2007-12-12 10:21:00 PSTen-us15California's elected officials have failed this year to take care of any pressing state problems -- except their own. No healthcare reform. No prison reform. No solution to the multibillion-dollar budget deficit. Instead, this year's principal public policy result is a ballot measure to extend legislators' current terms in office. The biggest beneficiaries are the most powerful: Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez and Senate leader Don Perata, who otherwise would be forced out of office next year by term limits.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=88872007-12-12 10:11:21 PSTJamie Court & Judy Dugan - OpEd CommentaryCorporate Accountability Forcing citizens to buy an expensive, unregulated private product is nothing less than taxation without representation. If California were to follow the Massachusetts model for mandatory private insurance purchase (the only one in the United States), Californians would have to prove on their tax returns that they were insured or face tax penalties.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=85872007-09-25 09:41:21 PDTJamie Court - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton laid out her plan for health care yesterday, which includes mandatory health insurance. But commentator Jamie Court says demanding more cost-effective coverage would be a better solution.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=85512007-09-18 15:54:52 PDTHost: Doug Krizner / Commentator: Jamie Court (FTCR)Healthcare When venture capitalists provide money to companies they require clearly spelled out conditions and expectations. There is no reason it should be any different when Wisconsin's taxpayers put their hard-earned dollars on the line to fund research. They are entitled to insist upon maximum public benefit for their investment.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=83732007-08-11 11:18:00 PDTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare The stem cell committee should direct that scientific review of building projects be handled like the facilities review -- in public. As it stands now, the two-step process is apparently premised on the notion that it's unwise to risk embarrassing an institution for its lack of scientific ability, but it's all right to say it doesn't know how to construct a decent building. That approach serves neither scientist nor architect, but especially not the public.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=85592007-08-07 13:02:00 PDTJohn M. Simpson, Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare The Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights and the Public Patent Foundation have filed our formal comments with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office supporting its rejection of human embryonic stem cell patent claims asserted by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation because the claimed advances are obvious in the light of previous stem cell research.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=81642007-07-14 10:47:00 PDTJohn M. Simpson - FTCR (Op-Ed Commentary)Healthcare "Sicko" is the latest film from Michael Moore. It's about how the U.S. health system leaves millions uninsured and allows insurance companies to profit by selectively denying care. It's scheduled for release this Friday. Commentator Jamie Court thinks this may be the beginning of something.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/co/?postId=80972007-06-26 13:20:42 PDTAnchor: Doug Krizner - Commentator: Jamie Court (FTCR)Categories President Bush has stated that the job of recovering shareholders' money from banks involved in the Enron scandal should be left to SEC attorneys. But commentator Jamie Court contends the best path to justice is through the private sector.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/co/?postId=80932007-06-21 16:18:14 PDTAnchor: Tess Vigeland - Commentator: Jamie Court (FTCR)Categories If BP and the University of California system decide upon a partnership, some minimum standards must be met: The University of California should control the direction and the results of the research. Any patented discoveries should be licensed to all comers on a non-exclusive basis. Secret proprietary research should not be allowed on campus. Any BP marketing efforts using the UC name should be approved on a case-by-case basis by the regents themselves.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=79532007-05-17 10:08:38 PDTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed CommentaryEnergy Stem cell research is such a potentially contentious field, so fraught with political minefields, that it is imperative the public funding process be completely transparent. For the long-term benefit of the research, every opportunity to build public faith in the Maryland commission's procedures must be taken.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=79432007-05-15 10:20:07 PDTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Why you're not hearing a peep from California politicians on record-high gas prices.; Who's afraid of Big Oil? Apparently, California's elected officials. Gasoline prices are stuck well above last year's record highs and about 50 cents above the national average. Yet state politicians are not saying or doing a thing, except for raking in political cash from the oil companies and flying around the world on their dime.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=79322007-05-14 11:24:53 PDTJamie Court & Judy Dugan (FTCR) - Op-Ed CommentaryEnergy There are two things you can mention to almost any CEO in this country that will provoke an immediate response, one is global warming and how to balance protecting the environment with protecting the economy. The other is health care and how companies can protect their bottom lines. Safeway CEO Steve Burd launched a health care reform effort this week. Burd and three-dozen other Fortune 500 CEOs are calling for a market solution. Commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court says that's great, but the market is the problem.