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Report | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Following the Money 2012

This report is U.S. PIRG Education Fund’s third annual ranking of states’ progress toward “Transparency 2.0”—a new standard of comprehensive, one-stop, one-click budget accountability and accessibility. The past year has seen continued progress, with new states providing online access to government spending information and several states pioneering new tools to further expand citizens’ access to spending information and engagement with government. In 2011, eight states created new transparency websites and several others made significant improvements to sites already launched.

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Report | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland

The 2011 Trouble in Toyland report is our 26th annual survey of toy safety. In this report, we provide safety guidelines for consumers when purchasing toys for young children and provide examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

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News Release | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Annual Survey Finds Toxic or Dangerous Toys on Store Shelves

Dangerous or toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, according to the Florida Public Interest Research Group’s 26th annual Trouble in Toyland report. The report, released this morning, reveals the results of laboratory testing on toys for lead and phthalates, both of which have been proven to have serious adverse health impacts on the development of young children.  The survey also found toys that pose either choking or noise hazards.

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Report | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Budget

Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead

Privatized traffic law enforcement systems are spreading rapidly across the United States. As many as 700 local jurisdictions have entered into deals with for-profit companies to install camera systems at intersections and along roadways to encourage drivers to obey traffic signals and follow speed limits. Local contracting for automated traffic enforcement systems may sometimes be a useful tool for keeping drivers and pedestrians safe. But when private firms and municipalities consider revenues first, and safety second, the public interest is threatened.

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News Release | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Budget

New Report Outlines Problems with Red-Light and Speed Cameras

A new research report released today outlines problems with the growing trend among cities to outsource traffic enforcement to red-light and speed camera vendors.

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News Release | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland: Florida PIRG Offers Tips and Interactive Tools to Help Consumers Shop Safely

Dangerous and toxic toys can still be found on America’s store shelves, Florida Public Interest Research Group announced today in its 25th annual Trouble in Toyland report.

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News Release | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

New Report: High-Speed Rail Around the World and Its Promise for Florida

Today Florida PIRG released a major new report, A Track Record of Success: High-Speed Rail Around the World and Its Promise for America.

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News Release | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

High Speed Rail is on "The Right Track"

The Obama administration’s recent decision to award $1.25 billion in high speed rail funds to Florida is the first step towards a stronger, faster rail system that will reduce congestion, oil use, and carbon emissions, but there is much still to be done.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Financial Reform

10 Reasons We Need The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Now

This report outlines predatory financial practices that hurt consumers and helped collapse the economy, costing us eight million jobs, millions of foreclosed homes and trillions of dollars in lost home and retirement values. It explains these and other emerging problems as “10 Reasons We Need The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Now.” In response to the problems caused by those predatory practices, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 included a major reform demanded by the public: it established the landmark Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

High-Speed Rail: Public Private or Both?

Private sector companies are likely to play a major role in the construction of high-speed rail lines in the United States. Public-private partnerships – or “PPPs” – have come to play an important role in the construction of high-speed rail lines around the world.

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Report | Florida PIRG Education Fund | Financial Reform

The Tax Shell Game

Tax havens are countries with minimal or no taxes, to which U.S.-based multinational firms or individuals transfer their earnings to avoid paying taxes in the United States. Users of tax havens benefit from access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security, but pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system.

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Report | Consumer Protection

Big Banks, Bigger Fees

Since Congress largely deregulated consumer deposit (checking and savings) accounts beginning in the early 1980s, the PIRGs have tracked bank deposit account fee changes and documented the banks’ long-term strategy to raise fees, invent new fees and make it harder to avoid fees. 

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Report | U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Safe Energy

Unacceptable Risk

American nuclear power plants are not immune to the types of natural disasters, mechanical failures, human errors, and losses of critical electric power supplies that have characterized major nuclear accidents such as the one at Fukushima Daiichi power plant in Japan. Indeed, at several points over the last 20 years, American nuclear power plants have experienced “close calls” that could have led to damage to the reactor core and the subsequent release of large amounts of radiation.

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  • Apples To Twinkies
    Find out how government subsidies disproportionately benefit junk food over fresh fruit and vegetables.
    Get the report
  • Wall Street Reform
    Find out how Wall Street Reform protects consumers and the economy.
    Learn More
  • PROTECT YOURSELF
    We've created consumer tips to help protect you from unfair bank fees, identity theft, loan rip-offs and more.
    Get The Tips

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