The NSA scandal: balancing safety and liberty – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
On June 6, Edward Snowden leaked classified information about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) collection of massive amounts of data over the last decade. First came the revelation that the secretive agency demanded that telecom providers hand over droves of phone conversation metadata, including the telephone numbers of those making and receiving calls and how long those calls lasted. Later we learned that the NSA also requested online data collected from Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and others. Some have called Snowden a hero, others a traitor.

The U.S. government has charged Snowden with espionage. Snowden, a 29-year-old high school drop-out (he later earned his GED), had been hired by an outsourced government contractor and working with sensitive NSA data since 2009. His release of the classified information has not only raised serious questions about the legality of such data collection and what this means for people living in a free, democratic society such as ours, but also has muddled international relations with China and Russia, both countries in which he has appeared since fleeing. Neither Russia nor Hong Kong were willing  to extradite  him  to the US. Much of the media’s focus over the last few weeks has revolved around Snowden’s whereabouts, but these revelations about NSA’s actions have also started a more sobering discussion about what role the government plays in both protecting the American people from terrorist attacks and preserving civil liberties. Polls taken since the disclosure of NSA’s policies show Americans are divided on this issue.

A PEW poll reported that 56 percent of Americans think the NSA’s tracking of “millions of Americans” phone records is an acceptable way for the government to investigate terrorism. Conversely, in a CBS poll that asked about collecting phone records of “ordinary Americans” only 38 percent of respondents found the practice acceptable. Due to the lack of transparency in the NSA program, Americans are unclear how useful such data collection is to ensuring our safety and security. Both the Obama Administration and Gen. Keith B. Alexander, head of the NSA, claim the programs have thwarted dozens, perhaps as many as 50, terror plots. This number might prove more persuasive if the agency would reveal more details about these terrorist activities, but they’ve instead played the “trust us, we’re here to protect you” card and are reluctant to disclose information about the actual plots or the tools used to stop those plots. That leaves many Americans skeptical about the validity of such statements. Could these terrorist attacks have been stopped by other means? Were these terrorist attacks stopped by other means?

One strategy that both protects security but seeks to preserve our privacy and freedom of association is being pursued by a handful of US Senators. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has introduced the FISA Accountability and Privacy Protection Act of 2013. This bipartisan bill aims to bolster existing privacy safeguards and require greater oversight, transparency, and accountability in connection with the government’s expansive domestic surveillance powers. Government plays an important role in all of our lives in acting for the common good; state and local governments were established to do the things communities benefit from: ensure fire and police protection, build and maintain schools, hospitals, water treatment plants and sewer systems. But when our federal government collects billions of pieces of information from the phone records and Internet data of all its citizens with a vague explanation that this is needed for “national security,” that’s a fishing expedition and should raise serious concerns about privacy.

Perhaps most of us don’t feel like we’re living in a police state, but when you stop to think about the ways in which our privacy has been invaded, it’s scary. Many cities, including where I live in Washington DC, have literally hundreds of cameras deployed all across town operating 24/7. GPS tracking devices are ubiquitous. DUI checkpoints are common and the cops can take your blood if they suspect you’ve been drinking, and now, according to the Supreme Court, if you get stopped for a minor infraction your DNA can be loaded into a database. As one USA Today commentator put it, “There must be a balance between legitimate security and overbearing government.” We have indeed seen a steady erosion of privacy since 9/11.

The passage of the Patriot Act was a reaction to the attack on the United States and was just the opening salvo. And what has that gotten us? More protection from terrorists? I’m skeptical. Why did the FBI miss the Boston Marathon bombers when the Russian government warned them about the older Tsarnaev brother, saying he was dangerous? The CIA missed Fort Hood shooter Nidal Hasan’s relationship with terrorist groups. Not to mention that there were many red flags that our intelligence agencies missed before the 9/11 attack, such as young Saudi men living isolated lives but getting flight training, traveling from the United States to Osama Bin Laden’s training camps. In America, there exists a generation of young people who are inured to this loss of liberty, loss of privacy and the difficulty getting these protections back once they’ve been lost. As Benjamin Franklin said “Any people that would give up liberty for a little temporary safety deserves neither liberty nor safety.” Ronald Reagan, 200 years later, echoed the same: “Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.”