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=79272007-05-10 12:55:00 PDTANCHOR: KAI RYSSDAL - COMMENTATOR: JAMIE COURT (FTCR)Healthcare Is Chevron really going green? Shareholders, who partook in Chevron's record $17 billion petroleum profit last year, may only want their company to appease the new environmentally sensitive Congress with green puffery. If the company is going to talk the talk, though, it needs to walk the walk.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=77952007-04-25 15:33:31 PDTJamie Court - Op-Ed CommentaryEnergy Wisconsin will remain a leader in the field because of Thomson and his colleagues' work, and research firms will continue to locate near UW because of the proximity to its vibrant scientific community. But officials from a self-serving foundation with its own narrow agenda cannot be allowed to elbow their way to the table by waving undeserved patents that are ultimately detrimental to researchers everywhere.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=77092007-04-13 11:29:44 PDTJOHN M. SIMPSON - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare One thing you didn't hear President Bush or the car company CEO's pointing out this morning, is that right about the time they were talking, oil was hitting $63 a barrel. Or that gas prices are up sharply as well, more than a nickel in the past two weeks. $2.61 is the average for a gallon of self-serve regular now. Part of that's geopolitical. Tensions in the Middle East and supply problems in Nigeria rarely make prices to go down. But commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court suggests there are some sleight of hand behind those rising gas prices, too.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=76092007-03-26 10:00:00 PSTAnchor: Kai Ryssdal - Commentator: Jamie CourtEnergy The state legislature is considering proposals by the Governor and legislative leaders to provide health insurance for all Californians. Commentator Jamie Court says unfortunately the debate is less about what Sacramento can do for us, than about what politicians can do for their biggest contributors.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=75152007-03-08 11:27:00 PSTJamie Court (FTCR) - CommentaryHealthcare The "shared burden" proposals of both Schwarzenegger and Perata would require Californians who don't have health insurance through an employer or incomes low enough to qualify for government subsidies to buy it on the open market, or face punishment at tax time. Yet the yearly income cutoff for a subsidy would be $52,000 to $60,000 for a family of four, and the average annual cost of market-rate insurance for that family today is about $11,000, not counting co-pays and deductibles. Mom could take a night job, but there's no other way to squeeze almost an extra $1,000 a month from an already tight family budget.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=74222007-02-22 11:21:00 PSTJamie Court & Judy Dugan (FTCR)Healthcare The Legislature also needs to examine itself. As soon as a member is appointed to one of the insurance committees, insurance industry funding follows. This necessarily taints decisions on insurance matters. If lawmakers on these committees were to refuse industry contributions, perhaps voters could feel more confident that they are in good hands.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=74302007-02-15 15:59:00 PSTDouglas Heller (FTCR)Insurance Jamie Court, president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, says California politicians have an ulterior motive for supporting a February presidential primary.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=73652007-02-08 13:32:39 PSTJamie Court - CommentatorCorporate Accountability Consumer advocate Jamie Court says President Bush's proposal to tax healthcare spending above what the government thinks is too much is a raw deal for consumers who have no control over their insurance bills.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=73212007-01-25 16:39:00 PSTTESS VIGELAND - HOST / JAMIE COURT - FTCRHealthcare Companies like Genentech act like committed socialists when it comes to taxpayers and the government bearing the risk of drug development. But they are greedy capitalists when it's time to parcel out the profits. When venture capitalists provide money to companies they require clearly spelled out conditions and expectations. There is no reason it should be any different when New York's taxpayers put their hard-earned dollars on the line to fund research. They are entitled to insist upon maximum public benefit for their investment.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=72532007-01-14 12:32:00 PSTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare No useful purpose is served by CIRM's penchant for secrecy. It should disclose who applied and their affiliation, enabling all concerned to track awards and dispel worries about favoritism. Knowing who applied for money and didn't get it can be more revealing sometimes than knowing who did. Scientists need to develop thicker skins if they want to use public money for their work, and CIRM needs to let the sun shine in. Bottom line: They want our money. They must tell us who they are and ask for it in public.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=72242007-01-08 17:29:00 PSTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Not only is Schwarzenegger immune to most people's struggles with insurers, he's also enjoyed nearly $1 million in direct political contributions from them, according to public contribution reports. It is this political relationship that should worry Californians hoping for real healthcare reform. Insurance companies, after all, will spend whatever it takes and call in every favor they're owed to stop reforms that restrict their profits, curb their extravagant overhead or limit what they can pay their chief executives.