In the Public Interest

Do women pay more for certain products and services than men? Are women exposed to more marketplace hazards than men because they are women? The answers to both questions are yes. Many a woman has a story about how an auto repair or home repair firm took advantage of feminine stereotypes and tried to gouge…

Four years ago, when the voters of California enacted Proposition 103, the insurance reform initiative, the property/casualty companies roared defiance and some forecast their withdrawal from the state. Using every obstructive tactic they knew, the large auto insurance companies spent tens of millions of dollars fighting Prop 103 in the courts. Last week the National…

This column was published by Mr. Nader in January 1977 and handed to the new President, Jimmy Carter, at a White House meeting. Because of the article’s continuing timeliness, for the new President, Bill Clinton, it is reprinted here. If the lessons of recent Washington history are to be heeded, Jimmy Carter should be launching…

Nothing in Clinton’s selection of Cabinet members illustrates so well his seesaw personality than the choice of Cong. Les Aspin as the Secretary of Defense. Clinton who campaigned as an “outsider” to bring fresh ideas and fresh people to Washington adds yet another “insider” to his growing Cabinet of “insiders.” Aspin, the Chairman of the…

Hardly a week goes by without the newspapers reporting on the skyrocketing costs, the fraud and waste of the health care industry. Long-time physicians and nurses bewail the hyper-commercialism and greed which drive so much of this marketplace. That is why it is good sometimes to reflect on the practice of medicine, as if people…

Ottawa — Another example of how the proposed international trade agreements, that are heading for the parliaments of over 100 countries next year will operate, unfurled itself recently in this neat capital city of Canada. Prime Minister Mulroney is pushing a bill through Parliament that would end the country’s unique system of compulsory licensing of…

Generations of U.S. students have viewed civics as a dull, abstract and unmemorable subject. Most civics courses have presented general principles of rights and responsibilities such as the right to vote or the duty to serve on juries. But they fail to translate these principles into concrete educating for civic action. Our schools do not…

Detroit — The motor city has lots more serious problems than the one I am going to describe, but this situation is important for what it reveals about the city’s institutions and morale. One would think that the automotive capital of the world would pride itself on the condition of its taxicabs. One would also…

The words “special interest” are used very loosely these days. Thirty years ago in the nation’s capital, “special interest” meant those commercial lobbies who seek influence in Washington to preserve or expand their profits. Now it means any group that is organized to lobby. Moreover, “special interest” is used to describe the activities of labor,…

My column last week emphasized the limited options that a conventional new government in Washington possesses to improve the economy. The conventional tools of monetary policy (interest rates) and fiscal policy (spending) are themselves about spent. Interest rates won’t go much lower (without a small savers’ revolt) nor do the huge Reagan-Bush deficits provide much…