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Blog Post | Health Care

Here’s that Rx refill you didn’t order | Laura Etherton

Is your pharmacy refilling your prescription without your knowledge or approval, and billing your insurance company for the cost?

If so, it’s the latest example of waste we shouldn't tolerate in our health care system.

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Report | RIPIRG Education Fund and Demos | Democracy

Million-Dollar Megaphones

Although each major party presidential candidate will likely break previous fundraising records, the big story of the 2012 election has been the role of Super PACs, nonprofits and outside spending generally. Demos and RIPIRG Education Fund analyzed Federal Election Commission (FEC) data and secondary sources on outside spending and Super PAC fundraising for the first two quarters of the 2012 election cycle.

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News Release | RIPIRG | Budget, Food

Small Farmers and Citizens Speak Out Against Agricultural Subsidies in Farm Bill

Small farmers and ordinary citizens across the country are taking a stand against wasteful agricultural subsidies in the federal Farm Bill. With only a few weeks left before they adjourn for the election, reauthorizing or extending the Farm Bill is one of Congress’s top priorities.

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News Release | RIPIRG | Budget, Food

RIPIRG Builds Statewide Support to Stop Congress from Subsidizing Big Agribusinesses and Unhealthy Foods

The Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group (RIPIRG) spent the summer speaking with thousands of Rhode Islanders about the need to end government subsidies that go toward the production of junk food ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup.  Throughout the state, from Providence to Narragansett and Warwick to Newport, we found support among residents for ending this wasteful use of our tax dollars.

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News Release | RIPIRG Education Fund | Budget, Food

Ag Subsidies Pay for 21 Twinkies per Taxpayer, But Only Half of an Apple Apiece

Federal subsidies for commodity crops are subsidizing junk food additives like high fructose corn syrup, enough to pay for 21 Twinkies per taxpayer every year, according to RIPIRG’s new report, Apples to Twinkies 2012. Meanwhile, limited subsidies for fresh fruits and vegetables would buy one half of an apple per taxpayer.

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News Release | RIPIRG | Tax

Flawed Farm Bill Heads Towards Senate Floor

The Senate is moving to vote on the farm bill, S.3240, that would continue the current system of agricultural subsidies to large, profitable, agribusiness.

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News Release | RIPIRG | Democracy

First-of-its-kind “Refrain From Political Spending” Resolution to Be Voted on at Bank of America Shareholder Meeting

On Wednesday, May 9, shareholders at Bank of America will vote “yea” or “nay” on a first-of-its-kind “refrain from political spending” resolution. Resolutions addressing political spending are among the most popular in the 2012 shareholder season, many dealing with disclosure of such spending. This is the first shareholder season for this groundbreaking resolution which was introduced by socially responsible investment firms Trillium Asset Management at Bank of America and 3M Corporation and by Green Century Capital Management at Target Corporation.

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Media Hit | Tax

Offshore Tax Schemes Cost State $450 Million

State taxpayers are picking up a tab to the tune of $450 million annually to cover the revenue lost from corporations and wealthy individuals hiding their profits overseas, according to a report released last week by the Rhode Island Public Interest Group (RIPIRG).

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Media Hit | Tax

Offshore tax havens cost R.I. residents

PROVIDENCE – Offshore tax havens cost every Rhode Island taxpayer an average of $532 a year and each small business $2,766 per year, according to a report released Thursday by the R.I. Public Interest Research Group.

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News Release | RIPIRG | Budget, Tax

Rhode Island Taxpayers Would Pay $532 to make up for Tax Haven Abuse, Small Businesses $2,766

With tax day approaching, a new study released by RIPIRG found that in 2011, the average Rhode Island taxpayer would have to shoulder an extra $532 tax burden to make up for revenue lost from corporations and wealthy individuals shifting income to offshore tax havens. The report additionally found that to cover the cost of the corporate abuse of tax havens in 2011, small businesses in Rhode Island would have to foot a bill of $2,766 on average.

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Report | RIPIRG Education Fund | Budget

Following the Money 2012

The ability to see how government uses the public purse is fundamental to democracy. Transparency in government spending promotes fiscal responsibility, checks corruption, and bolsters public confidence.

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Report | RIPIRG Education Fund | Democracy

Auctioning Democracy

A new report by RIPIRG Education Fund and Demos shows an analysis of the funding sources for the campaign finance behemoths, Super PACs. The findings confirmed what many have predicted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s damaging Citizens United decision: since their inception in 2010, Super PACs have been primarily funded by a small segment of very wealthy individuals and business interests, with a small but significant amount of funds coming from secret sources.

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Report | RIPIRG and Citizens for Tax Justice | Financial Reform

Representation Without Taxation

Marking the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission case, this report takes a hard look at the lobbying activities of profitable Fortune 500 companies that exploit loopholes and distort the tax code to avoid billions of dollars in taxes.

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Report | RIPIRG | Consumer Protection

Trouble In Toyland: The 26th Annual Survey of Toy Safety

The 2011 Trouble in Toyland report is our 26th annual survey of toy safety. In this report, we provide safety guidelines for consumers when purchasing toys for young children and provide examples of toys currently on store shelves that may pose potential safety hazards.

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Report | RIPIRG | Consumer Protection

Caution: Red Light Cameras Ahead

Local contracting for automated traffic enforcement systems may sometimes be a useful tool for keeping drivers and pedestrians safe. But when private firms and municipalities consider revenues first, and safety second, the public interest is threatened.

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Tools & Resources

  • STOP TAX DODGERS
    Corporate tax avoidance cost Rhode Islanders $470 million last year. RIPIRG is working to close the loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying the taxes they owe.
    Learn more
    Take Action
  • Reclaim Democracy
    The Supreme Court's Citizens United decision ushered in an era of unprecedented spending by big money in our elections, but we're working to return our democracy back to the principle of "one person, one vote."
    Learn more
    Add your voice
  • YOUR TAX DOLLARS BECOME CORN SYRUP
    At a time when one-in-three kids is overweight or obese, over a billion taxpayer dollars go to high-fructose corn syrup and junk food ingredients.
    Learn more
    Take Action

Priority Action

The CUT Loopholes Act would put an end to the price and profit shifting that allows publicly traded companies to engage in pervasive tax avoidance.

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