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=76052007-01-05 16:19:00 PSTJAMIE COURT & JUDY DUGAN - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court says there IS evidence that oil companies intentionally influence gas-price fluctuations.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=72092007-01-02 15:28:00 PSTHost: Kai Ryssdal / Commentator: Jamie Court (FTCR)Energy The stem-cell oversight committee is going to have to decide. Though the committee has the word "independent'' in its official title, it's highly unlikely that the 13 institutional representatives will act in any way that is independent of the interests of their employers. And, as has been repeatedly demonstrated, what is best for the state's universities and research institutions is by no means necessarily what's best for all Californians. Those representing the institutions that want the money ought not set the rules for how they get it. Unfortunately, that's not what Proposition 71 provides.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=70912006-11-22 09:44:40 PSTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Measures in four Western states would force local governments to pay property owners if regulations -- such as zoning -- reduce their property value. Commentator Jamie Court argues that would actually hurt taxpayers and homeowners.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=70342006-11-02 15:47:21 PSTKAI RYSSDAL: Host / JAMIE COURT: CommentatorCorporate Accountability The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is going to dole out $3 billion in taxpayer money over the next decade to support the state's stem cell researchers. Everyone concerned claims they want a transparent process to ensure that awards are based on scientific merit, not favoritism and cronyism. Despite mouthing high-minded slogans, the institute's leaders frequently miss the mark whenever there is a clear opportunity to transact the public's business in public. Bottom line: They want our money. They must tell us who they are and ask for it in public.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=70212006-11-01 11:07:11 PSTJohn M. Simpson - Special to the BeeHealthcare Members of Congress are back in their districts campaigning hard, many on the dime of lobbying groups after not passing any lobbying and ethics reform. Commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court says it all comes down to getting what you pay for.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=69462006-10-11 16:58:33 PDTKAI RYSSDAL: Host / JAMIE COURT: CommentatorCorporate Accountability Proposition 89 would loosen corporations' stranglehold on elections, a major factor in keeping turnout low.; Proposition 89 would start restoring sanity in political spending, and not just by reforming the financing of ballot measures. It also would provide for public funding for candidates willing to forgo private fundraising from special interests, which is likely to reduce overall candidate advertising. Ironically, the voters who would benefit most from the reform are the ones most likely to stay home, discouraged and disgusted by the power of money. The question is whether they will see past the blitz of deceptive, negative advertising to find out what the power of one more vote could be.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=69402006-10-10 11:10:36 PDTJamie Court - Op-Ed CommentaryCorporate Accountability Why not help voters understand that under the California Health Plan the billions of dollars wasted by insurance companies and HMOs on middlemen, CEO pay, corporate profits, overhead and advertising would be redirected to providing care? What if voters knew that such a plan would pay for doctor visits, preventive screening, pregnancy coverage, hospitalization and emergency treatment?http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=68232006-09-14 10:48:00 PDTJerry Flanagan & Judy Dugan - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare California insurers are phasing out the practice of using ZIP codes as a major factor for calculating auto insurance premiums. Consumer advocate and commentator Jamie Court says it's about time.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=67502006-08-24 15:41:19 PDTKai Ryssdal: Host - Jamie Court: CommentatorInsurance State leaders belly up to the bars and buffets for their annual, unseemly special-interest shakedown.; The same special interests and lobbyists nibbling, sipping and twisting arms this week will be putting up big money to stop Proposition 89. Their ads will rev up fake outrage that any tax would pay for politicians' campaigns. What they won't mention is how the price of our gasoline, healthcare, housing and telephone bills is a lot higher when lobbyists do the paying.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=67042006-08-16 10:12:43 PDTJamie Court - Op-Ed CommentaryCorporate Accountability Governor Schwarzenegger's "Summit on Health Care Affordability" today ignored the two leading causes of health care cost increases: health insurer overhead costs and drug company profits. Schwarzenegger's health care proposals have been influenced by the huge campaign contributions he has received from health insurers and drug companies.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=68252006-07-24 11:52:00 PDTJerry Flanagan, (FTCR) - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court says Kenneth Lay's vision has become the operating principle from Wall Street to Capitol Hill.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=65472006-07-07 16:09:00 PDTKai Ryssdal - Host / Jamie Court - CommentatorCorporate Accountability Patenting embryonic stem cells is like patenting food because you can cook. Nonetheless, WARF claims -- and has for now been granted -- rights to all human embryonic stem cells in the United States. The patents' dubious validity is underscored by the fact that no other country in the world recognizes these claims.