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Once upon a time early in the 19th century, corporations came into existence by state legislatures approving charters, which were granted for a limited period of time and for limited purposes. These corporations — producing textiles and other products in New England — raised capital in part because their investors had limited liability. That meant…
May 26, 2009 President Barack Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Fax: 202-456-2461 Mr. Frederick Henderson General Motors Corporation 300 Renaissance Center Detroit, MI 48243 Fax: 815-282-6156 Dear President Obama and Mr. Henderson, There is no question that the reorganization of General Motors, after decades of managerial failure and amidst…
MEMORANDUM GM DEAL REQUIRES CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW BEFORE BANKRUPTCY FILING TO: Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Minority Leader John Boehner, Sen. Mitch McConnell, Rep. John Conyers, Rep. Lamar S. Smith, Rep. William Delahunt FROM: Ralph Nader, Sidney Wolfe, Acting President, Public Citizen, Clarence Ditlow, Executive Director, Center for Auto Safety, Robert Weissman, Director,…
May 18, 2009 Senator Chris Dodd U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs 448 Russell Building Washington, DC 20510 Congressman Barney Frank House Committee on Financial Services 2252 Rayburn H.O.B. Washington, DC 20515 Dear Senator Dodd and Congressman Frank: The government-led restructuring of Chrysler and General Motors has been twice delegated — first…
After years of opposing or ridiculing renewable energy, the giant oil companies are using a new approach. A recent ExxonMobil advertising campaign puts it this way: “Oil, gas, coal, biofuels, nuclear, wind, solar—.to fuel the future we need them all.” Not an unexpected maneuver from a fossil fuel company that has owned Washington and received…
Among the giant taboos afflicting Congress these days is the proposal to create a single payer health insurance system (often called full Medicare for everyone). How can this be? Don’t the elected politicians represent the people? Don’t they always have their finger to the wind? Well, single payer is only supported by a majority of…
Ralph Nader has been called one of America’s most effective social critics. He also has been called everything from Muckraker to Consumer Champion to Public Defender. His documented criticism of government and industry has had widespread effect on public awareness and bureaucratic power. He is the “U.S.’s toughest customer” as Time magazine noted. Life magazine called him…
The Swine Flu (or H1N1 virus) is in the air. The public health authorities are acting “in excess of caution” to curb its spread from Mexico into this country. Already, however, this virus and the publicity around it is providing another occasion to question our nation’s priorities. Let’s put it this way—the gravest terrorists in…
“No more fine print; no more confusing terms and conditions.” This is what Barack Obama told a White House gathering of leading credit card issuers this week. Right afterward, President Obama told the press that “there has to be strong and reliable protections for consumers, protections that ban unfair rate increases and forbid abusive fees…
How about a test of your injustice barometer? You might think that the reckless, avaricious, giant corporations, having shrunk the economy, cost millions of jobs and then demanded that taxpayers be dunned for years into the future for multi-trillion dollar bailouts, would show contrition, regret, or self-restraint of their power over Washington. Forget it. They’re…