If some countries have their way, the Internet could soon come under new regulations and oversight by an international treaty.  A UN summit being held in December in Dubai will meet to discuss changes to a treaty that was signed in 1988. This treaty, the International Telecommunications Regulations treaty, has made it possible for the [...]

The U.S. government is planning to punish consumers who plan for their own retirement.  Whether you have a taxable brokerage account, or a tax-deferred retirement account (401(k), Keogh, Roth or traditional IRA) there’s a political bull’s eye painted on your back. Dividend and capital gains taxes are set to increase as the Bush tax cuts [...]

When one strips away the posturing and insinuations of sinister corporate conspiracies contained in the new report on auto insurance rates from the Consumer Federation of America, you’re left with a pretty simple conclusion: If you shop around for things on the Internet, you can often find a better price than the one you’re first offered.This isn’t a cause [...]

Now that “Fast and Furious” is under control, the Department of Justice (DoJ) is probing whether cable TV is quashing online video competition from the likes of Netflix.  Cable sometimes wants both cable TV and Internet access subscriptions before it tolerates wide-downloads from non-cable movie sources.   As with bandwidth-confiscating Net Neutrality rules, DoJ and FCC [...]

At the 80th Annual Conference of Mayors, held in Orlando Florida this June, the mayors approved a resolution in support of the Credit Union Small Business Jobs Bill.  Our research shows that small businesses would benefit from the bill by providing access to capital, encouraging investment and creating small business jobs.  We appauld the Conference of Mayor for adopting this [...]

As the Supreme Court decision on Obamacare looms, there are a few things that both sides of the political spectrum can generally agree on when it comes to health care—and one of them is the need for more and better technology, both for consumers and in the IT field, for the medical industry.  The introduction [...]

“The Looming Spectrum Crunch: How Will it Affect Consumer Wireless Services?” Expert Panel and Luncheon Today, the American Consumer Institute holds an expert panel and discussion on the coming spectrum crunch, its effects on consumers and the benefits this important resource plays in the continuing mobile revolution. This event will focus on steps Congress can take to [...]

Conflict is chronic between the elite bureaucrats in Brussels and the voters in the Euro Union countries.  Brussels elites have been setting policy for bailouts, baroque regulations, and in effect, spending voters’ money.  Country leaders meekly offer their assent but avoid checking with voters.  Most voters resent the austerity adopted by the 17 Euro Zone [...]

Last week, Microsoft announced that Internet Explorer 10 within Windows 8 will ship with “Do-Not-Track” as the default on the browser.  For the uninitiated, Do-Not-Track is a feature that allows a user to tell websites they’re visiting to not  track where they’ve been and what websites they’ve visited.  This information is a treasure trove of [...]

May 2012’s 8.2% unemployment rate dampens hopes for the 14 million US consumers looking for work.  Some jobseekers are new to the marketplace, some are there due to decreases in sales, and some are displaced by offshoring-outsourcing or technological changes.  Retraining may lead to employment for some, but efficacy for displaced workers looks poor, so [...]