Way back in 1984, the Federal Trade Commission established the Funeral Rule, which is actually a list of requirements for funeral homes to make sure that grieving consumers aren’t hoodwinked into paying too much for services or paying for unnecessary items. Nearly 30 years on, an undercover investigation by the FTC found that a surprising number of funeral homes are not abiding by the Rule. [More]
Government Policy
Nudity Is Always A Fun Way To Protest The TSA
By 4.18.12 — Updated: 5.18.17
Perhaps the man who stripped naked at the Portland International Airport security checkpoint last night just figured he was saving the TSA the step of having to pat him down for concealed items? [More]
Why Can't The IRS Just Calculate & File Your Taxes For You?
By 4.17.12
How come we all have to go through the terrible, awful, no good, very bad experience of mucking our way through filing personal income taxes every year, when the IRS already has all the numbers they need to calculate stuff for themselves? Well, because then tax preparation businesses would have nothing to do, and no money to make, of course. [More]
Consumer Groups Ask FDA To Stop This "Corn Sugar" Silliness Already
By 4.17.12
It’s been nearly two years since the Corn Refiners Association began running ads referring to High Fructose Corn Syrup as “corn sugar,” in spite of the fact that the Food & Drug Administration hadn’t yet approved this name change for food labels. The FDA still hasn’t gotten around to making a decision on the matter, and a number of consumer groups are tired of waiting for a decision. [More]
Trimmed-Down IRS Staff Means Fewer Audits This Year
By 4.17.12
We certainly don’t want to give comfort to tax cheats — and we’re not trying to imply that any of our beloved readers are anything less than honest when filing their tax returns — but for those who dread a random audit, there’s some good news: Budget and staff cuts at the IRS will likely mean fewer audits. [More]
Senate Blocks Buffett Rule With 51-45 Vote
By 4.16.12
While some of us are still fretting about filing our taxes before the deadline, the Senate voted today to put a kibosh on the so-called Buffett Rule, a proposed tax reform intended to guarantee that those earning more than $2 million annually would pay a federal tax rate of at least 30%. [More]
Georgia Welfare Recipients Will Have To Pass Drug Test
By 4.16.12
Almost six months after a federal judge halted similar legislation in Florida, the governor of Georgia has signed off on a new regulation that will require certain welfare recipients to pay for and pass a drug test. [More]
TSA Testing Screening Machines So You Don't Have To Deal With Agents
By 4.16.12
Who needs a person with a pen and a black light to say a boarding pass and identification passes muster? The Transportation Security Administration is testing a system that would screen those materials with a machine, instead of a visual check from an agent. [More]
TV's "Green Millionaire" No Longer As Wealthy, Must Refund $2 Million To Customers
By 4.16.12
Back in 2010, we warned you about how those late-night infomercials for The Green Millionaire appeared to just be a way to trick people into incredibly expensive magazine subscriptions. Looks like those suspicions were right, as the people behind the scheme have agreed to refund around $2 million to bilked consumers. [More]
FCC Fines Google, Says It Was Deliberately Impeding Street View Investigation
By 4.16.12
The Federal Communications Commission is going after Google, even though they’ve officially cleared the company of charges that it had collected WiFi data illegally with its Street View Cars. While they didn’t do that on purpose, the FCC says Google was deliberately obstructing the investigation into those charges. [More]
College To Use Fertilizer To Prevent Pot Party From Growing
By 4.16.12
If there’s one thing the last half-century has taught us about pot-smoking teens and 20-somethings, it’s that the best way to reach them is by cracking down even harder. That’s why the folks at the University of Colorado Boulder will be checking ID and spreading stinky fish fertilizer in an attempt to prevent pot-partakers from gathering on the school’s quad this April 20. [More]
Netflix CEO Rips Comcast On Net Neutrality
By 4.16.12
It’s been a few weeks since Comcast announced that data chewed up by customers who use the cable company’s Xfinity Xbox app won’t count toward their monthly data cap. The move ignited a debate over whether or not Comcast was unfairly making its product more readily available than those provided by others, like perhaps… Netflix. Well, yesterday, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings decided it was time to make his position known. [More]
Boston TSA Agent Nabbed During Child Pornography Crackdown
By 4.13.12
The Transportation Security Administration keeps getting hit with scandal after scandal — from thieving agents to employees with ridiculous demands, or those who leave creepy notes in passengers’ bags. And now, in an even ickier development, a TSA agent who worked at Boston’s Logan International Airport has been nabbed as part of a sweeping child pornography crackdown. [More]
CFPB In Charge Of Reversing & Revising Rule That Limited Credit Card Fees
By 4.13.12
The bad news is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has to reverse a rule that capped credit card fees associated with opening a new credit card, but the good news is they’re asking for public comment while they revise it. [More]
We Said 'So Long' To SOPA — Should We Be Worrying About CISPA Now?
By 4.13.12
Just when you think the tricky tricksters are done trying to take away our online freedom, they pop back up. We might need to start playing whack-a-mole again like we did during the anti-SOPA/PIPA days way back when in January — there’s a new law on the block aimed at restricting online rights. CISPA, everyone. Everyone, CISPA. [More]
A Privacy Advocate Seeks Public Help To Build A Spy-Proof ISP
By 4.13.12
The Patriot Act of 2001 is just one example of how the U.S. government is trying to legally beef up its electronic surveillance power on the Internet Service and other digital communications networks. But for Nicholas Merrill, the increasing amount of such government powers has sparked the drive to build a communication service that puts its customers’ privacy first and foremost. And he’s seeking your dollars to help to do it. [More]
That JetBlue Pilot Who Freaked Out Was Indicted
By 4.13.12
Troubles keep piling up for the JetBlue pilot who melted down last month. Not only was he suspended, but now he’s been indicted. In a federal court in Texas, he was charged with interfering with a flight crew. [More]
Court Says Banning Political Ads From Public TV Is Unconstitutional
By 4.12.12
Let’s hope we don’t see Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama angling for votes in between Sesame Street segments — but that could be the reality in the future. An appeals court in California ruled that banning political and public-issue ads from public TV and radio stations is unconstitutional. Oh, First Amendment! Look what you’ve done! [More]
