In the Public Interest

Former corporate lawyer, John (Jerry) Hawke, the Comptroller of the Currency, has long laid claim to the title of terminator of state and local consumer protection laws. When national banks-Hawke’s constituency-have gone to court to block consumer protections they have always found the Comptroller’s legal staff eager and ready to join the case on their…

“The Platform is the Party’s contract with the people.” This noble sentiment has been used by both Republicans and Democrats in characterizing their state and national party Platforms over the decades. It can become an embarrassing yardstick for any Party that lives a double life. Consider President Bush and his Texas State Republican Platform of…

This week the American people were given a highly publicized free lesson in how they can become powerful against dominant corporate interests. It was the swirling dynamics around the Do Not Call registry established by the Federal Trade Commission which drew over 50,000,000 people in a matter of weeks who don’t like to be bothered…

Congress has been slow to enact airtight protections for individuals’ privacy. When there is trade off between the demands of corporations versus citizens’ right to privacy, our national legislators almost always come down on the side of financial institutions and their affiliates. Congress putted around the edges of the privacy issues when it passed the…

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg held a news conference on September 9th which was described by the New York Post this way: “Looking more like a pitchman than a politician, the mayor bought an orange-mango juice drink from a Snapple machine, opened it and took a sip.” In so doing, the Mayor’s common sense snapped, as…

The federal government is by far the largest consumer in the land— hundreds of billions of dollars yearly. It buys many of the products regular consumers purchase, including motor vehicles, fuel, drugs, paper, clothing, food, computers, software, appliances, furnishings, and medical devices. It also buys less usual products such as construction equipment, buildings, highways and…

George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and John Ashcroft are testing the American people as to whether violations of the U.S. Constitution by the Executive branch of government are to be viewed as mere technicalities or a growing threat to the fabric of liberty, privacy, due process and fair trials in our country. Of course, these…

For years now, a commercial consulting firm has been releasing annual “business climate” rankings of the 50 states. The business press reports these rankings widely. Chambers of commerce and other lobbies raise the pressure on their respective states toward the lowest common denominator of the most corporate-indentured state jurisdictions. This pressure usually means getting states…

August is supposed to be a slow month in Washington, DC but two public reports released by two news conferences on August 12th seem to indicate it is the press that is slow. Eight thousand doctors called for national health insurance and outlined their detailed single payer plan in an article published by the Journal…

Public space, universal community services and their historic traditions which bind our nation together are all under assault. A Presidential Commission recommends that the U.S. Postal Service obtain commercial appraisals of their post offices and land with the view of selling the property off to help pay its expenses. The smaller postal services can find…