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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Boeing Max planes have ‘optional’ safety mechanisms

Newly-revealed details by the New York Times about of the crash of two Boeing 737 Max 8 planes may stun even the most hardened observer. The planes lacked a safety feature that may have warned pilots about problems because it was not required and Boeing charged airlines extra to include it. Adam Garber, U.S. PIRG Education Fund Consumer Watchdog issued the following statement.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Get The Lead Out

Our children need safe drinking water – especially at school where they go to learn and play each day.  Unfortunately, lead is contaminating drinking water at schools and pre-schools across the country. As our report shows, states are failing to make the grade when it comes to keeping lead out of drinking water at school.  Instead of waiting for more testing, we need to proactively remove the lead pipes and plumbing at the root of this toxic hazard for our children.

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News Release | CALPIRG | Public Health

California gets a C+ for efforts to address lead in school drinking water

Los Angeles – Reacting to pervasive lead contamination in schools’ drinking water, CALPIRG gave California a C+ grade today for addressing the problem, according to a new national report. In the second edition of CALPIRG Education Fund’s Get The Lead Out study, the state showed some progress since its F grade on a similar report card in 2017. The American Academy of Pediatrics, California State PTA, and Compton Unified School district all joined CALPIRG in calling for swift action to ensure lead-free water in California’s schools and daycares.

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News Release | CALPIRG | Public Health

CALPIRG Co-Sponsors Bill That Would Ban Many Dangerous Cosmetics

Landmark legislation introduced today would impose a statewide ban on cosmetics that include any of 20 highly toxic chemicals known to cause cancer, reproductive harm or hormone disruption. Assembly Bill 495, authored by Assembly members Al Muratsuchi (Torrance) and Buffy Wicks (Oakland), halts the sale of cosmetics products containing toxic chemicals like mercury, lead, phthalates, formaldehyde, triclosan and the fluorinated compounds known as PFAS in California. The legislation is sponsored by CALPIRG and Environmental Working Group.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Public Health

Popular weed killer from Roundup found in top beer and wine brands

Many brands of beer and wine sold in the U.S. contain the weed killer glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, according to a new report by CALPIRG Education Fund. In Glyphosate Pesticide in Beer and Wine, CALPIRG tested 20 beers, wines and hard cider, including several organic brands, for glyphosate/Roundup and found that all but one contained the harmful chemical.

This revelation comes on the same day a San Francisco court begins hearing arguments in the first federal civil case over whether Monsanto’s Roundup weed killer causes cancer.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Tax

Report: California Could Recover Nearly $2.8 Billion Lost to Corporate Tax Loopholes

Sacramento -- Every year, corporations use complicated schemes to shift U.S. earnings to subsidiaries in offshore tax havens which helps them dodge both state and federal taxes. Reforms to end tax dodging in California would reduce revenue loss by nearly $2.8 billion, according to a new report called “A Simple Fix for a $17 Billion Loophole,” released today by CALPIRG Education Fund. 

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Fiat Chrysler Settlement Fails to Protect Consumers

While we are glad that Fiat Chrysler is paying something for damaging the health of Americans and deceiving customers, this settlement does not go far enough. It neither ensures these violations of the public trust won’t happen again nor makes consumers whole.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Antibiotics

McDonald’s Takes Step to Protect Public Health, Commits to Reduce Medically Important Antibiotic Use in Beef Supply

Today, McDonald’s released a new policy to restrict medically important antibiotic use in its beef supply chain. The company will monitor antibiotic use in its top ten beef sourcing markets and set reduction targets for medically important antibiotic use by the end of 2020. Principles in the policy include restricting the routine use of the drugs to prevent disease, a practice that the World Health Organization recommends ending because it breeds antibiotic resistant bacteria. As the largest beef purchaser in the United States, McDonald’s new commitment could spark an industry-wide change to help keep antibiotics effective.

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News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Public Health

New car seats made without toxic flame-retardant chemicals

Car seats are supposed to keep our youngest children safe. But though they may protect infants and toddlers during accidents, car seats have a history of containing toxic flame-retardant chemicals.

That’s finally changing.

Today, a coalition of groups including U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Ecology Center’s “Healthy Stuff” program released test results on car seats in a new report, Hidden Hazards:Flame Retardants and PFAS in Children’s Car Seats. The authors collaborated with researchers from Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Popular toys contain toxics and other hazards

Los Angeles, CA (November 20, 2019) -- This holiday season, watch out for dangerous and toxic toys. CALPIRG Education Fund’s 33rd annual Trouble in Toyland report found toxic amounts of boron in slime products and a failure by Amazon to appropriately label choking hazards. Boron can cause nausea, vomiting and other health issues.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Budget, Tax

Picking Up The Tab 2015: Small Businesses Pay the Price for Offshore Tax Havens

Every year, corporations and wealthy individuals use complicated gimmicks to shift U.S. earnings to subsidiaries in offshore tax havens – countries with minimal or no taxes – in order to reduce their federal and state income tax liabilities by billions of dollars. While tax haven abusers benefit from America’s markets, public infrastructure, educated workforce, security and rule of law – all supported in one way or another by tax dollars – they continue to avoid paying for these benefits.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Budget

Following the Money 2015: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data