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=65322006-07-02 11:29:00 PDTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare California's stem cell institute is scheduled to fund $3 billion of public grants in stem cell research over the next 10 years by selling public bonds approved by voters. The WARF licensing claim is little more than an outrageous attempt to raid the taxpayers of California.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=65112006-06-26 10:17:25 PDTJOHN M. SIMPSON, Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare AT&T, Assembly Dems bill's winners; AT&T is spending tens of millions of dollars on advertising, lobbying and campaign contributions in California to bring what it claims is more choice and greater competition to the cable television industry. That's half right. There would be more choices. But not for you and me, just for AT&T.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=65122006-06-25 10:34:00 PDTJamie Court, Op-Ed CommentaryCorporate Accountability With all the talk about net neutrality, commentator Jamie Court says we've missed another important debate ? a possible rollback in local restrictions on cable companies.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=65072006-06-22 16:31:37 PDTHost: Kai Ryssdal / Commentator: Jamie Court (FTCR)Corporate Accountability Payback for no-show legislators Politicians who don't vote on important bills don't win.; The public called for a crackdown on nonvoting when those going to the polls decided that several serial nonvoters shouldn't hold public office at all. One way to solve the problem is with a simple rule: Politicians should be docked a day's pay for every time they show up but refuse to do their job.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=65012006-06-18 13:55:00 PDTCarmen Balber, Op-Ed CommentaryCorporate Accountability You might remember yesterday we told you about a report by the Federal Trade Commission. It said there was no illegal price fixing in the oil markets after Hurrican Katrina. But that wasn't enough for the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. Today, Alaska Republican Ted Stevens said he wants to outlaw excessive price increases. Said he's going to write a bill that'll take care of it. First, though, he has to define what exactly price gouging is. Commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court is happy to help.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/co/?postId=64012006-05-23 18:26:00 PDTKai Ryssdal - Host; Jamie Court - CommentaryCategories California oil refiners have rigged their system by limiting the number of refineries and running on low inventories. The companies have closed nearly half the state's refineries since federal gasoline deregulation in 1981. Today, the gasoline supply barely meets demand. As a result, the commodity appears scarce and the market price for it is sky high, along with profits. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=62532006-05-14 12:40:00 PDTJamie Court (FTCR) - Op-Ed CommentaryEnergy A measure that is nearing a final vote in Congress would greatly expand the reach of insurers offering bare-bones plans that saddle policyholders with no cap on their payments once their paltry coverage limits are reached. Maryland, like New York and a few other states with strong consumer insurance protections, has so far been spared the misery inflicted by such junk insurance.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=62422006-05-11 11:46:37 PDTJAMIE COURT & JUDY DUGAN - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Politicians are blocking a plan to base premiums on motorists' driving records rather than on where they live.; By exposing the disease at the heart of our political system, Garamendi's announcement is likely to generate support for the cure: a voter initiative headed for the November ballot that would slash the influence of special interest money. It would cap corporate campaign contributions, including to initiative campaigns, and set up publicly funded elections. If that passes, the insurers' arrogant domination of California politics will be over. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=62352006-05-10 13:33:00 PDTHarvey Rosenfield - Op-Ed CommentaryInsurance Anyone whose hair stood on end during the latest round of record oil company profits ought to start bracing now for next quarter?s reports. Half of California's dollar-a-gallon price spike since Jan. 1 for regular gasoline has come in the last 30 days, thus wasn't included in first-quarter earnings. It is hard to imagine oil companies continuing to spin their defiant excuses -- the price of crude oil, the price of ethanol -- when they are increasing prices so much faster than their costs.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=62302006-05-08 16:33:00 PDTJUDY DUGAN (FTCR) - Op-Ed CommentaryEnergy Companies like Genentech act like committed socialists when it comes to taxpayers and the government bearing the risk of drug development. But they are greedy capitalists when it's time to parcel out the profits. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=60832006-04-10 10:24:11 PDTJohn M. Simpson - Op-Ed Commentary Healthcare If California wants genuine universal health insurance, it is going to have to do the hard work of restraining the healthcare system's waste, inefficiency and profiteering. But that would entail angering interest groups that finance politicians' elections. The uninsured and underinsured don't attend fundraisers or make political contributions. And, of course, politicians' own health coverage is paid by taxpayers. No wonder they don't understand the problem in making a working family choose between rent and insurance.