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Dear President Obama, June 25th marked the 75th anniversary of the federal minimum wage law in the United States, known as the Fair Labor Standards Act. When President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed this legislation, his vision was to ensure a “fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work” and to “end starvation wages.” Seventy five…
By Ralph Nader Privacy is a sacred word to many Americans, as demonstrated by the recent uproar over the brazen invasion of it by the Patriot Act-enabled National Security Agency (NSA). The information about dragnet data-collecting of telephone and internet records leaked by Edward Snowden has opened the door to another pressing conversation—one about privatization,…
Remarks by Ralph Nader on the occasion of receiving the Connecticut Bar Association Distinguished Public Service Award Hartford, Connecticut, June 17, 2013 Today, we gather as both attorneys and lawyers to contemplate our privileged profession. The many specialized workshops today are largely designed to better our role as “attorneys” – as attorning for our clients.…
By Ralph Nader The imaginative uses of the mighty presidency in American history and its bully pulpit have rarely been much above amateurish when it comes to helping people empower themselves. This has been the case even when the same party controls the White House and both Houses of Congress. Consider the last opportunities when…
Nader “Told Us So” about the Problems with the San Onofre Nuke Plant Friday, June 7, 2013 Southern California Edison announced today that it will be permanently shutting down its troubled San Onofre nuclear plant. Ralph Nader’s response was “It’s about time.” Nader has been pushing to close this and other risky and costly nuclear…
Openness in our government is essential for a healthy democracy. When citizens and voters have access to information about the inner workings of their government and representatives, they can cast informed votes. However, when this information remains in the shadows, citizens are left without access to the information necessary for them to properly exercise their…
Signed copies of my new book: Told You So: The Big Book of Weekly Columns, are now available at Politics & Prose. Combating corporate abuses requires constant vigilance. Corporations shape America’s political process as much as they shape America’s economy through PAC contributions and threats to move manufacturing and service jobs to low-wage countries. The columns…
For more information on the campaign to raise the minimum wage visit: timeforaraise.org The current federal minimum wage is $7.25, way below the unrealistically low federal poverty definition of $18,123 per year for a family of three. Adjusted for inflation, the minimum wage in 1968 would be above $10.50 per hour. An increase in the minimum wage…
By Ralph Nader The new Secretary of State John Kerry taking four trips to the Israeli/Palestinian region in the past two months means yet another U.S. effort for a negotiated peace process between the Palestinians (under ruthless occupation) and the very dominant Israelis. Why should the prospects be any better than the failed attempts by…
GSE’s Shareholders Should be Allowed to Benefit From Fannie and Freddie’s Recovery Just as AIG and Citi Stockholders Benefited In a letter today to the Secretary of the Treasury, Jacob J. Lew, Mr. Nader urged Secretary Lew to consider the plight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s common shareholders. In the letter, Mr. Nader wrote…