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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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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Ancient English football club Man U to launch "ugly" IPO under new US law for "emerging" companies | Ed Mierzwinski

The venerable English football club Manchester United, founded in 1878, is expected to file an IPO today under a new U.S. law, the JOBS Act, that passed overwhelmingly because it was intended to help newer, smaller companies go public. Over at The Motley Fool, they say: "Thank the JOBS Act for the Ugliest IPO of the Year."

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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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Media Hit | Budget

The Economist: You’re on film: The trouble with outsourcing traffic-law enforcement

Phineas Baxandall at the US Public Interest Research Group, a non-partisan advocacy, says the trend toward privatising the enforcement of traffic laws poses inherent conflicts of interest. Municipalities typically sign up because they are strapped for cash. When the contract involves revenue-sharing between the vendor and the municipality, there is an incentive to issue more tickets than necessary. But even flat-fee contracts can cause problems, if the system is implicitly tuned to recoup that fee by, in effect, setting a quota of tickets to be issued.

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

Tax Havens Used by Romney and Large Corporations Cost Taxpayers Billions

With the heightened attention paid to Mitt Romney’s use of offshore tax havens, it is important to remember that tax havens are more than just an electoral issue. Tax havens are a serious policy matter that profoundly affects ordinary Americans, our economy, our national debt and our long-term competitiveness.

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

Thirty Fortune 500 Companies Paid More to Lobby Congress than they Did in Federal Income Taxes

With the second anniversary approaching of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United case – which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on elections – U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) and Citizens for Tax Justice reveal 30 corporations that spent more to lobby Congress than they did in taxes.

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Media Hit | Tax

CBS News: Big Spenders on Capitol Hill Got Big Tax Breaks

The new report is from the left-leaning U.S. Public Interest Research Group and Citizens for Tax Justice. They highlight companies they call "especially aggressive at dodging taxes and lobbying Congress: the Dirty Thirty."

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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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