The Citizens’ Utility Board, or CUB, is a model approach for bringing together large numbers of diffuse consumers into a voluntary organization, which can then pursue a common citizen/consumer agenda in banking, insurance, housing or dozens of other arenas. I call it the “silicon chip” for the citizen movement because it is a low-cost, high … Read more
The Center for Study of Responsive Law released today a new report titled “The Rise and Fall (and Rise?) of Texas Trial Lawyers.” The sixty-six-page report focuses on the attacks on the civil justice system in Texas over the last two decades or so. The report examines the gutting of worker’s compensation, corporate supreme court … Read more
By Ralph Nader and Jeff Musto A single minimum wage worker who has worked continually for the federal minimum wage since 1968 has been deprived of over a quarter million dollars in wages over the course of those 45 years. $293,735.12 to be exact. A new white paper released last week, Lost Wages, revealed this … Read more
By Ralph Nader Told you so. Some might deem it celebratory to utter this phrase, as if one is boasting about their own clever foresight. But when it comes to serious matters — matters that affect millions of people, their jobs, their health, and their livelihoods, there is no satisfaction in being right about predicting … Read more
Lost Wages: Over a Quarter Million Reasons to Increase the Inflation-Gutted Minimum Wage: New Report Reveals the Amount of Wages a Minimum Wage Worker Has Been Deprived of Since 1968 June 13, 2013 A new report, Lost Wages, released today by the Center for Study of Responsive Law’s TimeForARaise.org project, revealed that a single minimum … Read more
By Ralph Nader “We don’t use tax gimmicks” said Apple CEO Tim Cook this past Tuesday during a speech at a tech conference. This statement came just one week after congressional investigators released a report that documented how Apple, using a vast array of offshore subsidiaries, avoided paying their share in taxes to Uncle Sam. … Read more
By Ralph Nader A bipartisan legislative movement toward legalizing the growing of industrial hemp is finally on the rise. Last week, the Vermont General Assembly voted to lift a state statute that banned the growing of industrial hemp. While this, if enacted, would allow Vermont farmers to grow hemp under state law, it is still … Read more
By Ralph Nader “Sustainability,” the late Ray Anderson–founder and chairman of Interface Inc. –once told theNew York Times, “doesn’t cost, it pays.” After his “conversion experience” on the harmful effects his modular carpet business had on the environment, Anderson redirected his corporate philosophy to focus on the noble goal of absolute sustainability. Through his efforts, … Read more
By Ralph Nader The United States Postal Service is in a freefall due to poor management, a starkly shortsighted, paralyzed Congressional leadership, and the steady march of right wing ideologues. Corporate competitors who advance corporatization have severely eroded the historic institution created by Benjamin Franklin; one that currently delivers over 150 billion pieces of mail … Read more
By Ralph Nader The Boston Marathon bombings killed three and injured more than 180. The West, Texas industrial explosion killed at least 14 and injured more than 180. Guess which one drew the greater media and law enforcement response? If it turns out that the West, Texas explosion is the result of a “terrorist act,” … Read more
By Ralph Nader Here are some questions to consider: What do the Wall Street firms do that is so vital for the national interest? How does speculation contribute to our society? It’s time for Wall Street to step up and provide some answers.