The Fair Labor Standards Act turns 75 – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

Since FDR signed the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 great strides have been made in protecting worker’s rights. At that time, the act covered only about one fifth of the labor force. The FLSA banned oppressive child labor, set a minimum hourly wage of 25 cents, and defined a maximum work week of 44 hours. Economists believe that raising the minimum wage could help pull millions Americans out of poverty and could potentially generate over $60 billion in consumer spending. The federal minimum wage has not been increased since 2009, and the tipped minimum wage has not been raised since 1991. The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 proposes to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour. One study found that this increase would push more than half of the working poor out of poverty.

Debate about the farm bill rages on in Congress – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Teresa Green, Linda Golodner Food Safety & Nutrition Fellow For anyone interested in food and agricultural policy, the last month has been an exciting and tense one.  As both the House and the Senate took up long delayed farm bills, many advocates were hopeful that the final bill, which provides a foundation for important farm and nutrition programs, would finally pass after a year’s worth of delays.

Surprisingly, and to the shock of many who have followed its progress closely, the farm bill was voted down in the House.  The bill was defeated, ironically enough, by a group of bipartisan Congressmen. Democrats voted against the bill because of its draconian cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), and some Republicans voted against the bill because they felt the bill did not do enough to curtail spending.  This historic defeat of the farm bill has imparted some important lessons legislators and advocates would do well to heed before once again trying to pass the bill.

  1.  While it’s called the farm bill, SNAP is key.  Despite its name, somewhere around 76% of farm bill spending goes to nutrition programs.  It is this coupling that has for many years enabled the passage of expensive farm programs and continued funding of safety net programs which are unpopular with many Republicans.  As we’ve written before, there are many myths floating around about SNAP, and they serve to fuel strong and often heated debate.  Several amendments dealing with SNAP were offered during the floor debate on the bill, including mandatory drug testing and work requirements.  These amendments are largely credited with losing the necessary Democratic votes.
  2. Bipartisanship is integral to passing the farm bill.  Given that some Republicans feel that the farm bill should face even more drastic cuts than those proposed, the Republican leadership was counting on a handful of Democratic votes to help push the vote through.  Without these votes, it may prove impossible to get a farm bill passed.  This emphasizes the importance of reaching across the aisle when trying to get through “must pass” legislation, lessons we can only hope the leadership will take in mind while working on immigration reform and next year’s budget.
  3. Kicking the can down the road doesn’t always work.  When the farm bill came was about to expire last year in the midst of an election, House leadership refused to bring the bill to the floor.  Instead, they extended the old bill for one year, seemingly confident that the legislation could be passed after the election.  Last week’s vote proves that this was not the case.  The leadership will now have to come up with a new and innovative strategy to get the farm bill passed, a tricky prospect given the strong opinions on both sides of the issue.

While the vote surprised House leadership as well as those working on the farm bill, in the current climate, it was not entirely unforeseeable.  If recent action in Congress has taught us anything, it is that we can hardly predict what action that body will take.  For advocates, this should be an encouragement to pursue issues that may seem unlikely to pass.  And this unexpected vote gives us another chance to make sure important safety net programs like SNAP are fully funded, an opportunity we should not let go to waste.

Store your medicine up and away and out of sight – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Nikola Sirovica, Communications Intern

Nikola Sirovica is a recent graduate of McGill University with a double major in Political Science and History. He is interested in the growth of social media and how the abundance of information influences the way individuals operate in a market economy. In his spare time he enjoys playing basketball, reading up on Eastern European history, and writing.  

Medications bear a striking resemblance to candy. And while most adults can easily distinguish between an Advil and a Jelly Bean, young children probably cannot. This makes it vitally important to know exactly where you store your medication. Over 60,000 young children end up in the emergency room each year because they accidentally swallow their parent’s medicine thinking it is candy. Never tell your child that medicine is candy to get them to take it.  Improper storage of medicine can lead to fatal accidents. Don’t let this happen to your child; make sure your home and medicine cabinet are childproof and safe. Here are some guidelines on how to keep your kids safe from your meds:

  1. Keep medicine and vitamins in an area out of reach and out of sight. This can include the top shelf to a closet, a high cabinet, or above the fridge. Make sure the area is cool and dry. If you have a medicine cabinet, invest in a lock so that kids can’t open the door without a password.
  2. Keep your medicine in their original containers. Not only is there important information such as dosage instructions, expiration dates, and disposal methods, medical containers typically have child resistant casing and safety caps. Should your child accidently ingest the wrong medicine, the information on the bottle can help emergency personnel assess the risk and danger your child is in.
  3. Memorize the poison control hotline 1-800-222-1222. Keep it in your phone in your emergency contact list and don’t hesitate to contact the number if you think your child has consumed the wrong medicine.

