Shedding Some Light On Congress
September 6, 2011
This past summer we witnessed a true exercise in nonsense by our hard working members of Congress. While our nation drifted toward potential default on the federal debt, the House of Representatives struggled to overturn a Republican sponsored, bipartisan law enacted in 2007 and signed by President Bush, which mandated increased energy saving standards for the common light bulb. In four short years, the energy conservation law went from being a good idea Republicans and Democrats could embrace to becoming a Tea Party example of unwarranted government intrusion into our lives.
Thus, Representative Joe Barton (R., Texas) this year introduced the Better Use of Light Bulbs (BULB, get it?) Act, repealing any such energy efficiency standards, on the grounds that the former Act “bans” normal light bulbs and requires use of CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Lights), those spiral shaped bulbs we’re seeing more and more often.
“None of the Above” – Getting America Out of a Two Party Stalemate
August 31, 2011
By Terry Smiljanich:
It comes as no surprise that the latest polls show Congress’s approval rating at an all time low of 14%. If we disapprove of the job Congress is doing, why do we keep voting incumbents back into office, as we do year in and year out?
Our Two Party System
A big part of the problem with our system is the two party politics that have infected this country from almost its beginning. Come national election day, no matter what the issues are or what we think about them, we are always faced with the same three choices: vote for the Republican nominee, vote for the Democratic nominee, or stay home. This is the case despite the fact that the Constitution makes no mention of political parties, two or otherwise. Only our first President George Washington, however, was elected without an affiliation with one of two major parties.
Legalized Corruption – The Comcast Merger and the FCC
May 31, 2011
By Terry Smiljanich:
In one of the most blatant examples of just how corrupt politics has become in Washington, D.C., the head of the Federal Communications Commission, just a few months after voting to allow one of the largest corporate mergers in history, has accepted a high paying job at the new giant NBC/Comcast media company. This raises an interesting question: can we call it corruption, if it’s all perfectly legal under current rules?
When Did the Consumer Become the Enemy?
May 24, 2011
By Angie Moreschi:
Why is it that every time you turn around these days, you find a lawmaker up on Capitol Hill trying to stick it to the consumer? Of course, it’s very important to protect multi-million dollar corporations from those pesky people who buy stuff from them; we all know that. But gosh, isn’t this going a bit far. First, we must ensure our oil companies continue to get their tax breaks, and now Republican Congressman from North Carolina Patrick McHenry is taking cheap shots at the person trying to set up a Consumer Protection Bureau.
Consumer Advocate and Harvard Professor Elizabeth Warren came up with the crazy idea that there should be someone looking out for consumers these days, since they’re getting ripped off so much.
Homeopathic Medicine Warning
March 31, 2011
Consumer Warning Network’s Terry Smiljanich came across a homepathic product at the pharmacy that promises to help flu-like symptoms… and boy, did it set him off. Click here to watch the video above and find out why he’s so concerned.
Power Balance Wristbands – Back in the News With More Nonsense
January 17, 2011
By Terry Smiljanich:
Power Balance, the company that promotes its product line of bracelets with holograms, was forced by the Australian consumer protection agency to admit the following in a disclaimer:
In our advertising we stated that Power Balance wristbands improved your strength, balance and flexibility. We admit that there is no credible scientific evidence that supports our claims and therefore we engaged in misleading conduct . . . [under Australian law].
Replacing Cigarettes with Smoke Sticks – Is it Safe?
September 29, 2010
By Terry Smiljanich:
Katherine Heigl, formerly of TV’s Grey’s Anatomy, recently “lit up” an electronic cigarette on the Letterman Show, thereby providing some free advertising to a relatively new smokeless tobacco product which is showing phenomenal sales in the United States. These “smoke sticks,” also known as “e-cigarettes,” deliver nicotine without the combustible smoke by-products found in regular cigarettes which contain most of the deadly carcinogens – but are they safe?
Cholesterol-Lowering Drugs for Children: When Is Enough Enough?
