Today a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, issued a decision in a challenge by the for-profit college lobbying group APSCU to regulations issued by the Obama Administration. The regulations are aimed at combatting well-documented deceptive and misleading recruiting activities by some for for-profit schools, activities that have lured many students into low-quality programs and, eventually,
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Many areas of the country are experiencing a sudden rise in the number of speed and traffic cameras installed near roads. While some cameras have been a welcome development in curbing dangerous driving, many motorists have complained about what they perceive as an effort by authorities to simply extract revenue without community input on such
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Last month, the Chicago Tribune published a series of articles detailing how the makers of flame retardant products distorted science to hide the health dangers of their products and spent big to win over politicians to their cause. As just one example, these chemical companies manufactured fake grassroots groups to send out mailers attacking politicians
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The Philadelphia Inquirer has a great article up which delves into the lobbying cash special interests are using to influence public policy in that city. Big Soda leads the lobbying pack, spending $238,921 in the quarter, six times the amount spent by the next competitor. Interestingly, the article notes that cable giant Comcast spent $32,985 lobbying
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For-profit college companies have been investigated for predatory business practices, providing worthless degrees with high levels of debt, and systematically deceiving tens of thousands of students. Yet these businesses continue to enjoy over $30 billion a year in taxpayer support, thanks to their elaborate use of lobbyists and political consultants. One of the leaders of
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Right now, private organizations insist on charging U.S. citizens hundreds of dollars simply to read a copy of standards they issue, standards that regulate things like gas pipeline safety, crane usage, and toy making — even though citizens are required to obey those standards, because the government has incorporated them into federal regulations.  This adds
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The $35 billion for-profit college industry gets most of its revenue –for many of the big schools, over 90 percent of its revenue — from federal financial aid, a.k.a. your tax dollars. The industry has lobbied hard in recent years to avoid accountability for high-priced, low-quality programs, even after multiple investigations have exposed waste, fraud,
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When lobbyists ask them to jump, lawmakers often ask how high. We’ve documented many examples of how corporate interests manipulate members of Congress like marionette dolls. But a recent letter from Congressman Mike Pompeo (R-KS), signed by 55 of his colleagues, takes the cake. At issue is a pitched lobbying battle between makers of toxic
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