Travelling can be an even bigger issue. When staying in a hotel keep your meds in the safe. Even when you’re visiting your relative’s house inquire about where they keep their medicine and make sure your friends keep them in a place safely tucked away from your children. Always remember that children are curious creatures, and a brightly colored pill bears a striking resemblance to brightly colored candy. Don’t let them get their hands on those meds without your supervision.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is encouraging consumers to share pictures of where they put their meds to make sure they are up and away and out of sight of children. If you think you have a good spot to keep your medicine share it online, and submit a picture of your safe medicine storage place. Safety should be everyone’s top priority, especially when it involves your children and your medication.

Meet the top ten scams – #2 Internet merchandise sales scams – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

This is part two of our 10-part series taking a closer look at the top scams of 2012. The number two scam reported to NCL’s Fraud Center in 2012 was Internet merchandise sales scams. To see an overview of our complete report on the top scams of the year, visit our Web site at nclnet.org.

The second most common type of scam reported to the National Consumers League this year were general merchandise sales – online sales in which purchased goods are misrepresented or are never delivered. These scams come in many different forms. One of the most commonly-reported types of Internet merchandise scams involved fake pharmaceuticals, such as diet pills and male-enhancement pills. Other popular variations on this scam involve fraudsters creating realistic-looking e-commerce sites advertising discounts on high-dollar merchandise such as jewelry or electronics. While these scams are difficult to stop, consumers should take some of the following precautions to avoid this theft:

  • Obtain a physical addresses and a phone number for the company or person you are buying from. Call the number to ensure it is legitimate.
  • Be skeptical of extremely low prices compared to other sites selling similar goods.
  • Pay with credit cards when buying something online since fraudulent purchases can be disputed with your card issuer. Remember to promptly report suspicious activity on your credit card bill since there is a limited window of time to dispute a charge.
  • Do not give out sensitive information such as a Social Security number or a debit card a PIN number when purchasing merchandise online.
  • Keep records of sales by printing out receipts or saving them on your computer.

For more information on general merchandise sales scams, visit Fraud.org.

Meet NCL’s public policy summer interns – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

Sam Hamer – Yale University, ‘14 I am a senior at Yale University majoring in History. When not playing on the Yale Club Baseball team, I devote much of my time outside of the classroom to organizing a student-run clinic that prepares income tax returns for low-income individuals in New Haven. I am also a Yale Urban Fellow, part of a cohort of students interested in issues of poverty and urban development. From September – December 2012, I served as a White House Intern in the Office of Public Engagement. I’m originally from Chicago and am an avid White Sox fan. I come to NCL this summer via a partnership with the Google Policy Fellowship, a program that matches students interested in technology policy with leading nonprofit organizations in that field. I have a passion for social justice and I’m eager to learn how NCL is leading the charge to support consumers in the realm of telecommunications and technology policy. To that end, I will be spending my time abetting NCL’s efforts to stem phone bill cramming, expand access to telecommunications services for low-income consumers, and combat ID theft and fraud. With an eye toward a career in public service, I am excited to immerse myself in an organization that champions progressive causes. In addition to getting my feet wet in consumer advocacy work, I am looking forward to taking full advantage of the summer intern Mecca that is Washington, DC. 

Robert “RJ” Smith – Indiana University of Pennsylvania ‘14 Originally, I am from a town right outside of Philadelphia, called Pottstown. I am a senior at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, or IUP for short. At IUP, I am pursuing a double major in both International Studies and History as well as a minor in Economics. Being a History major, I was immediately drawn the NCL because the historic legislation and importance the League has played since its founding in 1899. During my American History Studies I developed a fascination with the early 1900’s and the Progressive Era. The fact that I am now working with an organization that was and continues to be so influential in passing legislation that helps and protects the average American, is a dream come true. During my internship at NCL, besides developing an understanding of the internal workings of a non-profit organization and Washington policy making, I am looking forward to representing and protecting consumers. There are many public policy issues that I feel strongly about and would love to work on, but if I had to pick one, it would be workers’ rights, not only in the United States, but also in the factories used by American-run companies around the globe. I am passionate about this topic because I am a firm believer that the relationship between a company and its employees should be mutually beneficial.

