In the Public Interest

Champaign, Illinois — Here in this agricul­tural region where the University of Illinois is located, a unique consumer group has been show­ing the way for almost ten years. Called the Champaign County Health Care Consumers (CCHCC), it is just that — a grass roots community association funded by citizen member­ship dues and a local door…

Ronald Reagan, whose sea of red ink has broken world records for government deficits, is moving once again to sell an old idea. Why not sell government (meaning taxpayer) assets to help reduce the deficit? In his first term, Mr. Reagan floated the idea of selling the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Bonneville Dam. He…

For many small investors, last week’s gyrating stock market has been effectively closed to their desperate desires to get out or in. Tens of thousands of these shareholders have been unable for hours or days to get through to their brokers or even to get post the busy signals. In San Francisco, there was a…

By 1983, two years into the Reagan government, nursing home reform groups discovered depression. After years of modest progress in nursing home standards, Reagan was proposing the inconceivable — scrapping many health and safety regulatory responsibilities by the federal government and reducing the number of nursing home inspectors and Inspectors. He went too far. Outraged…

Even though many are household words, the activities of the large multinational corporations are only vaguely known to most people. Even less known are the impacts on the daily lives of Americans from these global firms. Sure, everybody knows that Dupont sells chemicals and General Electric sells light bulbs, because their ads tell us these…

At this writing, the opposition to Judge Robert Bork’s nomination for the Supreme Court is nearing decisive proportions in the U.S. Senate. Around the country, the momentum against Bork is still building, as more constituencies find out about this man’s philosophy on behalf of the powerful and rich. When it comes to small business, victimized…

The Reagan government did something bold last week, given its oligarchic philosophy. It issued, through the Justice Department, a report on white collar crime convictions and compared their cost to society with bank robbery losses. First, the statistics. Federal white-collar crime convictions rose 18% from 1980 through 1985 when they totaled 10,733 defendants. The convictions…

A deputy legislature was born fully adult in the waning hours of the California legislature’s session this month. Voters can neither elect nor diselect this lawmaking body. It is composed of the manufacturers, insurance industry, physicians, counties, municipalities and tobacco industry on one side and the California Trial Lawyers Association (CTLA) on the other side.…

When I was a high school student reading the daily Congressional Record, the subscription price for this fascinating political periodical was $12 a year. That was 1950. My Senator, Prescott Bush, would promptly reply to my requests for Congressional hearings and reports. When taxpayers fund the federal government, they are paying for the right to…

Over thirteen million students return to or start college this autumn. What is their state of mind? To prepare for a job. To earn money to pay for the tuition. To have some fun. These are the generalizations often made in recent years. There are other sweeping characterizations. Students are said to be apathetic. They…