Paper on the Oldest Financial Institution

Paige Marta Skiba of Vanderbilt, Marieke Bos of Stockholm University – Swedish Institute for Social Research and Susan Carter of the United States Military Academy have written The Pawn Industry and Its Customers: The United States and Europe.  Here's the abstract: As humankind’s oldest financial institution, pawnbroking has served the financial needs of low-income families […]

Minnesota BC/BS’s Anti-Obesity Campaign

Sarah Kliff has penned this story about a controversial anti-obesity campaign run by Minnesota Blue Cross/Blue Shield. It includes this ad and this ad,both embedded below, about families that cannot stop eating, even though the parents appear to realize that the family culture that they are bestowing on their kids may be deadly.     […]

District Court in Kansas Rejects Class-Action Cy Pres Because It Doesn’t Identify Recipients

In this decision issued on September 28, 2012, U.S. district judge Kathryn Vratil gave preliminary approval to most aspects of a complex class-action settlement but rejected a settlement provision that would have granted leftover settlement funds to unnamed governments or charities. By refusing to name the potential cy pres recipients, the court held, there was no […]

The Effect of Regulation on Jobs

The consumer advocacy community often favors regulations aimed at protecting consumer and worker health and safety and establishing employment rights. Business interests–and the politicians that support those interests–are constantly telling us that regulations–all regulations–are "job killers." But where's the evidence? A conference held yesterday and today at Penn Law School addresses the question of the […]

Will California Require Labeling of Genetically Engineered Foods?

This article by Marc Lifsher explains: By more than a 2-to-1 margin, California voters favor an initiative to require food manufacturers and retailers to label fresh produce and processed foods that contain genetically engineered ingredients. With less than six weeks until election day, Proposition 37 is supported by 61% of registered voters and opposed by […]

A Bit More on Mandatory Arbitration of Claims for Injunctive Relief

On Monday, Allison posted about the 9th Circuit's grant of rehearing en banc in Kilgore v. Key Bank. The question is whether the Federal Arbitration Act preempts a California-law rule that says that claims for a so-called "public injunction" cannot be forced into arbitration (even if an arbitration agreement's terms puts those claims there). The […]