 

 Heather Yoon – Brandeis ‘15 I am a rising junior at Brandeis University majoring in International & Global Studies and Politics with minors in Legal Studies, Women & Gender Studies, and East Asian Studies. I love to travel and dream of visiting Africa, Dubai, and Egypt in the near future. Service has been at the heart of many of my previous travels abroad. After the devastating earthquake broke out in Haiti, I spent two summers there and in the Dominican Republic implementing the “Relief for Haiti Project.” Through this effort, my team members and I provided victims with medical aid, emotional support, and basic necessities. My growing concern for poverty, human rights, and gendered violence inspired me to join the National Consumers League this summer as a public policy intern to address international consumer and worker issues to a wider audience. During the past three years, I had the honor of interning for Mayor Steven Choi in Irvine, California. Shadowing Mayor Choi’s position helped me to adopt a very important philosophy for serving the community – “Listen, Learn, Respond.” With this philosophy, I will effectively help represent and respond to public interests and concerns of constituents on a daily basis at the League. I admire the League’s commitment to assisting consumers and workers on issues of fair labor standards. I am excited to be part of the team that continues to engage with a wide community of leaders and influencers. My goal is to use my international experiences and leadership skills to learn how to accentuate the rights of consumers and workers using public policies relating to consumer fraud.

Tread cautiously before investing in a college degree – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Zoe Stahl, Food and Labor Policy Intern
As a college student, I have acutely felt the rising cost of tuition and the anxiety inherent in a rapidly changing job market. Like many others, I have begun to question the value of a college degree, but a recent study by the Department of Labor (DOL) left me feeling reassured in my decision.

In April, the unemployment rate for college graduates was 3.9 percent, while the rest of the workforce experienced a 7.5 percent unemployment rate.  In November 2010, when the unemployment rate for college graduates was at its highest during this economic downturn, it was at just 5.1 percent—a figure near to the jobless rate of high school graduates when the economy is healthy. However, not all college attendees or graduates enjoy these benefits. Students who enroll in for-profit colleges such as The University of Phoenix, Kaplan Colleges, National American University, and Alta Colleges, do not guarantee a higher quality of life for themselves. For-profit colleges often charge prices just as high as their non-profit counterpart, however, their attendees and graduates—often lower-income, military, and minority students—do not enjoy the same success. They often are unable to secure jobs and, as a result, default on their loans. Luckily, there are available and accessible resources to help students make more informed decisions about where to attend college—making sure we get as much bang for our buck. Some available resources are the Department of Education’s College Scorecard, which provides graduation rates, average tuition and default rates for American colleges and universities. Another tool is Accredited Online Schools & Colleges, an online database of accredited colleges. Using the website will help you find credible schools that provide an education that will serve you well in the marketplace.  These resources will help make you a more informed consumer and ensure paying for a college degree is a smart investment!

The 50th anniversary of the Equal Pay Act is a reminder that there is more work to be done – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Michell K. McIntyre, Director of NCL’s Special Project on Wage Theft “When women enter the labor force they will find equality in their pay envelopes,” declared President John F. Kennedy as he signed the Equal Pay Act into law on June 10th, 1963. Today marks the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy signing the Equal Pay Act, making equal pay for equal work the law of the land. In 1963, women were paid just 56 cents for every dollar men made. While times have changed, the wage gap between men and women remains. Today, women make 77 cents for every dollar a man makes – better but still far from equal. Equal pay is not only a question of equality – it’s a question of morals, economics and family values. The wage gap means less money for the needs of families across the nation – less money for rent, groceries, child care and medical bills. The newly published PEW Research Center study shows that in 40 percent of households with children, mothers are either the sole or primary breadwinners. This type of wage discrimination hurts us all. This practice unfairly targets children in households with single mothers, same-sex couples, and families where both parents work. The pay gap, when calculated over the course of a year, means women receive on average $11,084 less than men performing similar work. That figure is increased among African American women and Hispanic women, who make $19,575 and $23,873 less respectively than a white non-Hispanic male performing the same job. Using these figures, the National Women’s Law Center estimates that women make on average $443,360 less over the course of their careers. That is a huge sum of money when trying to put a child through college, buying healthy groceries for the dinner table, or paying the rent. Despite the passage of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, the first bill signed into law by President Obama in 2009, more work needs to be done to ensure women have the resources and tools they need to confront discrimination and challenge unfair practices in the courts. Current law forces women to jump through too many hoops in order to make claims of gender discrimination. The Paycheck Fairness Act (S. 84 & H.R. 377) would reduce those obstacles and lower those walls in an attempt to finally achieve equal pay for equal work. After 50 years, women are still struggling to find equality in their paychecks, it’s time to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act!

