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AIG’s gall: Taxpayer bailout pays for a junket

October 11, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> <em>"Situat<font color="#000000">ed high on a bluff overlooking the majestic Pacific Ocean, stands a landmark resort of legendary proportions."</font></em> </p> <p> Days after receiving an $85 billion taxpayer bailout, AIG... </p>

“Sweetened” Bailout Goes Back To The House

October 3, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

"Over the last six years our system became a house of cards, based on the endless over-leveraging of each dollar through the use of financial instruments so complex and illusory that it turns out no one even knows their value -- the infamous credit default swaps that were nearly 1 trillion dollars in 2001 and now amount to 62 trillion dollars," said Harvey Rosenfield, the founder of Consumer Watchdog, an activist group.

New “bailout” tactic would let fat cats cook books

October 1, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> In a bid to to make the $700 billion bailout palatable to Congressional Republicans, some supporters of the plan are proposing adding a provision that is symptomatic of the very policies that got us in this mess. They want to suspend "mark-to-market" accounting, which insists that assets on a company's books be pegged to reality. </p>

Donors to Governor’s Travel Foundation Revealed

September 30, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<div class="mainarticle"> “I’m really excited that this information is out there. But the information reveals what we always thought was the case,” said Consumer Watchdog’s Carmen Balber. “Before it was secret, and we were worried that companies were paying to influence the administration. Now it’s public, and we can see that companies are paying to influence the administration.” </div>

Review of Stem Cell Institute Approved

September 27, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The state's Little Hoover Commission, an advisory body to the governor and Legislature, said yesterday that it will examine the structure and governance of the state stem cell institute. “When $6 billion in taxpayer money is at stake, the most efficient, responsive and transparent procedures are necessary. The commission will help ensure that happens," said John Simpson, of Consumer Watchdog.

We The People speak about the proposed bailout of Wall Street

September 26, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Americans are sounding off in record numbers to Congress with strong disapproval of the proposed federal bailout of Wall Street, at taxpayer expense. Here’s a sampling of some of the comments we’ve received:<br/> <br/> Richard from...

Statement of Joan Claybrook, President of Public Citizen on Proposed Federal Bailout

September 24, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Over the past few days, we have witnessed Congress readying to approve possibly the most reckless and certainly the most costly bailout in this country’s history. The speed at which the government is leaping to aid Wall Street titans and...

Stem-Cell Patent Case Appealed

September 20, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

Two groups said Friday that they have appealed the federal government's decision to uphold a stem-cell patent held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. Consumer Watchdog, of Santa Monica, CA, and the New York-based Public Patent Foundation filed the appeal with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Real campaign reform is a Schwarzenegger signature away

September 19, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> Governor Schwarzenegger swept into office in 2003 on a wave of support from reform-minded voters who were sick of politics-as-usual in Sacramento.<br/> <br/> One of his campaign ads outlined the problem starkly: "Special...</p>

Arnold, spare us the tough talk about “special interests”

September 18, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

The governor's <a href="http://www.sacbee.com/static/weblogs/capitolalertlatest/015456.html">"official response"</a> griping about the California Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) and their "Recall Arnold" petition being all about a "special interest" trying to intimidate and buy favors, sure sounds pretty hollow and hypocritical, given the record-breaking amount of $128,966,553 in <a href="http://www.arnoldwatch.org/special_interests/index.html">"special interest" money the gov has taken since 2003</a>.

AIG Seeks $75 Billion in Loans to Stay Afloat

September 16, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<strong>The insurer wins approval to use $20 billion in assets held by its subsidiaries.</strong><br /> American International Group Inc., the nation's largest insurer by assets, Monday scrambled to borrow money from its subsidiaries and searched for as much as $75 billion in new capital as it struggled to stay afloat financially. "Consumers were already hit once by the collapse of the mortgage house of cards in the form of record home foreclosures," said Carmen Balber of Consumer Watchdog, a Santa Monica advocacy group. "They should not have to pay again with higher insurance rates."

Approval ratings tank as politicians earn overtime

September 12, 2008  ·  Consumer Watchdog

<p> It’s time to cut off the cash flow for politicians who don’t do their jobs. California lawmakers should lose salaries and per diem for every day a budget isn’t passed on time. <br/> <br/> A new Field Poll found that...</p>