|
Consumer advocate Al Sterman recommends that Arizona
consumers follow the discussion on health care currently
working it's way through Congress. Several senators
recently signed onto a letter addressed to Senators
Kennedy and Baucus, key participants in the health care
security legislation movement. Sterman says that although
we can't be sure, we may see a bill in the upcoming
year. We don't know if the result will mean true universal
healthcare, but many agree that the current private
sector driven system doesn't serve the public or the
economy as well as it should. Click
here for the letter.
Arizona Consumers Council supports
Consumers Union (CU) in their efforts to protect consumers
from deceptive credit card practices. CU recently asked consumer advocacy organizations to
join in their appeal to U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner,
asking that banks that receive money through the TARP-funded
TALF program to support credit card debt be required
to comply with rules regarding unfair and deceptive
credit card practices, rather than waiting until the
rules go into effect in 2010, and that consumers be
able to get relief from penalty interest rates after
6 months of on-time payments. Click here for more.
(And seeing you shop, scoping out your Google searches, and peeking at your email?)
The answer may soon be: your Internet Service Provider.
Along with various network advertisers. They all want to engage
in a practice known as behavioral advertising. That's where a company
tracks your digital life, keeping track of where you go on the Internet
over time, creating a profile of your web habits and packaging that
information so it can be sold to companies who want to personalize
the advertising they serve up to you.
Click here for more.
As we ring in 2009, we’d like to take the opportunity
to ask you for your support and to sign up for membership
with the Arizona Consumers Council. With more members
like you and your friends, neighbors and colleagues,
we can be a stronger voice for Arizona consumers. For
over forty years, the Council has been a strong and
effective voice for consumers in Arizona. Click
here for more.
Payday Loan Prop 200 Rejected
With a resounding No on Election Day 2008, Arizona
voters rejected Proposition 200 which claimed payday
lending reforms and offered none of substance. Arizonans
for Responsible Lending, American Association of Retired
Persons (AARP) and Consumer Federation of America, among
other consumer groups, were instrumental in getting
the word out to voters, assisting them in making an
educated choice at the polls. The Arizona Consumers
Council (AZCC) recommended that consumers vote NO on
200. AZCC currently explores consumer-friendly alternatives
to high-interest payday lending, aka short-term loans.
Click
here to learn more.
Identity Security Forum
Arizona Consumers Council hosted an Identity Security
Forum on September 23, 2008. Notable expert speakers
were presented in a series of panel discussions. Our
Identity Security Forum media page is currently being
updated. Click
here for more.
Funeral Cost and Planning
The Arizona Consumers Council Foundation and Funeral Consumers Alliance of
Northern Arizona team up to provide helpful Funeral Cost and Planning information to consumers.
See more at Funeral Cost and Planning.
|
The latest on payday lending and HR 1214. Also other news updates. Click
here for more.
See the current issue of The Arizona Consumer, a quarterly newsletter for timely consumer news. Go to newsletter...
Leslie Kyman Cooper, Executive Director Arizona Consumers Council, responds to the
Tucson Citizen Center for Economic and Education Literacy opinion editorial column on payday lending.
Link to Tucson Citizen Op Ed...
Arizona Consumers Council promotes consumer awareness
of predatory lending practices and strong regulatory legislation to protect consumers. Click
here for more.
The Council thanks its current members for their support and invites others to donate or join today.
Show your support and donate online...
We want to hear about your consumer priorities and the consumer topics that interest you.
Use our convenient online form to share your thoughts.
Go to form...
|