Site Archives

Financial Collapse – Who’s to Blame?


In an online survey, we asked readers to identify who they believed to be most responsible for the recent financial collapse.  In their response, most readers (42%) believed that the blame should be equally assigned to Wall Street, the federal government and main street borrowers/lenders.  However, the federal government took second place, with 28%, ahead [...]

Broadband Tax Relief Will Contribute Substantially to Efforts to Create Jobs


Details of President-elect Obama’s stimulus package are not known, but its general focus on creating jobs is coming increasingly clear. He recently characterized the package in part as: “…a two-year, nationwide effort to jump-start job creation in America.” It has been reported that the president-elect has directed his economic team “to come up with an [...]

Information Please


IT Consumers Need Fuller Disclosure: Privacy, Security, Labeling and Online Safety   Consumers can make rational choices only when they are given full and accurate information about their options.  Indeed, insufficient, misleading, or otherwise incomplete information is a prime cause of both market and government failure.  Consumers pay, and pay dearly, when they are not [...]

Federal or State Insurance Regulation?


See this commentary in the San Antonio Express at http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/Feds_could_trigger_insurance_reform.html

What is the Real Cost of Owning a Printer?


The Lack of Industry Standards Leads Consumers to Overspend $6 Billion for Home Computer Printers and Printer Ink A major study released by the Institute found that consumers were being lured into buying inexpensive printers, only later to pay substantially more for ink. In a recent ConsumerGram, we concluded that giving all consumers more information [...]

DOJ Threatens; Google Drops Deal


Washington, DC, November 5, 2008 – After the announcement today that Google will no longer pursue a partnership with Yahoo, Steve Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute issued the following statement: “The announcement by Google that they would abandon their deal with Yahoo, after the Department of Justice informed them they would seek to [...]