It is the season of annual shareholder meetings for giant corporations when CEOs go through the motions of elections for their Board of Directors and approval of other resolutions. People who own stock in General Motors (GM) receive the “GM Meeting Information” in an envelope emblazoned with this disingenuous message: “Your Voice/Your Vote/Be Heard. Every … Read more
By Ralph Nader May 10, 2023 Raising the federal debt limit over the years has secured unconditional routine Congressional passage and was endorsed by presidents Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump. After all, it allows the U.S. Treasury to pay past and existing bills, not expand future spending. Routine, that is, until the recent arrival of … Read more
By Ralph Nader April 28, 2023 Here is a letter that Steve Clifford and I sent to the CEO Tim Cook of Apple corporation, whose percentage of charitable giving relative to its taxable income is astoundingly low as compared to other corporations noted below. Apple should increase its charitable giving. April 24, 2023 Tim Cook, … Read more
By Ralph Nader April 14, 2023 Spring, the season of renewal, is here. The ants are diligently building their little symmetrical ant hills. The robins are in their nests occupied with posterity. And the anointed members of Congress, after a long recess, aka vacation, return to work on April 17th. The next day, April 18th … Read more
By Ralph Nader April 7, 2023 If there was a giant composite lawsuit against Donald J. Trump, for his over forty years of recurring criminal and civil violations, (while a corporate boss and politician) the only recourse for his lawyers would be to plead the insanity defense. Until this week, in a New York State … Read more
By Ralph Nader March 31, 2023 One measure of corporate power’s dominance is its 24/7 relentless, profit-driven capacity to strike back and prevail over reforms or other efforts designed to give the people voice and fairness. Here are some examples that should give us pause in touting civic victories: A few years ago, during lunch … Read more
By Ralph Nader March 27, 2023 To say that in any self-respecting society law professor Edgar S. Cahn (1935-2022) should have been a Supreme Court Justice and a nationally known public intellectual, who organized communities for justice, is simply to recognize his historic career in concrete American jurisprudence. He and his wife Jean Camper Cahn … Read more
By Ralph Nader March 20, 2023 Once again, government socialism – ultimately backed by taxpayers – is saving reckless midsized banks and their depositors. Silicon Valley Bank (S.V.B) and Signature Bank in New York greedily mismanaged their risk levels and had to be closed down. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), in return, to avoid … Read more
By Ralph Nader March 10, 2023 A friend just gave me a book by Richard N. Haass with the intriguing title, The Bill of Obligations: The Ten Habits of Good Citizens. Mr. Haass is a self-described member of the establishment – in his words “people and institutions that have often been vilified and blamed for … Read more
By Ralph Nader March 2, 2023 Most citizen advocates who work with U.S. senators on a wide variety of issues probably would agree that the late South Dakota Democrat, James Abourezk, was one of a kind. It was not that he was so honest, so down to earth, or so engaging with friend and foe … Read more