Price regulation of property and casualty insurance in Texas is leading to a dysfunctional property insurance market that is increasing consumer prices and reducing solvency, according to a new ConsumerGram released by the American Consumer Institute (ACI).  The study shows that Texas is following the very same mistakes observed in the Florida insurance market, where [...]

On February 25, 2011, Delco Times quotes ACI expert Professor Joseph Fuhr on increasing gas prices and their effects on consumers — click here to read the article.

According to media coverage in recent days, Google has come under scrutiny once again for privacy violations and once again the company has claimed the problem to be merely a one-time oversight.  It was discovered this week that the Internet giant had been needlessly collecting information children’s social security numbers as a part of the [...]

On Thursday, February 17th, the House passed an amendment to the annual funding bill which cuts the legs from under the ever-expanding Federal Communications Commission, putting a temporary stop to its attempt to gain even more regulatory power.  The bill, HR 1, states that no public funds are to be used in the enforcement and [...]

February 24, 2011 — Tallahassee Democrat published an opinion piece written by Steve Pociask.  It discusses the unusually high tax rate on wireless telephone services.  Three times higher than the sales tax rate, Florida is among the highest in the nation.  You can visit the Tallahassee Democrat here Florida’s Cell Phone Taxes What should Florida policymakers [...]

An op-ed by Steve Pociask was published in today’s Washington TImes and can be downloaded here.

U.S. regulators should keep in mind the average consumer when proceeding with a decision on the prospective Google acquisition of online air-travel booking software giant ITA.  ITA services many of the most popular online travel booking sites, and while the Department of Justice is trying to work out language that would guarantee freedom of use [...]

Economist Scott Mackey’s analysis shows that the average U.S. wireless subscriber pays taxes and fees on a cell-phone bill totaling 16.3 percent, compared with 7.4 percent for taxes on other goods and services.  Worst offender of these discriminatory taxes is Nebraska, where Mackey estimates state, local and federal cell-phone taxes total 23.7 percent — more [...]

Google’s intent to acquire ITA Software, the airline flight database company, poses unhealthy risks for consumers.  Google’s financial depth and technical breadth are highly relevant, and the Department of Justice should be concerned.  Google’s search service dominates the consumer Internet search market with over 80% share and growing.  Bolstered by 3rd quarter 2010 revenues of $7.286 [...]

From Steve Pociask, President The American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research Published in the HILL — February 8, 2011 While the two-year tax extension passed by lawmakers should help the struggling economy, most consumers are completely unaware that another tax increase could soon be threatening their pocketbooks. This time, however, it is not the [...]