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=60842006-04-08 10:46:00 PDTJamie Court and Judy Dugan - Op-Ed CommentaryHealthcare Certainly drug firms are entitled to fair profits; they just aren't entitled to charge exorbitant rates for their products when taxpayers directly funded the research that made a drug possible in the first place. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/co/?postId=60212006-03-27 10:16:27 PSTJohn M. SimpsonCategories Tonight, Arnold Schwarzenegger is to return to the Beverly Hilton for the first time since his contrite apology to voters after the defeat of every single one of his ballot measures in last year's special election. The governor will probably be anything but contrite as he panders to donors who will pony up as much as $100,000 each to fund his reelection campaign.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=59912006-03-20 10:44:24 PSTOp-Ed Commentary: Jamie Court (FTCR)Corporate Accountability Last week, the House of Representatives passed legislation stopping states from having food-warning labels that are tougher than federal standards. This Wednesday, a Senate committee will vote on a bill that allows health insurers to ignore state benefit requirements. Commentator and consumer advocate Jamie Court says more at stake here than states' rights. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=59502006-03-13 17:33:49 PSTTess Vigeland - Host / Jamie Court - CommentatorInsurance The truth is, unless you're driving a higher performance car, or an old muscle car of the past, gas is gas. Oil companies' marketing claims over the need for higher octane fuel used to be ever bigger hooey. The Federal trade Commission stepped in the 1990s to force fairer representations. With oil companies now recording record profits, they have even more money to make bigger marketing boasts. But the truth is no different: Buy the cheapest gasoline you can find unless your automaker tells you otherwise.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=58852006-02-21 14:13:00 PSTANCHOR: BRIAN WATT / COMMENTATOR: JAMIE COURTEnergy Genentech doubling price of cancer drug which clinical trial was government-funded; Genentech's drug Avastin is a highly effective treatment for colon, breast, and lung cancer. It's also incredibly expensive. Genentech says society has to be willing to pay more for the benefits of life-sustaining drugs, but Commentator Jamie Court says drug companies have a moral obligation not to price them out of reach.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=58572006-02-16 16:38:34 PSTKai Ryssdal - Host, Jamie Court - CommentatorHealthcare In the wake of the Abramoff, Cunningham and DeLay scandals, all eyes have turned to lobbying reform in D.C. And deservedly so. But Washington is just the beginning. In fact, the kind of lobbying that goes on in the nation's capital also exists -- often more brazenly, more openly and with bigger dollar amounts -- in every state capital in the country, including Sacramento. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=57892006-01-24 15:04:37 PSTJamie Court - Op-Ed CommentaryCorporate Accountability Two recent mergers, PacifiCare with United Health and Anthem with WellPoint, reveal that getting bigger is, in fact, all about insurance industry greed, not better value for the businesses that pay for coverage or the patients who use it. Take a look at what the stakeholders won and lost.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/co/?postId=57432006-01-09 10:11:00 PSTJerry Flanagan - FTCRCategories Use of mandatory, binding arbitration clauses; So a company that's mischarged thousands of consumers, and arbitrated with dozens of them, can hide the evidence from the next consumer who takes the company on over the same problem. So what do you do? Cross the arbitration clause out of the contract and save a copy of the change for your records. That's what many lawyers who know better do. Or send a letter to the company or doctor you've just signed up with afterward saying you do not agree to the arbitration clause.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/co/?postId=57162005-12-28 12:15:00 PSTANCHOR: SCOTT JAGOW / COMMENTATOR: JAMIE COURT (FTCR)Categories For some workers, it's time to choose a health plan for the coming year or make changes to the existing policy. At the same time health savings accounts and the like are giving people a lot more decisions to make about their health insurance. Consumer advocate Jamie Court says shopping for health care isn't like shopping for Christmas presents. Buyer, beware.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=54792005-12-14 11:35:00 PSTANCHOR: SCOTT JAGOW / COMMENTATOR: JAMIE COURT - FTCRHealthcare Locked cell phones frustrate users, but solutions are available; You very likely paid for your cell phone when you signed up for service. But what your service provider didn't tell you is they secretly put a programming lock on your phone that prevents it from being used on another company's system.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=54462005-11-30 12:42:00 PSTLisa Napoli - Anchor / Jamie Court - CommentatorCorporate Accountability A host of big-buck contributors and cronies are along for the ride in China, and they're looking out for themselves, not California.; For many of these Schwarzenegger donors, this China junket is more likely to help their own companies than California. And in some cases, that might actually do the rest of us harm.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=54112005-11-15 12:10:57 PSTJamie Court - Op-Ed CommentaryCorporate Accountability The $250 million being spent on ballot measures in California's special election makes it one of the most expensive elections of its kind in US history. Consumer advocate Jamie Court reflects on what's at stake. