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PROTECTING CONSUMER SAFETY—Toys should not be toxic or dangerous for children to play with. Our food should not make us sick. The terms for banking and credit accounts should be clear and easy to understand.

LOOKING OUT FOR CONSUMERS

CALPIRG’s consumer program works to alert the public to hidden dangers and scams and to ban anti-consumer practices and unsafe products.

TROUBLE IN TOYLAND

For 27 years, CALPIRG’s "Trouble In Toyland" report has surveyed store shelves and identified choking hazards, noise hazards and other dangers. Our report has led to at least 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years.

Get our tips for buying safer toys.

BIGGER BANKS, BIGGER FEES

In April, CALPIRG released a report in which we surveyed more than 350 bank branches and revealed that fewer than half of branches obeyed their legal duty to fully disclose fees to prospective customers, while one in four provided no fee information at all. We also found that despite widespread stories about the “death” of free checking, free and low-cost checking choices are still widely available, if consumers shop around.

Find out how to beat high bank fees.

SEE ALL CONSUMER RESOURCES

Issue updates

News Release | CALPIRG | Food

Flawed Farm Bill Heads Towards Senate Floor

CALPIRG urges our U.S. Senators, Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein, to vote no on the 2012 Farm Bill unless it is amended to stop wasteful taxpayer subsidies to large, profitable agribusinesses. At a time of tough budget choices, the last thing we should be doing with our tax dollars, is giving billions to companies that don't need the support.  

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection, Health Care

The Almighty Dollar before Health and Safety of Americans | Jon Fox

A recent op-ed is completely correct in its assumptions that anti-regulations rhetoric from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is incessantly talking about regulations killing jobs and the economy.

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News Release | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Higher Ed

BANKS SKIM MILLIONS IN FEES FROM STUDENT AID

Banks and other financial firms take advantage of partnerships with colleges and universities, harming students.

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Report | CALPIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection, Higher Ed

The Campus Debit Card Trap

Banks and other financial firms take advantage of partnerships with colleges and universities, harming students.

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Blog Post | Consumer Protection, Food

STATMENT: US Senate Approves FDA Safety and Innovation Act | Jon Fox

The US Senate Passage of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) not Strong Enough to Ensure Sufficient Consumer Safety from Drugs and Medical devices.

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News Release | CALPIRG | Budget, Food

Agriculture Committees Should Cut Subsidies for Junk Food

Cuts to agricultural subsidies should target the most egregious giveaways to agribusiness giants. The Super Committee should first eliminate the Direct Payments program, which wastes taxpayer money in a budget crunch and subsidizes junk food additives in the face of an obesity epidemic. 

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Media Hit | Budget, Food

Los Angeles Times: Report: U.S. spending billions to subsidize junk food

The report, “Apples to Twinkies: Comparing Federal Subsidies of Fresh Produce and Junk Food” by CALPIRG and the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, studies the interesting question of whether the nation's problem with obesity is fueled by farm subsidies.

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News Release | CALPIRG | Budget, Food

Taxpayer Subsidies for Junk Food Wasting Billions

Federal subsidies for commodity crops are also subsidizing junk food additives like high fructose corn syrup, enough to pay for 19 Twinkies per taxpayer per year, according to Apples to Twinkies, a new report by CALPIRG.  

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News Release | CALPIRG | Budget, Food, Tax

Unlikely Allies Recommend $1 Trillion in Savings to Super Committee

As the Congressional “Super Committee” begins its search for $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction, a new study released today by the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) and the National Taxpayers Union (NTU) provides the panel with a great place to start: more than $1 trillion of spending cuts with appeal from across the political spectrum.

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Media Hit | Consumer Protection, Democracy

ABC 7: Does a ballot initiative put your identity at risk?

Does signing a ballot initiative put your identity at risk? Ballot initiatives seem to always be circulating and we are often asked to add our signature, so should we be concerned?

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Tools & Resources

TOY SAFETY TIPS ON-THE-GO

From toxic chemicals to choking hazards to dangerous magnets, see what dangerous toys to watch out for while you shop.

TOYSAFETY.MOBI

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