Improving medication adherence for people with HIV – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Rebecca Burkholder, NCL Vice President for Health Policy For the last several days I have been in Miami at the 8th International Conference on HIV Treatment and Prevention Adherence.  The conference hosts over 400 delegates from more than 30 countries, who work directly providing care to HIV patients or on HIV research.  The conference provides a forum where state of the art science and adherence research for treating HIV are presented, discussed, and translated into evidence-based approaches. While there has been remarkable progress in HIV medicine over the last several years, allowing us to imagine an end to the HIV pandemic, this is tempered by the real world challenges around adherence and prevention.  The keynote speaker, Dr. Badara Samb, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, made a call to action to treat 15 million with HIV by 2015.  Globally, 34 million people are living with HIV. He noted that there are still barriers to care – millions do not have access to treatment, and millions of others who are HIV positive don’t know it yet since they have not been screened. Many people who do know their status, are not getting treatment due to stigma associated with being HIV positive. General sessions and research presentations focused on various aspects of adherence.  Dr. Ira Wilson, Brown University, moderated an interactive panel of HIV health care providers about how to talk to patients about adherence. The discussion included the following tips:  ask patients open-ended questions about adherence, be non-judgmental, don’t make assumptions about a patient’s ability to understand instructions and information, and ask questions about a patient’s life in order to learn about medication-taking behavior. I was invited to give a workshop on NCL’s Script Your Future campaign to raise awareness of the importance of adherence.  While the campaign currently focuses on three chronic condition areas – respiratory, diabetes, and cardiovascular – there was interest in expanding our campaign to include HIV, since many of those with HIV suffer from other chronic conditions as well. The research and clinical work showcased at the conference, along with the clear dedication and commitment of these health care professionals, is key to the ongoing treatment and prevention of HIV.  

Will repackaging medicine prevent suicides? – National Consumers League

/in imported/by

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director
This week Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wrote a persuasive column in the New York Times laying out a strategy for reducing suicides. He suggests that by simply changing the way we package medication, as Britain has done, we could sharply reduce the number of people who take fatal doses of medicine. Emanuel, the brother of the Mayor of Chicago and a physician who comments frequently on health policy, notes that every year one million people attempt suicide, more than 38,000 succeed.

It turns out that suicides and poisonings from medication have been steadily climbing since 1999. He says that “a good way to kill yourself is by overdosing on Tylenol and other pills”.  Emanuel argues that if we make it hard to buy pills in bottles of 50 or 100 capsules that can easily be dumped out and swallowed, we can prevent many deaths. If pills were packaged in blister packs of 16 to 25, anyone who wanted to use them to commit suicide would have to work really hard. The fact is that suicides occur all too often when a person is at a particularly low moment. Research shows that if the opportunity to take pills – or use a firearm – is effectively diminished – often the moment passes and the person lives. Emanuel cites very persuasive data from Britain. In 1998, Britain changed packaging for the active ingredient in Tylenol, acetaminophen, requiring blister packaging of 16 pills when sold over the counter in places like convenience stores and for packages of 32 pills in pharmacies.  The result, published in an Oxford University study, showed that over 11 years or so, suicide from Tylenol overdoses declined by 43%. Accidental poisonings declined as well. The number of liver transplants attributable to Tylenol toxicity went down significantly. In fact, in 2011 the makers of Tylenol added protective flow restrictors and dosing syringes to all liquid infant and children’s medicines, to prevent accidental overdose.  There is already a precedent here in the US to modify packaging to prevent adverse events; this isn’t a new concept for industry. Not only can repackaging acetaminophen-containing products reduce incidence of suicide caused by overdosing, but it will also prevent accidental poisoning of children. Manufacturers should work with the FDA to learn from Britain’s example and continue to improve packaging. With a change in packaging, which comes with a cost to manufacturers of course but could be carried out over time, we could potentially save thousands of lives.