Consumerist
health care mosh pit
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bank of america
Salary Czar To Ex-BoA CEO: No Pay For You!
Departing Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis will get no 2009 pay or bonus. But won't this serve as a disincentive to future executives who are thinking about totally cocking up their company and bringing down the US economy? [WSJ] (Thanks to Snarkysnake!) -
interviews
Ask The White House: Please Submit Your Questions About The Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Consumerist is going to interview the White House once again. This time, Consumerist readers get a chance to get answers about the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. More » -
stop scaring my grandma
Note To Seniors: Proposed Medicare Reform Does Not Include Plans To Kill You
Yesterday, Consumer Reports noted that an anti-health reform politician is trying to convince senior citizens that they'll be required to take lessons in euthanasia if any reform is passed. Regardless of what side you come down on with health care reform, this is flat out wrong. We care about this lie, which is still bouncing around the media, because it might interfere with the very real and useful tasks of setting up living wills and determining health care proxies—things that matter to both the elderly and the terminally ill. More » -
interviews
Identity Theft Hysteria Overblown, Watch Your Debit Card Instead
If you need the straight story on issues of credit card, debit, and banking fraud and security, something more than "we're taking it seriously," Avivah Litan, VP and distinguished analyst at Gartner research is your go-to-gal. I recently interviewed her over the phone about consumers can protect themselves in an era where just keeping your mother's maiden name a secret doesn't cut the mustard. I learned that you can buy a credit card number for a few cents, losing your Social Security Number is NOT the most dangerous fraud that is likely to happen to you, and how Obama's helicopter plans got stolen thanks to P2P music-sharing software... More »
2:17 PM on Thu Jul 16 2009
By Ben Popken
13,944 views, 50 commentsMost discussed pax: Was this article edited at all before it was published? Run-on sentences, lack of punctuation... It's fine for an interview more »
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propaganda
Banks Consider Running TV Spots Against Proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency
Remember Harry and Louise? I don't, but apparently they were a fictional couple in an early-90s TV commercial, produced by the insurance industry to help sway opinion against the Clinton health plan. Now banks and other financial companies may be pooling resources to create a new "Harry and Louise" style ad to convince Americans that Obama's proposed agency to monitor abusive financial practices will limit choice and ruin lives. More » -
oversight
Obama To Call For Financial Watchdog Agency
Tomorrow, President Obama is expected to call for the creation of a new watchdog agency that would help protect consumers from abusive credit card, mortgage, banking practices. The banking industry is not happy about the idea, reports CNN. But hey, they're just looking out for us: "It's bad for consumers," a banking industry lobbyist told the network. Oh, well, never mind then, and pass me some more delicious subprime! More » -
taxes
Congress Considers Partially Removing Tax Exemption On Employer Provided Health Benefits
Would you be willing to pay more in taxes in order to fund a more equitable health care program for the nation's uninsured? From MSNBC:
More »While details of such an approach are still sketchy, it would likely involve employees paying tax on a percentage of their employer-provided health benefits. So if Congress decided that all such premiums in excess of $11,000 for family plans would be taxable income, and your company paid premiums worth $16,000 for your coverage, you'd have to pay taxes on $5,000.
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Want to learn more about the Obama administration's new cybersecurity plans? @JeffreyFox of Consumer Reports is live-tweeting the press conference now. [Twitter]
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videos
Recap: Ben & Meg Interview Obama Administration On Credit Card Reform
Here, catch all of our interview with Austan Goolsbee breaking down why the credit card reform act was needed. If you missed any of the clips, here's is the four-part series in its entirety...