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=53962005-11-07 16:34:27 PSTKai Ryssdal - Host / Jamie Court - CommentatorCorporate Accountability Using Schwarzenegger's initiatives, some of the country's leading conservative minds hope to paint California red in 2008.; Some of the nation's leading conservative thinkers and strategists are seeking, through Schwarzenegger's initiatives, to alter the balance of power between the right and left wings of California politics. Their hope is to turn California red in '08 and pioneer a new gospel that can spread across the country.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=53862005-10-30 13:53:00 PSTJamie Court - Op-EdCorporate Accountability Getting people to turn out this November is key to defeating high dollar initiatives ; Nurses, firefighters, cops, teachers and Planned Parenthood have called upon California's progressive voters to just say no to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger-backed ballot measures in the Nov. 8 special election. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/co/?postId=53832005-10-30 12:42:00 PSTJamie Court - Op-EdCategories Jamie Court (FTCR): Refineries make the residential heating oil that warms your home. Part of the reason home heating prices are skyrocketing is there are barely enough refineries to meet demand. Oil companies like it that way. A scarce commodity keeps their prices and profits high.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=52692005-10-11 16:51:15 PDTAnchor: Kai Ryssdal - Commentator: Jamie CourtEnergy Voters deserve what they voted for and taxpayers deserve what they are paying for. That means that California must have a controlling share of all future stem-cell research.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=52652005-10-10 12:37:16 PDTJerry Flanagan and Deborah BurgerHealthcare The fact that the cost of providing a year's worth of health insurance for a family is now more than the entire annual income of a minimum wage worker could signal the tipping point for health care reform.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=52082005-09-30 14:29:00 PDTJerry FlanaganHealthcare So what can we do? As a start, why not give all Californians access to the same policies state politicians and employees have? The California Public Employees Retirement System (CALPERS) has a policy that bypasses insurers. Doctors and hospitals contract directly with the state -- cutting out insurers' hefty profits and making the plan more affordable.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=51902005-09-26 12:22:16 PDTJamie CourtHealthcare Since deregulation in 1982, oil consumption has increased 33 percent. But oil companies have reduced refining capacity by about 10 percent. Why? They know the scarcer the product, the bigger the profit. Conspiratorial? A few years ago, US Senator Ron Wyden released internal company memos proving that in late 1990s refiners realized they had to reduce supply to pump up profits and that's just what they did.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=51632005-09-20 18:17:31 PDTAnchor: KAI RYSSDAL - Commentary: JAMIE COURTEnergy Drug companies might try to evoke sympathy from future jurors by claiming that big verdicts will cut into research and development funds. But that would be another cover-up: an analysis of drug company SEC filings shows that they spend 2-3 times more on marketing and administration than on developing new drugs. Merck spent just 5% of its $47 billion revenue on research and development in 2001, while 15% went to profit.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=50862005-08-29 18:28:00 PDTJerry Flanagan, Healthcare Policy Director, FTCRHealthcare Garamendi never enforced an initiative ending ZIP Codes as a criteria in setting auto insurance rates. Maybe ambition got in the way.; There was a time in California when consumers put an initiative on the statewide ballot demanding an end to auto insurance rates determined in large part by ZIP Code. The year was 1988, and the initiative passed. So why are drivers on one side of a ZIP Code line still paying premiums hundreds of dollars higher than if they lived across the street? Ask Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=50462005-08-19 11:34:06 PDTJamie CourtInsurance The Rolling Stones kick off their 25-city North American tour in Boston's Fenway Park this Sunday. Even California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is going. You can join him there in a luxury box for $100,000. Seats in the governor's box and the whole tour are being sponsored by the lending giant AmeriQuest. Commentator Jamie Court says being that kind of publicity is the way AmeriQuest gets what it wants.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=50492005-08-18 17:24:00 PDTKai Ryssdal - Host / Jamie Court - CommentatorCorporate Accountability For four years, politicians from Pasadena and Santa Monica fought the Taxpayer Protection Act in court. They lost the battle in April, and this week Pasadena's city council finally moved to implement the law. Only there's a big catch - The City Council voted to have the taxpayers pick up the legal bills for officials who break the law. That's a lot like forcing an adulterer's spouse to wash the sheets. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/advocacy/co/?postId=50112005-08-05 13:04:00 PDTJamie CourtCitizen Advocacy In a better world, next week's Senate confirmation hearings on the nomination of Rep. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach) to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission would be the Democratic Party's finest hour. The hearings offer a perfect opportunity to decry Wall Street's looting of Main Street and to put the GOP on trial for creating the conditions under which corporate criminals flourished.