Category Archives: Uncategorized

Large multinational corporations pay far less in U.S. corporate income tax than they used to

This analysis by Jia Yang explains that large U.S. companies with operations abroad pay far less in U.S. corporate income taxes than they used to. For instance, Yang writes, in 1969, corporate giant Procter and Gamble (based in Cincinnati) paid 40% of its total profits in U.S. corporate income taxes, while today it pays about […]

Is the City of Oakland going to harm poor people with its identification/debit card?

As explained in this article by Matthai Kuruvila, Oakland residents who use the debit function of the city's long-awaited municipal identification card will be charged much more in fees than they would pay if they chose a comparable prepaid card from a store, according to Consumers Union, the advocacy arm of Consumer Reports. The organization, […]

Fourth Circuit opinion limits scope of preemption of consumer remedies

Yesterday's decision from the Fourth Circuit in McCauley v. Home Loan Investment Bank cabins the preemptive scope of the Home Owners' Loan Act and associated regulations to pre-Dodd Frank consumer claims (Dodd-Frank has changed the legal landscape going forward, but the old regulations still govern a number of cases arising out of the Great Recession). […]

A Disability-Rights Critique of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act

Over at Slate, Blake Reid has written "The Digital Millenium Copyright Act Is Even Worse Than You Think," which argues that the DMCA keeps e-books, online video, and other material inaccessible to people with disabilities. Here are some excerpts: The [cell-phone] unlocking furor is just the latest example of popular opposition to the DMCA’s dreaded […]

Yet another loss for access to the courts and for class actions under the Federal Arbitration Act

by Brian Wolfman The Second Circuit issued a decision yesterday enforcing arbitration in a Title VII employment discrimination case. It rejected an argument that requiring arbitration would undermine effective vindication of federal statutory rights.The decision is Parisi v. Goldman Sachs. To simplify a bit, here's what happened: Three plaintiffs brought a putative employment discrimination class […]

“Snake Oil Salesmen or Purveyors of Knowledge: Off-Label Promotions and the Commercial Speech Doctrine”

That's the title of this article by Constance Bagley, Joshua Mitts, and Richard Tinsley. The article deals with concerns about last year's Caronia decision, where the Second Circuit ditched the misdemeanor conviction of a drug company prescription drug representative, saying that his promotion of one of the company's products was protected by the First Amendment. […]

Using the corporate fine print of debit card contracts to zing public-transit riders (and, in turn, to generate non-fare revenue fees for cash-strapped government agencies)

by Theresa Amato (guest post) Reporter Jon Hilkevitch’s March 20 front-page Chicago Tribune story (“CTA’s Ventra debit option rife with fees, Contract’s fine print shows good deal for agency, not users”) describes the multiple unexpected charges awaiting customers in the fine print should they sign up for a prepaid debit card account along with their […]