Big Tobacco has dropped from its ranking at the top of big contributors to federal candidates, but the industry is still spending millions to advance its political agenda in less visible ways. A new report from the Center for Responsive Politics tracks millions going into 527 committees and leadership PACs and notes that the Citizens [...]
Earlier this week, Democracy North Carolina released a report that sharply criticized a proposal jammed inside the state Senate budget to merge and shrink the three agencies that oversee elections, ethics, and lobbying. We’re pleased to report that the proposal, which many others also rebuked, is no longer a part of the Republican budget plan. The Senate [...]
Another report, this one by Citizens for Tax Justice, spotlights mega-corporations that rake in massive profits and pay nothing in federal income taxes – in fact, they get a credit, which means money from you. This is what happens when corporations rig the tax code to their advantage, a product of their investment in bad [...]
Consumers will likely see the cost of small loans go up in North Carolina, thanks to a bill in the NC General Assembly that will hike interest rates and add new fees. According to a detailed report by Democracy North Carolina, the bill is the reward for finance company owners suddenly shifting allegiance and pumping [...]
IMPORTANT UPDATE: We are pleased to confirm that the newest version of the Senate budget DOES NOT include a provision to combine the State Board of Elections, State Ethics Commission and the lobbying regulation division of the Secretary of State’s office as described below. We are hopeful that this bad idea will be permanently shelved [...]
For Release Thursday, May 26, 2011 Contact: Bob Hall, 919-489-1931 Legislation to Increase Charges on Small Loans Follows Surge in Contributions from Consumer Finance Industry A campaign finance watchdog organization is raising questions about whether an unusual pattern of contributions given by donors in the consumer loan business is connected to a bill now moving [...]
The Koch brothers, Art Pope’s Locke Foundation, Americans for Prosperity, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Exxon, BP, Massey Coal and many others understand that if people took global warming seriously as a condition that will kill their children, then government regulation (or just regulating CO2 production) would gain new popularity - and the freedom of [...]
U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-Cherryville) lived up to his reputation as the pit bull for ultra-conservatives during a Congressional hearing yesterday. He went after Elizabeth Warren, acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ending up basically calling her a liar, which set her back in her chair, aghast. McHenry’s animosity to consumer finance protection [...]
Donna Clark gives a first-person account of what it means to be without health insurance in North Carolina. She expresses the hope of millions for a better system - and the outrage of seeing insurance companies overtake and rig the new system against her. She recognizes the unethical behavior of NC legislators colluding with the [...]
Where do the conservatives and right-wingers in the General Assembly get their worst ideas for legislation? Some of the nutty ideas come from their own heads and a fair number from right-wing outfits inside North Carolina, like Art Pope’s Civitas Institute and John Locke Foundation. But many of them come from the American Legislative Exchange [...]