July 20, 2010
By Terry Smiljanich:
Could we really be headed for a future where kids take Lipitor with their Flintstone vitamins? Childhood obesity is an epidemic, but this has the potential of going too far. A new study in the latest issue of Pediatrics, the leading journal of pediatric medicine, argues that current standards for pediatric cholesterol screening are inadequate, and that universal cholesterol screening of children 8 years and older should be instituted. Children are now being shoved into the spotlight, even though questions still surround the widespread use of cholesterol-lowering statin drugs by adults.
Insider Trading – Hypocrisy, Thy Name Is Congress!
June 2, 2010
Remember when Martha Stewart got into criminal trouble back in 2003 for lying to authorities about her alleged insider trading in securities, based on a stock tip from her broker? The SEC, the Justice Department and Congress were all outraged that the entertainment and publishing maven would try to make money off of information about an investment not available to the general public.
The Ultimate Hypocrisy
A bad thing, insider trading – that is unless you are privileged enough to get elected to Congress.
Who Pays for the Massive Oil Spill Clean-Up in the Gulf?
May 7, 2010
By Terry Smiljanich:
The on-going tragedy of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, caused by the catastrophic destruction of British Petroleum’s (BP) Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, has raised serious questions concerning legislative protections afforded to companies causing such environmental disasters. How will such legal limitations on liability serve to protect BP from being responsible for full compensation to the victims of this man-made calamity?
Oil Pollution Act of 1990
After the 1989 Alaskan oil spill caused by the Exxon Valdez, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.The Act increased federal oversight of maritime oil transportation and drilling, increased safety standards for such activities, set liability standards for such spills, and activated a trust fund to help pay for cleanup costs resulting from oil spills.
Responsible parties for causing such oil spills were made liable for removal costs and damages resulting from the incident, including economic losses resulting from damage to natural resources such as fishing and recreation. There is no liability for removal costs or damages if the spill incident is caused by an Act of God, an Act of War, a third party, or any combination of them.
As a trade off for requiring the creation of an industry-funded oil spill trust fund, responsible companies were provided a limitation on their liability for such removal costs or environmental damages. Such liability limits were set at $75 million.
Are such liability limits sufficient to protect the public? Obviously not. According to a study conducted by the Department of Homeland Security last year, since 1991 there have been 51 spill incidents in which the damages exceeded the liability caps. The potential damages resulting from the BP spill are already estimated at $1.6 billion, and this figure could rise further. Even at $1.6 billion, such damages exceed the current cap on BP’s liability by more than 20 times.
If, however, claimants can prove gross negligence by the responsible party (a much higher standard of proof), the limitations on liability would no longer apply. It would be up to courts and juries to make such findings and allow higher damages to be awarded beyond the $75 million total cap.
Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund
In 1986, Congress had created a trust fund, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to be paid for by the oil industry to provide contingency funds for clean-up and damage costs resulting from oil spills. This trust fund remained unfunded, however, until after the Exxon Valdez incident. In the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, the oil industry was required to put $1 billion into the trust fund, based upon a new tax (currently 8 cents per barrel). This reserve fund currently stands at $1.6 billion.
These costs on the oil industry are, of course, passed on to the consumer. It is estimated that the tax to cover the Oil Spill Trust Fund increases the cost of oil by about one tenth of a percent. Have no doubt about it, readers, but we consumers are the ones who actually paid for the $1.6 billion currently sitting in the fund. Meanwhile, BP’s profits just for the first three months of this year stand at $6.1 billion, after posting profits of $4.3 billion in the final quarter of last year (that’s not a typo).
BP’s Liability
BP’s CEO Tony Hayward announced that “this is not our accident, but it’s our responsibility.” BP has stated that it will pay “all necessary and appropriate clean-up costs,” and will pay compensation for “legitimate and objectively verifiable” claims for property damage, personal injuries and commercial losses.
If BP holds true to its word, the government will be compensated for its clean-up efforts and the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund will remain intact. There will undoubtedly be clean-up costs and liability claims that BP will dispute, and such disputes (given the example of the Exxon Valdez incident) will take decades to resolve.
If the oil slicks damage the sensitive wetlands of Louisiana, the rich oyster beds of the Gulf Coast and the coral reefs off of the Dry Tortugas and the Florida Keys, no amount of money in the world will compensate us for our ecological and economic losses. Such are the risks that need to be weighed against our overweening thirst for oil and desire to “drill, baby, drill.”
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