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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

50 Years Ago This Week, JFK Ushered in Modern Consumer Protection Era | Ed Mierzwinski

I've got a new column at Huffington Post, "50 Years Ago This Week, JFK Ushered in Modern Consumer Protection Era." I discuss President Kennedy's visionary "Special Message to the Congress on Protecting the Consumer Interest" announced on March 15, 1962. He declared that consumers have rights and government should protect them. Read the full column after the jump.

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News Release | NMPIRG Education Fund | Democracy

New Report: New Mexico Receives C+ “GRADE” in Annual Report on Transparency of Government Spending

Albuquerque, NM March 14 – New Mexico received a “C + Grade” when it comes to government spending transparency, according to Following the Money 2012: How the States Rank on Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data, the third annual report of its kind by the New Mexico Public Interest Research Group (NMPIRG).

Report | NMPIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Following the Money 2012

The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Transparency in government spending promotes fiscal responsibility, checks corruption, and bolsters public confidence. In the past few years, state governments across the country have made their checkbooks transparent by creating on- line transparency portals. These government-operated websites allow visitors to view the government’s checkbook—who receives state money, how much, and for what purposes.

Blog Post | Budget

Could Obama’s Business Tax Reform Realize Its Potential? | Alex Corkett

The much anticipated corporate tax reform framework released last week by President Obama hit all the right notes but lacked the details to know if can fully realize it’s potential.

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Blog Post | Financial Reform

CFPB to announce overdraft fee investigation, unveil "penalty box" disclosure, possibly end $39 lattes. | Alex Corkett

The new CFPB took over in July 2011 as primary supervisor and enforcer for the (over 100) biggest banks. Director Cordray's inquiry into checking account overdraft practices is an important step that will also require greater fee transparency, so consumers are more aware of bank practices.

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News Release | USPIRG | Health Care

States Should Act to Create New Insurance Marketplace

Health exchanges are competitive marketplaces that can empower individuals and small businesses with better, more affordable options for coverage. Under the federal health reform law, each state will have an exchange up and running in 2014.

Media Hit | Food

New Mexico In Focus: Farm Subsidies

Host Gene Grant sits down with New Mexico Farm and Livestock Bureau President Mike White to talk about farm subsidies. A recent report by the New Mexico Public Interest Research Group says poorly targeted subsidies are inadvertently contributing to the rise in obesity among Americans both young and old.

News Release | U.S. PIRG | Tax

New Report from Senator Levin Affirms Repatriation Holiday Would Fatten CEO Wallets, Not Create Jobs

Senator Levin’s new report reaffirms that rewarding companies that artificially shifted profits overseas with special tax treatment is a wasteful giveaway to corporate executives that sacrifices deficit reduction for no public benefit to the economy.

News Release | NMPIRG Education Fund | Food

New Report Links Agricultural Subsidies to Childhood Obesity

A report by the New Mexico Public Interest Research Group, or NMPIRG, titled “Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food” found that between 1995 and 2010, the U.S. has spent more than $260 billion on agricultural subsidies.

News Release | USPIRG | Food

Representative Jeff Flake Introduces REAPS Act

Statement of U.S. PIRG Federal Legislative Office Director Gary Kalman on the introduction of the Reducing the Deficit through Eliminating Agriculture Direct Payment Subsidies Act.

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Report | NMPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland

The 2010 Trouble in Toyland report is the 25th annual Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) survey of toy safety. In this report, NMPIRG provides safety guidelines for consumers when purchasing toys for small children and provides examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

Report | NMPIRG Education Fund | Tax

Representation Without Taxation

Marking the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case—which opened the floodgates to corporate spending on elections—this report takes a hard look at the lobbying activities of profitable Fortune 500 companies that exploit loopholes and distort the tax code to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

Report | NMPIRG Education Fund | Health Care

Small Businesses at Risk: How Entrepreneurs Slip Through the Health Care System’s Cracks

When it comes to Health Care, many of the problems faced by small businesses are the same ones that plague our families: premiums that rise far faster than wages, endless red tape, and a bewildering insurance marketplace where consumers have few choices and even less bargaining power.

Report | NMPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Toxic Pollution And Health: Toxic Chemicals Released in Communities across the United States

Industries across the United States pump billions of pounds of toxic chemicals into our air, land, and water each year, many of which can cause cancer and other severe health effects. The Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program provides Americans with the best information about toxic chemicals released in their communities. Unfortunately, in December 2006 the Bush administration limited the public’s right-to-know about this pollution by giving some polluters a free pass on reporting their toxic emissions.

Report | NMPIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Auctioning Democracy: The Rise of Super PACs and the 2012 Election

The findings confirmed what many have predicted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs have been primarily funded by a small segment of very wealthy individuals and business interests, with a small but significant amount of funds coming from secret sources.

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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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PRIORITY ACTION

When Big Pharma pays off their competition to keep them from selling lower priced generic drugs, we all pay. Each year this costs Americans an added $3.5 billion.

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