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2:21 PM on Fri May 22 2009
By Ben Popken
5,159 views, 36 comments -
obama
Automakers: Forget 35.5 MPG, We'll Just Improve A/C
President Obama wants car makers to start making 35.5 MPG cars by 2016. Instead of improving fuel efficiency, automakers could very well just take the cheaper road of making the A/C less wasteful, thanks to what Jalopnik calls "a hummer-sized loophole" in the federal regulations. [Jalopnik] (Photo: Simone Ramella) -
sec
New Consumer Agency May Steal SEC's Thunder
After the bang-up job the Security and Exchange Commission did to prevent Wall Street shenanigans from plunging the economy into the abyss, the White House is looking to form a new commission to step in and do the SEC's job. More » -
videos
Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 4 of 4
The final installment of our 4-part interview on credit card reform with Austan Goolsbee, President Obama's senior economic adviser. In this one we say, hey, what about mandatory binding arbitration?
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10:47 AM on Wed May 20 2009
By Ben Popken
2,854 views, 24 commentsMost discussed Bladefist: Obama doesn't need a credit card, he prints his money more »
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videos
Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 3 of 4
Are credit cards set up like a horrible game of Chutes & Ladders that plays for keeps? In the 3nd of our 4-part interview series with President Obama's Senior Economic Adviser, Austan Goolsbee, on credit card reform, we ask why credit card companies can raise the APR on stuff you already charged, and go into some of the credit card companies' anti-consumer tricks like liquid and fickle terms and conditions, penalty fees that aren't trying to discourage behavior anymore, they're just pure profit, and teeny-tiny contracts written in "Bank-o-nese."
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10:12 AM on Tue May 19 2009
By Ben Popken
2,342 views, 10 commentsMost discussed PersonalResponsibility: ...Still waiting for even one hardball question here. Just one that doesn't ask him to spin the political propaganda. It isn't more »
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credit cards
Bankers Threaten To Punish "Good" Cardholders If Reforms Pass
NYT: Bankers are warning they're going to have to "mean up" credit cards if the reforms expected to get voted on today go through. Among the ways people who pay off their bills in full every month and always follow the rules might get dinged:
- Charging interest immediately on a purchase
- Reinstating annual fees
- Further curtailing cash-back and other rewards programs, like frequent flyer miles
However it gets sliced, there will be fewer cards issued at a higher cost for those that hold them. "Those that manage their credit well will in some degree subsidize those that have credit problems," said Ed Yingling, American Bankers Association CEO. In other words, if we can't make ill-gotten gains off this one group, we'll have to find another way to make it up.Credit Card Industry Aims to Profit From Sterling Payers [NYT]
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videos
Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 2 of 4
In the 2nd of our 4-part interview series with President Obama's Senior Economic Adviser, Austan Goolsbee, on credit card reform, we ask, what about the kids? Specifically, what is this bill going to do about those guys giving away shirts on campus in exchange for signing up for credit cards? Because these seems a really great service for college students, who, as we know, frequently go shirtless. Also, how one side of the debate on credit cards is essentially arguing that if you didn't want to get carjacked you should have taken the bus... because an honest business model and a profitable one needn't be mutually exclusive.
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1:40 PM on Mon May 18 2009
By Ben Popken
3,905 views, 32 commentsMost discussed badhatharry: Ben, why does your jacket have an extra pocket? more »
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goolsbee
Goolsbee Video Fixed
If you had problems viewing the Goolsbee interview, this here video should work for you now. [Consumerist] -
videos
Consumerist Interviews Goolsbee On Credit Card Reform: Part 1 of 4
We took your credit card reform questions to DC yesterday and interviewed Austan Goolsbee, senior economic adviser to President Obama. In part 1 of our 4-part series, we ask how are banks getting billions in bailouts and can turn around and cut off millions of credit cards and raise rates? How does it make sense that credit card companies can raise the interest rate on an existing balance? And, most importantly, why don't we treat credit cards more like Canadians do cigarettes?
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3:16 PM on Fri May 15 2009
By Ben Popken
4,410 views, 22 commentsMost discussed DanGarion: FYI, only reason I bring this up, is it seems to happen a lot, that I see a post, and more »
