House Bill 545 would slash the current interest rates charged by payday lenders to 28 percent, down from 391 percent, prohibit loans terms of less than 31 days, and limit borrowers to four loans per year. It would ban Internet payday lending, and it also attempts to encourage lenders to get into the small-loan business.
government
Ohio Senate Passes Strict Lending Legislation, Prepares To Punch Payday Lenders In The Face
By 5.14.08
By 5.9.08
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BoingBoing notes that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the notorious PRO-IP bill that ” puts local law enforcement in a position to demand the forfeiture in criminal proceedings of stuff used to violate copyright. Which means that instead of the RIAA simply trying to collect fines, they can also incite local authorities to collect all the computers and related gear that was used to pirate.” [ BoingBoing ] (Thanks, John!)
Everything This Farmer Wants To Do Is Illegal
By 5.9.08
Joel Salatin of Polyface Farm in Charlottesville, Virginia attained a certain moderate level of fame when his operation was featured in Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Now he’s got a book of his own called Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal.
9 Foods You're Not Allowed To Buy
By 5.2.08
Fortune magazine has compiled a list of 9 “forbidden’ foods that have been banned (for some reason or another) in the US. Trans fats in NYC, foie gras in Chicago… Here’s the list:
Ohio Passes Legislation That Will Punch Payday Lending Industry In The Face
By 5.1.08
Ohio’s House of Representatives passed the…
Ohio Proposes Punching Payday Lending Industry In The Face
By 4.30.08
The Columbus Dispatch says that Ohio lawmakers…
NJ Gov Interested In Fast Food "Sin Tax"
By 4.29.08
Not being able to afford to eat at restaurants that don’t have a dollar menu may become a sin in NJ, says the Associated Press. Jon Corzine, the governor of a state in which gambling is legal, is considering a suggestion to levy a “sin tax” on fast food in order to help save NJ’s underfunded hospitals.
Corporations: "Tax-es? What Are These Things You Call Tax-es?"
By 4.19.08 — Updated: 11.1.12
Hope you enjoyed your tax burden this year, because you’re helping carry the weight of loophole-savvy corporations that enjoy many of the legal benefits of real, live human citizens, but exist in a weird, semi-tax-free world.
A 2004 U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study found that 61% of American corporations, including 39% of large companies, paid no corporate income taxes between 1996 and 2000. Last year, corporations shouldered just 14.4% of the total U.S. tax burden, compared with about 50% in 1940.
By 4.11.08
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Here’s an informative slideshow that breaks down how your tax dollars are spent (spoiler alert: nearly half goes to the military). [CNBC]
DC Tickets And Tows Stolen Car, Releases It To Thief, Then Sends Collection Agency After Owner
By 4.10.08
Steve Steinberg refused to pay a parking ticket issued after his car had been stolen, so the Washington, DC Department of Motor Vehicles sent a collections agency after him. Steinberg’s car was stolen in September of 2006. After he reported the theft, Steinberg says, the DC police and DMV ticketed his car, towed it, then released it to the thief.
Your Bill For Using Zero Gallons Of Water: $92.65
By 3.30.08
Among the “improvements” that have come with the rate increase has been new and improved water bills with return envelopes. I’m attaching a picture of the bill and the envelope. Look at it closely and think of what would happen if I put the bill in the return envelope, stamp it and send it off. I’ll give you a hint, I’d waste a stamp and it’d come right back to me!
By 3.19.08
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The Great Wireless Auction raised $19 billion dollars for the U.S. Government. According to Wired, they’re going to use it to buy converter boxes for people who don’t have digital tvs.
CVS To Pay $36.7 Million For Improperly Switching Medications
By 3.18.08
CVS has settled a lawsuit that alleges the pharmacy giant improperly switched customers to a more expensive form of their medication in order to collect more money from Medicaid.
EU Pushes For Per-Second Wireless Billing
By 3.17.08
Viviane Reding, the European Union’s Telecommunications Commissioner, is our new wireless hero. She’s demanding that wireless carriers in Europe begin billing on a per-second basis rather than per-minute, because “at the retail level, the difference between billed and actual minutes appears to be typically around 20 percent.”
New Report Says FCC Fails At Tracking Customer Complaints
By 3.14.08
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a new report yesterday that says that while the FCC processes about 95% of the complaints that come in, it takes some sort of enforcement action in only about 9% of them. “The GAO said it was unable to determine why the [other] investigations were closed without action because ‘FCC does not systematically collect these data.'” The FCC uses five separate databases and “about 46,000 paper files” to track complaints, and the GAO said “made it difficult to get answers to basic questions like how long it takes the agency to close an investigation and the total dollar amount it assesses in fines.”
Whistleblower Confirms He Worked On Warrantless Wiretapping Program For "A Large Wireless Company"
By 3.14.08
Another person has stepped forward to allege that a “major wireless carrier” may have aided the FBI’s warrantless wiretapping program. He claims he was brought in to work with the company on something called the Quantico Circuit, “a high-speed line from the wireless carrier to an unnamed third party. Quantico, Va., is the site of a U.S. intelligence and military base.”
“The circuit was tied to the organization’s core network,” Pasdar stated in the affidavit. “It had access to the billing system, text messaging, fraud detection, Web site, and pretty much all the systems in the data center without restrictions.”
FDIC Call Center: Former Employee Says It's A Great Place For Bank & Credit Union Info
By 3.13.08
A former FDIC employee writes that the FDIC’s call center (877-275-3342) is “a tremendously helpful place to get basic referral information if you’re having trouble with your bank, lender, or finance company.” They can’t help you with complaints, but they can route you to the correct agency, provide credit union contact info, and give you the names and numbers of state agencies where your bank is located.
Hey Kids, It's National Consumer Protection Week!
By 3.4.08
Uhh, apparently this week is National Consumer Protection Week, which is supposed to “highlight consumer protection and education efforts around the country.” Translation: the government put up a mini-website from, like, 1976, with a page of links and some banners for the taking. That’s fine with us—we’ll just claim the other 51 slots as National Consumerist Weeks.