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=49072005-07-25 15:11:45 PDTJamie Court - Op-Ed CommentaryCorporate Accountability President Bush has nominated Chris Cox to head the SEC. Never mind that Cox has one of the worst anti-consumer records as a Congressman on Capitol Hill. Put out of your mind that back in 1995, Cox co-authored the law that limited CEO accountability for stock fraud.Here?s the big problem: what Cox did as a private attorney two decades ago. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=49052005-07-22 16:59:00 PDTAnchor:David Brown, Commentator: Jamie CourtCorporate Accountability The way to move on is for the institute to voluntarily submit to the same democratic rules and good government laws as other state boards. And the public should be guaranteed some control over the fruits of its research.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=48512005-07-11 13:43:13 PDTJamie CourtHealthcare Shock, rant and personality-driven theatrics are all desirable online because they make people interact. The same elements can be the kiss of death for a newspaper editorial page because they undermine trust. Clarity and reason from an institutional voice is what readers search for in a confused and complicated world they don't have time to unravel. Abandoning editorial tradition and standards for "surprise" begets a goatse.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=48502005-07-10 13:30:00 PDTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability It isn't Mitt Romney's fault that the Massachusetts auto insurance system was broken when he took office. But, if he insists on clinging to the no fault system and giving insurers carte blanche to set rates, unhappy drivers will know it's his fault now.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=46562005-06-20 14:13:00 PDTCarmen Balber - Op-EdInsurance Democrats tend to favor mandating that employers pay for insurance. Republicans typically want to give insurers more latitude to "innovate." Unless a middle ground is found, the ranks of the 7 million uninsured in California will rise.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=45652005-06-10 16:32:00 PDTOp-Ed Commentary by Jamie CourtInsurance After years of running insurance giant AIG, Maurice Greenberg has tendered his resignation from the board. Greenberg and AIG's former CFO were accused of up fluffing the books. But consumer activist and commentator Jamie Court says, "isn't that just business as usual?" http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/insurance/co/?postId=45442005-06-09 17:41:49 PDTDavid Brown - Host/ Jamie Court - CommentatorInsurance Refineries clean up, by restricting supply; The recent jump at the pump is not being caused by a shortage of crude oil, but by too few refineries to process that crude into gasoline. In California - where five refiners control 90 percent of the state's gasoline supply - the artificial shortages that result when oil companies shrink refining capacity are particularly profound.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/energy/co/?postId=44412005-05-15 16:14:00 PDTJamie CourtEnergy If the City Council does the right thing, Los Angeles will be on its way to becoming the only city in the country that negotiates price breaks from drug companies on behalf of its residents. NassauCounty, New York has such a plan and, with roughly a third of LA's population, its residents are already saving 20 percent.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=43822005-05-04 16:22:00 PDTJamie Court - CommentaryHealthcare Coming soon to the Senate floor, the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005. Consumer advocate and commentator Jamie Court says don't let the name fool you.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=43832005-04-28 18:24:00 PDTDavid Brown: Anchor/ Jamie Court: CommentaryCorporate Accountability The East Coast editorial mentality I take issue with is a high-brow view that caters to an elite intelligentsia, as opposed to the more populist Western view that life and news center on real people and everyday concerns.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=50082005-04-24 10:20:00 PDTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability Thinking about buying a car this weekend? Commentator Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, says you might want to consider one unusual factor: whether the automakers' advertising dollars are being used to make the case for more than your purchase. http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=50092005-04-22 10:28:00 PDTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability California's Unfair Competition Law was the strongest consumer protection law of its kind in the United States when Proposition 64 drastically scaled it back this past November.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/advocacy/co/?postId=47302005-04-01 15:35:00 PSTCarmen BalberCitizen Advocacy A Sacramento judge issued a preliminary ruling that allows Governor Schwarzenegger to control a group that is raising unlimited funds to push his ballot measures. Jamie Court, president of the Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights, says Governor Schwarzenegger has turned into a traitor in the war for campaign finance reform.