In the Public Interest

The November Congressional elections are coming up and the polls say that voters are either yawning or cynically withdrawing. Previous off year elections have drawn about 38% of the eligible voters to the voting booths. That is, more than 6 out of 10 eligible voters did not bother to exercise the franchise that earlier Americans…

It is worthy of remark that today’s business outrages against consumers in the service area would cause utter disbelief among the consumers of the 1950s or 1960s. I am referring in this case to the widespread practice of telephone slamming which is the unauthorized switching of a customer from one long distance seller to another.…

Why are President Clinton and Vice President Gore so frightened by the automobile industry that they are fleeing their lawful duties in the areas of health, safety and energy policy? Look over the scene. The federal auto safety agency (NHTSA) has never been more moribund. It is asleep at the wheel in not upgrading obsolete…

For three generations of children who grew up watching Shari Lewis and her simple sock puppet Lamb Chop convey music, playfulness and wise meaning, the passing of this unique and forever dynamic ventriloquist and puppeteer must mean an end to an era. Her PBS television shows and her home videos were like an island of…

How soon Washington forgets. Less than a decade ago, the taxpayers were called on to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out the “free enterprise” savings and loan industry and to set aside another $30 billion as a contingency fund to prop up deposit insurance for the com­mercial banks. Now the banking industry…

Dear Mr. Gates: An astonishing calculation comes from Professor Edward Wolff of New York University and presents an important opportunity for you. Professor Wolff, a wealth economics specialist, estimated that your net wealth is greater than the combined net worth of the poorest 40% of Americans (106 million people). That includes their home equity, pensions,…

How can the Republicans, who back home and here incessantly talk up the need to transfer power from Washington to the states, be leading the drive to enact five major federal preemptions of traditional state authority in this Congressional session? Taken together, the following five federal preemptions constitute the largest jurisdictional transfer to Washington in…

Our civil justice system is one of the great pillars of our democracy. The poorest and most vulnerable can challenge in court the largest corporation and hold it responsible for causing them harm. Moreover, because of the impact of lawsuits brought by injured consumers, millions of Americans are less likely to be injured. Untold numbers…

Cal Ripken, the all-time iron man of baseball for the Baltimore Orioles, said, when he learned of the passing of a Washington Post sportswriter, that he could never imagine someone being at the same job for 75 years. Much has been written of 92 year old Shirley Povich by his legion of colleagues, fans and…

Across the country consumers are displeased with the high cost and poor service provided by the cable industry. Oklahomans now have a new reason to be dissatisfied. The Oklahoma Legislature recently passed, and Gov. Frank Keating signed, S.B. 1091, which contains an amendment allowing a state-wide cable late charge of $6.00 or 5%, whichever is…