Yesterday, President Obama spoke at the Brookings Institute about his administration’s plan for spurring job growth in our not-quite-a-recession-anymore-but-still-pretty-much-a-recession. Now they’ve invited Consumerist to bring our readers’ questions about the program to Austan Goolsbee, the staff director and chief economist on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. [More]
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Live From The White House: Obama Plan For Job Growth
By 12.8.09
In a speech this morning, President Obama is expected to address the economy, and “outline some key priorities for encouraging businesses to invest and create jobs,” according to White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer. Will it work? Watch the speech here at 11:15 a.m. EST, and let us know what you think. [More]
Edmunds.com Estimates Real Cash For Clunkers Cost, Gets White House Smackdown
By 10.30.09
Edmunds.com crunched some numbers, and came to the conclusion that the federal Cash for Clunkers program was not a terribly effective use of taxpayer money. They argue that the bulk of rebates went to consumers who were going to buy cars anyway. The White House, however, begs to differ. So how did the Obama administration respond? With a snarky blog post.
Ask The White House: Please Submit Your Questions About The Consumer Financial Protection Agency
By 10.9.09
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.
Get Informed About Credit Card Reform
By 5.12.09
As we prepare to talk credit card reform with the Obama folks, we want to make sure you’re all able to follow along at home. Inside, we present a cornucopia of fact sheets, charts, and links about the fight for credit card reform.
President Obama Meets With Credit Card Executives Today To Tell Them They Are Not Approved
By 4.23.09
It’s a good week for consumer protection against abusive credit card practices. Yesterday, the House Financial Services Committee approved the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights, and this afternoon President Obama is meeting with officials from 14 credit card companies to tell them “that greater consumer protections are coming for their customers, with or without their cooperation.”
Trade Group Asks Obamas To Please Use Pesticides In Their Vegetable Garden
By 4.17.09
We don’t blame the Mid America CropLife Association (MACA)— a pesticide an agribusiness trade group—for promoting its interests, but we still think it’s funny that they’ve asked the first family to not grow organic vegetables in the White House vegetable garden. MACA’s Executive Director Bonnie McCarvel sent a long letter to Michelle Obama reminding her of the importance of technology in modern farming, then publicized the letter via an email where she noted, “While a garden is a great idea, the thought of it being organic made Janet Braun, CropLife Ambassador Coordinator and I shudder.”
White House To Citi: Don't Even Think About Buying Luxury Jets With Taxpayer Money
By 1.27.09
Yesterday, we wrote that Citigroup had decided to spend $50 million of its bailout money on a French luxury jet to ferry execs around town. The White House was not pleased about this.
Telemarketers Weep As President Signs Do Not Call Improvement Act
By 2.20.08
Never again will you have to worry about renewing your Do Not Call List registration thanks to Public Laws 110-187 and 110-188. Our newest laws provide a permanent stream of funding for the Do Not Call List and guarantee that registrations will never expire. Read the White House’s ebullient press release, after jump.
Bush To Announce 5 Year Rate Freeze For Mortgages
By 12.5.07
Tomorrow, President Bush will outline a plan to freeze rates for 5 years for subprime mortgage loans that “originated between January 1, 2005, and July 31, 2007, with rates that are due to reset between January 1 of next year and June or July of 2010,” reports Reuters.
Bush Announces Plan To Ease Holiday Air Travel Delays
By 11.15.07
President Bush today proposed several measures intended to reduce traffic issues during the busy holiday season as well as shore up some of the most persistent air travel problems consumers face throughout the year. The most significant proposal would open up a “Thanksgiving express lane” through military airspace, and like the other proposed rules, would require the approval of Congress, says the NYT.
White House Is Proposing Its Own Version Of Product Safety Plan
By 11.6.07
Today the White House will announce its own plan for how to tighten the country’s slack product safety practices. The proposal is being offered as an alternative to the one Congress has come up with, which the White House—along with industry trade groups and Consumer Product Safety Commission head Nancy A. Nord—think is too mean to manufacturers.
The White House version suggests stationing inspectors in other countries to inspect goods before they are shipped to U.S. shores, because “with $2 trillion in imports annually, inspections at the ports had become ineffective.” We’re not sure how the math works on that one—unless sharks or pirates consume large amounts of imports during transit, the same number of goods leave foreign ports and arrive at ours, and having inspectors all in one place where they can work together, instead of spread out in each foreign country, seems a more efficient use of resources. But we’re probably just stupid from too much lead.
Former Bush Advisor Arrested For Target Refund Fraud
By 3.13.06
On February 9th, Bush’s longtime domestic policy advisor Claude Allen carefully waxed his handlebar mustache, adjusted his jet top hat and — throwing a smoke bomb to the ground — disappeared from the White House with the glint-eyed mystery of the master criminal. No one knew why he’d resigned his post… all that anyone could agree was that it was pretty dang mysterious.