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/advocacy/co/?postId=47232005-03-24 15:22:00 PSTJamie CourtCitizen Advocacy Schwarzenegger clearly believes money is power, and that the cash to market himself and his spin will determine what voters remember, not the positions he takes. For campaign finance reformers, however, this Arnold will be remembered just like another famhttp://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42902005-03-24 00:00:00 PSTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability When a doctor's hospital's or drug company's negligence seriously injures a patient, someone's got to pay the medical bills and living expenses. If it's not the wrongdoer, then it's likely gonna be the America taxpayer through programs like social securihttp://www.consumerwatchdog.org/malpractice/co/?postId=42892005-03-14 00:00:00 PSTJamie CourtMedical Malpractice Schwarzenegger may be accustomed to big-budget Hollywood productions, but taxpayers should not have to pick up the tab for an extra election just so the governor can skirt campaign-finance laws and wage a no-limits ballot fight financed largely by industrhttp://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42882005-03-06 00:00:00 PSTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability If enough California voters sign one of the petitions for the three ballot initiatives that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger began circulating last week, taxpayers could face what amounts to a poll tax of $70 million for the cost of the extra election the governor is planning this fall. The price of this election is too big and the justification is too little.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/advocacy/co/?postId=47242005-03-01 15:25:00 PSTJamie CourtCitizen Advocacy Call it off, governor. What's the rush? By forcing this special election, all you're doing is further cementing your reputation as the man who's putting California government up for sale.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/advocacy/co/?postId=47252005-02-14 15:26:00 PSTJamie CourtCitizen Advocacy Call it off, governor. What's the rush? By forcing this special election, all you're doing is further cementing your reputation as the man who's putting California government up for sale.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42872005-02-14 00:00:00 PSTJamie Court - CommentatorCorporate Accountability The truth is the new economic freedoms the president will promote come at the expense of political freedoms the nation was founded on -- open courts, representation for taxation, and our collective financial security.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42862005-02-01 00:00:00 PSTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability Under state law, it may be cheaper to let children die from malpractice.; The medical insurance establishment and President Bush are holding up MICRA as a model for the nation. But what was uncovered at King/Drew should be a warning: No one was watching out for the public because it wasn't in anyone's financial interest to do shttp://www.consumerwatchdog.org/malpractice/co/?postId=42852004-12-12 00:00:00 PSTJamie CourtMedical Malpractice Schwarzenegger marketed himself in California as the anti-politician. He told voters he's so rich and famous he can't be bought. That label stuck, even though the self-professed Collectinator took in $72,000 per day in campaign cash during his first year.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42842004-11-30 00:00:00 PSTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability In the Next Four years, we'll see Greed Breed. That's the Bush Administration's agenda. And to accomplish it, the top tactic will be to make you terrified of government itself.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42832004-11-10 00:00:00 PSTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability Open up a ballot in the majority of states on November 2nd and you'll find a dizzying array of ballot measures. Florida voters will choose whether to cap attorneys fees and vote on a three strikes measure for doctors who commit malpractice. In Nevada, they'll consider limits on malpractice damages and whether to regulate insurance premiums. Commentator and consumer activist Jamie Court is a veteran of ballot initiative wars.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/advocacy/co/?postId=47262004-10-21 15:28:00 PDTJamie CourtCitizen Advocacy Prop 64 is funded by $13 million from big businesses like Phillip Morris and Exxon. They don't want accountability for pollution and other public health threats. That's what the American Lung Association, Sierra Club, and California's Attorney Generalhttp://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42822004-10-21 00:00:00 PDTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability You don't hear too much about frivolous corporate litigation. That's because big business pays to publicize other things-like ambulance chasers out to bankrupt America.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42812004-09-14 00:00:00 PDTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability The US government is prosecuting a new war on drugs: prescription drugs. The FDA is shutting down storefront pharmacies that import cheap drugs from Canada like they're crack houses.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=42802004-08-31 00:00:00 PDTAnchor: David Brown - Commentator: Jamie CourtHealthcare Lots of folks don't like the way the naming rights game is played - attaching corporate brands to what are commonly thought of as public spaces. But our consumer activist argues at least its more honest than the way the game is played by the political pahttp://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42782004-07-23 00:00:00 PDTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability What right do all government officials have that the taxpayers who pay their salaries don't? After two recent rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court, the answer is the right to sue your health maintenance organization or health insurer for damages.http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/healthcare/co/?postId=42772004-07-15 00:00:00 PDTJamie Court and Frank SmithHealthcare Car dealers routinely force buyers to sign away their Seventh Amendment right to trial in favor of binding arbitration to settle any dispute. California car dealers raised nearly $5 million for ballot initiative Prop 64 this November that seeks to gut thehttp://www.consumerwatchdog.org/corporate/co/?postId=42762004-07-02 00:00:00 PDTJamie CourtCorporate Accountability