http://www.theamericanconsumer.org Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:41:21 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en On February 18, 2009, over-the-air television stations will be required to broadcast their television signals in digital format. This means that older analog TVs will no longer be able to receive signals over-the-air unless they have a digital converter. Analog TVs that are connected to cable TV, satellite or other ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/12/01/analog-tv%e2%80%99s-will-soon-need-a-converter-for-over-the-air-reception/ 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 ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/11/28/financial-collapse-%e2%80%93-who%e2%80%99s-to-blame/ 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 ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/11/25/broadband-tax-relief-will-contribute-substantially-to-efforts-to-create-jobs/ 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 ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/11/25/information-please/ See this commentary in the San Antonio Express at http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/Feds_could_trigger_insurance_reform.html http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/11/20/federal-or-state-insurance-regulation/ 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 ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/11/07/what-is-the-real-cost-of-owning-a-printer-2/ 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 ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/11/05/doj-threatens-google-drops-deal/ With Google’s Dominance in Online Search and Advertising, Deal Raises Serious Concerns for Consumers   Washington, DC, October 20, 2008 -- As the Department of Justice moves closer to deciding whether to take action to block the partnership between Google and Yahoo, or impose conditions on the deal, the American Consumer Institute ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/10/29/consumer-group-says-department-of-justice-needs-to-scrutinize-googleyahoo-partnership/ Policymakers frequently propose taxes on businesses, while claiming to spare them on consumers.  While these proposals seem politically more palatable, as an economist, I realize that rising business costs are recouped through higher prices paid for by consumers.   Last month we had an online survey where we asked readers whether an increase in business taxes would or would not ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/10/29/does-taxing-businesses-mean-higher-consumer-prices/ Our last ConsumerGram analyzed the hidden telephone fees that consumers pay as a result of an outdated system of regulated payments between telephone companies.  We concluded then that these payments represent subsidies that hurt consumers, are inefficient, and are not sustainable in the face of increasing competition.  Moreover, the subsidy ... http://www.theamericanconsumer.org/2008/10/20/phone-scams-raid-consumers%e2%80%99-wallets/