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Six Key Lifestyle Changes Can Help Avert the Climate Crisis

 Less Stuff, More Joy! “Take the Jump” Six Key Lifestyle Changes Can Help Avert the Climate Crisis In February the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC) issued its “bleakest warning yet,” saying the climate crisis was accelerating rapidly with only a narrow chance left of avoiding its worst ravages. But don’t give up hope. Governments and…

How much are you spending on bottled water?

The Story of Bottled Water For those of us who remember life without bottled water, it is sad, pathetic, and frustrating when consumers spend money on water packed in a throw away plastic bottle. The bottle is made from petroleum and shipped across the country (wasting more petroleum), and then 80% of the bottles end…

Amazon sells clothes from factories other stores shun

“After a 2103 factory collapse killed more than 1,100 people in Bangladesh, most of the biggest U.S. apparel retailers joined safety-monitoring groups that required tham to stop selling clothing from factories that violated certain safety standards” according to Wall Street Journal writers J. Scheck, J. Emont, and A. Berzon (front page WSJ 10/24/19). Except Amazon…

Who pays for Trump’s tariffs? You do of course!

Here is one example from Planet Money that illustrates the point: “In early 2018, after the American company Whirlpool complained about foreign competition, the Trump administration implemented tariffs on washing machines imported from all over the world. It’s a 20% tariff on the first 1.2 million washing machines sold a year and a 50% tariff on every one…

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head more interested in helping corporations than protecting consumers

“Kathy Kraninger gave her first speech as director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C., in April. We were alarmed to hear Kraninger voice an overall vision for the CFPB that appeared antithetical to its core function of “enforcing federal consumer financial laws.” Kraninger stated that she…

Wells Fargo CEO got 5% pay raise despite all the company’s anti-consumer & illegal behavior!

The Wall Street Journal (3/14/19) reports that Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan received (note I did not use the verb “earned”) “$18.4 million in compensation for 2018, including a $2 million incentive award.”WOW! Can you believe #1 that level of compensation and #2 in the face of all the illegal and anti-consumer practices of that…

Unauthorized charge for Amazon Prime?

I was surprised to find a charge for Amazon Prime membership on my credit card. I occasionally order from Amazon but never joined Prime. When I called my credit card company to dispute the charge I was told that this happens all the time to Amazon customers. The credit card rep told me to call…

The latest internet scam

“Your love of a good deal could be a deal breaker. Fake gift cards and coupons for Lowe’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Home Depot, Target and IKEA (phew!) have infiltrated the internet. On Facebook, the phishing scam is taking the form of a $50 coupon for Lowe’s and a $75 one for Bed Bath &…

Got credit card complaints? Call your card issuer!

“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau received more than 26,000 complaints regarding credit cards last year, with billing the most common reason. But intense competition in the industry means credit card companies can be responsive if cardholders call.” Read : Here’s proof that disputing your credit-card bill could be worth it http://www.marketwatch.com/story/heres-proof-that-disputing-your-credit-card-bill-could-be-worth-it-2017-04-13The CFPB is the consumer’s…

Fake news and financial misinformation

Our political process is suffering from an abundance of fake “news” stories designed to sway public opinion and votes. Fake news is proliferating and being absorbed without question by people who have failed to learn critical thinking skills. By sticking only to news sources that agree with one’s political beliefs, too many Americana are believing…