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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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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Leading investor groups oppose expected SEC effort to weaken rules (WE WIN DELAY!) | Ed Mierzwinski

UPDATED: WE WIN! SEC AGREES TO DELAY AND CONDUCT CAREFUL CONSIDERATION OF BAD PROPOSAL. Original: The SEC could vote as soon as August 22 to weaken protections against investor fraud -- under the false guise of stimulating jobs! U.S. PIRG, the Consumer Federation of America, the AFL-CIO, a former SEC commissioner and other investor advocates have sent a strong letter to the SEC urging it not to act, especially under unjustifiable emergency rules that deny a reasonable public comment period.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Bumbo, CPSC Recall Baby Seat Linked To Skull Fractures | Ed Mierzwinski

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Bumbo, maker of a baby seat linked to at least 21 skull fractures, have announced a repair recall to install a free safety belt. U.S. PIRG and other consumer groups had pressured them to act.

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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 Education Fund | Safe Energy

Nuclear Power Plants Threaten Drinking Water for 49 Million Americans

The drinking water for 49 million Americans could be at risk of radioactive contamination from a leak or accident at a local nuclear power plant, according to a new study released today by Environment America Research & Policy Center and the US Public Interest Research Group Education Fund.

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Media Hit | Safe Energy

KPBS Public Broadcasting: Concern Raised About Calif. Nuke Plants And Water Supply

"For nearly 2.3 million residents of the Southern California region drinking-water supplies are located within 50 of the San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant," said Emily Rusch, CALPIRG's Education Fund State Director. "That's a concern because, as we learned from last year in Fukushima, Japan, drinking water sources can become contaminated in the event of an accident or underground leak."

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Media Hit | Democracy

The Daily Show mentions U.S.PIRG Report: Representation Without Taxation

Massachusetts Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren and Jon Stewart discussed U.S. PIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice's new report, Representation Without Taxation, on the January 24th edition of the Daily Show. The report outlines the "Dirty 30", corporations that spent more money lobbying congress than they paid in taxes between 2008-2010. U.S. PIRG and CTJ released the report to mark the two-year anniversary of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for corporate influence in our government, as well as to highlight the need to fix the tax code to force corporations to pay their fair share.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG | Higher Ed

SOTU: Obama Pushes Low Interest Rates, More Work-Study

In the annual State of the Union Address, President Obama proposed measures to bring relief to almost 8 million students who will see their student loan interest rates double on new loans starting July 1st, 2012.

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

Obama: Companies Shouldn’t Dodge Taxes

Statement of US PIRG Tax and Budget Associate Dan Smith on President Obama’s State of the Union Address.

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Blog Post | Budget

How Much Did You Pay for Tax Dodging Corporations? | Phineas Baxandall

Yesterday, millions of Americans rushed to the post office to file their federal income tax returns. For all of us, the checks we wrote were an average of $434 higher because of the burden we are forced to shoulder for major corporations and wealthy individuals who use offshore tax havens to avoid paying their share.

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Blog Post | Safe Energy

A Disaster's Eerie Echoes | Gary Kalman

An unexpected series of events leads to an unimaginable environmental disaster. Government and industry officials minimize the threat, saying initially that matters are under control. As events cascade, engineers and officials are forced to resort to increasingly desperate measures to prevent further harm. It is uncanny how closely the script of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan mimics that of the BP oil spill last spring in the Gulf of Mexico.

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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
  • 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
  • Trouble in Toyland
    For the 27th year, U.S. PIRG arms consumers with safety guidelines and a list of harmful toys hitting store shelves this holiday season.
    Learn more
    Get the guide

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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