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
By Ralph Nader It’s time to start paying close attention to the mechanisms of the deregulation machine. For the past 30 years, the business lobbies have pushed Congress and the executive branch to disassemble the regulatory system that has protected us from the worst excesses of Wall Street and Big Business. The catastrophic effects of … Read more
DEBATING TABOOS A debate series by Ralph Nader & the Center for Study of Responsive Law What are the Pitfalls and Benefits of Using Ballistic Missile Defense? Friday, April 12, 2013 12 p.m. 1530 P St. NW Washington, DC The debate, held at the Carnegie Institution of Washington building, addressed a taboo subject in electoral, … Read more
By Ralph Nader You often hear progressives bemoaning the massive war chests of the right-wing funders, particularly after their successful backing of the boisterous Tea Party movement. But a common mistake made by the left is not adequately focusing on cultivating their own likeminded super-rich to provide the necessary resources to advance their own noble … Read more
By Ralph Nader Walmart CEO Mike Duke makes approximately $11,000 an hour. Think about that — $11,000 every hour. Think about an hour of your day, the tasks you accomplish, and the compensation you receive from your employer. If you are an average American worker, you could add up all your daily work hours and … Read more
By Ralph Nader Politicians looking to bolster their appeal to voters like to talk about being “tough on crime.” They think this creates a winning public image. And why wouldn’t it? Anyone who has ever seen an old western knows that the bandits in the black hats are bad and the lawmen in the white … Read more
By Ralph Nader Ask anti-government ideologues about “welfare” and they are likely to tell you all about an increasingly large group of Americans who are dependent on government handouts. They might refer to the portion of the population who Mitt Romney famously called “the 47 percent,” those who consider themselves to be “victims” entitled to … Read more
By Ralph Nader Last week, the State Department reassigned the official responsible for the “diplomatic issues” pertaining to the closing of the Guantanamo Bay prison. This was a telling sign that the Obama administration is abandoning its long-held but little-fought-for promise of closing that notorious facility where a majority of prisoners proved to be innocent, … Read more
By Ralph Nader In America, the term “innovation” is often exclusively attributed to the profitable successes of private businesses — specifically big corporations like Apple, Google and Microsoft — which are considered by many to be the purveyors of all technological advancement. Recall Mitt Romney repeatedly shouting “government doesn’t create jobs” during a presidential debate … Read more
By Ralph Nader Technology is advancing at a rapid pace. Smartphones, tablets, laptops, high-speed internet, high-definition screens, GPS devices, and other innovations have markedly changed the way many Americans spend their time. Think of all the tools and devices that have developed in the past decade alone that make it easier to find travel information, … Read more
By Ralph Nader If your next-door neighbors were the U.S. Congress, spending your income and using their power to influence your life, would you pay close attention to them? Over the past several weeks, Congress has been the focal point of much controversy for its inability to come together on a comprehensive fiscal cliff deal … Read more