Accountability and public scrutiny are necessary to ensure that the public can trust that state funds are spent as well as possible. This report, our sixth annual evaluation of state transparency websites, finds that states continue to make progress toward comprehensive, one-stop, one-click transparency and accountability for state government spending. Over the past year, many states have launched new and improved websites to better open the books on public spending, or have adopted new practices to further expand citizens’ access to critical spending information.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Transportation

The Innovative Transportation Index

This report reviews the availability of 11 technology-enabled transportation services – including online ridesourcing, carsharing, ridesharing, taxi hailing, static and real-time transit information, multi-modal apps, and virtual transit ticketing – in 70 U.S. cities. It finds that residents of 19 cities, with a combined population of nearly 28 million people, have access to eight or more of these services, with other cities catching up rapidly.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Health Care

Health Insurance Rate Watch: Comments on the Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company Proposal

Anthem Blue Cross Life and Health Insurance Company has proposed increasing rates on April 1, 2015 for nearly170,000 people who obtain their health insurance through 28 grandfathered plans offered by Anthem. CALPIRG Education Fund's Health Insurance Rate Watch project reviewed Anthem’s filing documents and found that Anthem failed to provide adequate justification for its proposed rate increase. 

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Health Care

Health Insurance Rate Watch: Comments on Blue Shield Rate Filing

Blue Shield has proposed rate increases as high as 9.7 percent for policyholders in its “grandfathered” health insurance plans, those that were established before the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, affecting 40,070 Californians currently covered under the plans. CALPIRG Education Fund's Health Insurance Rate Watch project reviewed Blue Shield's rate filing and raised a number of questions and concerns to the California Department of Insurance. 

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Consumers Push Back, Stand UP for Privacy | Jon Fox

2012 was a watershed year for consumers.  Over the past year millions of Internet users took action to protect a safe and open Internet.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Citing Safety Concerns, Buckyballs maker to stop selling magnetic toys | Jon Fox

Maker magnetic Buckyballs announces that it will stop selling dangerous product.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

CFPB says 1 in 5 credit scores sold to consumers have "meaningful" differences from scores lenders use | Ed Mierzwinski

CFPB has confirmed what consumer advocates have been saying all along - credit scores heavily marketed to consumers aren't the same as those used by lenders.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

Parties Take a Stand for an Open Internet In 2012 | Jon Fox

There is at least one issue that both parties seem to agree on during this election cycle – that the Internet should remain free and open.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection

California AG Launches New Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit | Jon Fox

CALPIRG applauds the creation of the Privacy Enforcement and Protection Unit in the Department of Justice.

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Blog Post

The worst possible option for paying your bills

Living in California, I’m currently spending 56% of my income on rent. Most financial advisers say you shouldn’t spend more than 30%. Apparently this qualifies me as “severely cost-burdened,” according to the California Budget & Policy Center.

However, I’m extremely lucky that I’ve kept my job so far since the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. When rent was due on April 1st, I could pay it. Sadly, many others couldn’t.

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund

31 California legislators demand Amazon, other online marketplaces end coronavirus price gouging

31 California legislators, led by Assemblymember Kansen Chu (D-San Jose), are joining CALPIRG Education Fund in calling on the country’s top online marketplaces to crack down on price gouging amidst the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

News Release | U.S. PIRG Education Fund

After numerous recalls, U.S. PIRG Education Fund applauds FDA order to remove all generic Zantac from stores

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a full recall Wednesday of all ranitidine, a heartburn medication known by the brand name Zantac.

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund

On the first of the month, here’s how to address bill payments challenges during COVID-19

CALPIRG Education Fund released a guide Tuesday with tips for how consumers can negotiate with their banks to lower interest rates, waive overdraft fees, and agree on payment plans to provide more financial peace of mind in the months to come. 

 

News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund

California attorney general demands online marketplaces end coronavirus price gouging

SACRAMENTO -- California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is calling on the country’s top online marketplaces to crack down on price gouging amidst the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Becerra joined a bipartisan group of 33 attorneys general, led by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro along with co-leading Attorneys General Hector Balderas (NM), William Tong (CT), and T.J. Donovan (VT), in sending a letter today urging the companies -- Amazon, Craigslist, eBay, Facebook and Walmart -- to quickly implement preventative measures on their platforms to ensure that consumers don’t get taken advantage of during this public health crisis. Attorney General Becerra had previously sent his own, similar letter on Friday, but now 32 other attorneys general are joining him.

  • COVID-19 CONSUMER TIPS
    Avoid online scams, protect your credit and more. We have assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days to come.
    OUR TIPS
  • THE FIX IS IN
    Our survey shows that independent shops are struggling to access parts, service information and repair software which is necessary to fix phones — which manufacturers won’t let these independent shops have.
    OUR REPORT
  • FOOD RECALL FAILURE
    Will your supermarket warn you about hazardous food? Our survey grades 26 of the largest grocery stores in the country to determine the efficacy of their policies and practices notifying consumers about food recalls.
    OUR REPORT
  • CHAIN REACTION V
    The overuse of antibiotics contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which can cause life-threatening infections in people. Our report ranks restaurant chains on their policies relating to antibiotic use in their beef supply chains.
    SEE THE GRADES

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