Magazine, reporter Martha White says a JD Power survey finds consumers are happier with their credit cards. She adds "To give credit where it’s due in this case, look to the CARD Act, that big piece of financial reform legislation that was passed in the wake of  the financial crisis in 2009 over the strenuous objection of the banking industry."

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News Release | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Florida Victory For Young People

Civic groups and Florida voters won a huge victory when a federal judge indicated he will permanently remove some of the most restrictive parts of Florida’s new voter registration laws, which have made it harder for student governments and civic groups to help register young people to vote. 

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Media Hit | Democracy

MSNBC: "Auctioning Democracy"

Host Chris Jansing and guests Rana Foroohar of Time Magazine, Ben White of Politico, and Richard Lui of MSNBC discuss U.S.PIRG and Demos's "fascinating" new report "Auctioning Democracy: the Rise of Super PACs and the 2012 election" on today's episode of Jansing & Co.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Release of New Report: Auctioning Democracy

This Wednesday, February 8, Demos and U.S. PIRG are holding a press call to release a new and comprehensive analysis of Federal Election Commission data on Super PACs, from their advent in 2010 through the end of 2011. This new report, “Auctioning Democracy: The Rise of Super PACs and the 2012 Election,” details FEC data findings, lays out actionable recommendations for all levels of government, and provides vivid new infographics (for use with attribution) that illustrate the damage dealt by Super PACs.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Transportation

House Proposal Threatens to Defund Public Transportation

Statement of U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Associate Dan Smith on the House Ways and Means Committee title (H.R. 3864) of the surface transportation bill to fund all federal investment in transportation over the next five years.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Budget, Transportation

House Transportation Bill a Step Backwards, Lacks Serious Funding Mechanism

 

Statement of U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Associate Dan Smith on the House transportation reauthorization bill introduced today.

 

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection

Reuters: Bank Transfer Day saw 600,000 switch

Bank of America (BofA) Gets Hit By $5 Debit Card Fee, Consumers Move Their Money From Big Banks. Read the story. Then, get more info at U.S. PIRG's Bank Fee Tips. Check out our April 2011 report Big Banks, Bigger Fees for more details.

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Blog Post | Tax

The "Dirty Thirty" Corporations that Spend More on Lobbying than Taxes | Phineas Baxandall

Two years ago the Supreme Court's misguided Citizens United decision struck down long-standing Congressional limits on the political power of large corporations by vastly expanding the legal metaphor that "corporations are people." Now there is fresh evidence that corporate influence over Congress makes it easy for those same corporations to avoid their civic duty of paying taxes.

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Blog Post | Higher Ed

Obama's New Consumer Finance Chief Can Lower Student Debt | Rich Williams

President Obama took a bold and important step this week, standing up for student consumers by making a recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). The president's action means that the CFPB now has all its powers to protect students from unfair financial practices that pile on student debt, including lenders offering dangerously expensive private student loans and aggressive credit and debit card marketing.

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Blog Post | Budget

Problems With Privatized Law Enforcement's New Frontier | Phineas Baxandall

One in five Americans lives in a jurisdiction that outsources traffic ticketing this way, according to a newly released report from the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, titled "Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead; The Risks of Privatizing Traffic Law Enforcement and How to Protect the Public." And a report released by the Justice Department suggests this trend may accelerate under the twin pressures of budget pressure and intense lobbying.

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Blog Post | Higher Ed

Student Loan Defaults Skyrocket, Double in Past 6 Years | Rich Williams

On September 12th, the US Department of Education released the official FY 2009 cohort default rates on student loans. The number of students who defaulted within two years of entering repayment increased to 8.8%, up from 4.5% in FY 2003 and 7% in FY 2008.

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Blog Post | Transportation

Private High-Speed Rail: A Dangerous Fantasy | Phineas Baxandall

The politics of high-speed rail can be bizarre. Few people actually oppose connecting our cities with fast intercity trains. Most of the industrialized world has already shown that the idea is popular and works well. The politicians that do the most to prevent high-speed rail generally claim to be fans of bullet trains who just want the task to be left to the private sector.

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    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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