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STANDING AGAINST THE BIG BANKS AND WALL STREET—For more than 20 years, Consumer Program Director Ed Mierzwinski has helped us stand up against big banks and credit card companies.

An Independent Voice For Consumers

RIPIRG is a consumer group that stands up to powerful interests whenever they threaten our health and safety, our financial security or our right to fully participate in our democratic society.

For decades, we’ve stood up for consumers, countering the influence of big banks, insurers, chemical manufacturers and other powerful special interests.

Our team of researchers uncovers the facts; our staff bring our findings to the public, through the media as well as one-on-one interactions; and our advocates bring the voice of the public to the halls of power on behalf of consumers.

When consumers are cheated or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, RIPIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and wellbeing and fight to end them, using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation. RIPIRG’s mission is to deliver persistent, result-oriented public interest activism that protects consumers, encourages a fair, sustainable economy, and fosters responsive, democratic government.

Our Top Priorities

 

Using the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation, RIPIRG stands up to powerful interests and delivers concrete results. 


 

STANDING UP FOR THE PUBLIC ON HEALTH CARE

As our leaders put the health care reform law into practice, we’re working to promote a more competitive health insurance marketplace that lowers costs for consumers. >LEARN MORE
 

 

PUTTING PUBLIC HEALTH AHEAD OF BIG AG

One in three school-age kids are overweight, yet our government is wasting $16 billion each year on subsidies for sugar-laden, high-fat foods. RIPIRG is calling for an end to subsidies for junk. >LEARN MORE
 

 

CLOSE CORPORATE TAX LOOPHOLES

Corporate tax dodgers cost taxpayers Rhode Islanders $470 million last year. That’s why RIPIRG is working to close the loopholes that allow ExxonMobil, Bank of America and others to avoid paying their taxes. >LEARN MORE
 


 

RIPIRG Staff — A Partial List

 

RIPIRG is an advocate for the public interest. When consumers are cheated, or the voices of ordinary citizens are drowned out by special interest lobbyists, RIPIRG speaks up and takes action. We uncover threats to public health and well-being and fight for the public interest.


 

ALLISON CAIRO

Deputy Director

(312) 291-0349 ext. 303

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

ED MIERZWINSKI

Federal Consumer Program Director

(202) 546-9707 x314

>CONTACT
>BIO
 

 

GARY KALMAN

Federal Legislative Office Director

(202) 546-9707 x311

>CONTACT
>BIO
 


 

 

Funded By Our Citizen Members

 

Thousands of RIPIRG members and supporters fund our staff so we can counter the influence of lobbyists for the banks, insurance companies and other powerful special interests. To win, we conduct research, educate the public and advocate in the public interest before key decision-makers.

RIPIRG And The Federation Of State Public Interest Research Groups

 

RIPIRG is an independent, state-based, citizen-funded organization that advocates for the public interest and is a member of U.S. PIRG, the federation of state Public Interest Research Groups.

 

Since 1970, state PIRGs have delivered results-oriented citizen activism, stood up to powerful special interests, and used the time-tested tools of investigative research, media exposés, grassroots organizing, advocacy and litigation to win real results on issues that matter.

 

Across the country, state PIRGs employ close to 400 organizers, policy analysts, scientists and attorneys, and are active in 47 states, with a federal lobby office in Washington, D.C. On national issues that impact Rhode Islanders, we also coordinate our efforts, pool resources, and share expertise so that we can have the biggest impact — here in Rhode Island and for the country at large.

 

What's New

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.

> Keep Reading
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).

> Keep Reading
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.

> Keep Reading
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.

> Keep Reading
Report | RIPIRG | Budget, Tax

Picking Up the Tab

Some U.S.-based multinational firms or individuals avoid paying U.S. taxes by transferring their earnings to tax haven countries with minimal or no taxes. These tax haven users benefit from their access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security; but they pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system and forcing other taxpayers to pick up the tab.

> Keep Reading

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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.

> Keep Reading
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).

> Keep Reading
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.

> Keep Reading
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.

> Keep Reading
News Release | RIPIRG Education Fund | Transportation

New Report: Long-Term Drop in How Much People Drive, Youth Desire More Transportation Options

A new report released today by RIPIRG, authored by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and the Frontier Group, demonstrates that Americans have been driving less since the middle of last decade. The report, Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People are Driving Less and What it Means for Transportation Policy, shows that young people in particular are decreasing the amount they drive and increasing their use of transportation alternatives.

> Keep Reading

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Result | Consumer Protection

KIDS’ SCHOOL LUNCHES NOW SAFER

For years, America’s schoolchildren have been eating beef, chicken and other foods that would have been rejected as substandard even by fast food chains. Thanks in part to our advocacy, the U.S.D.A. has stopped buying such low-quality meat for school lunches.

> Keep Reading
Result | Health Care

Young People Now Covered

This year, the federal health care reforms that RIPIRG worked to win have started to pay off for young people. In the past, teens saw their premiums soar or were denied coverage when they turned 19, even if they’d been insured their whole lives. Now, they can remain on their parents’ plans until age 26. 

> Keep Reading
Report | RIPIRG | Budget, Tax

Picking Up the Tab

Some U.S.-based multinational firms or individuals avoid paying U.S. taxes by transferring their earnings to tax haven countries with minimal or no taxes. These tax haven users benefit from their access to America’s markets, workforce, infrastructure and security; but they pay little or nothing for it—violating the basic fairness of the tax system and forcing other taxpayers to pick up the tab.

> Keep Reading
Report | Frontier Group & U.S. PIRG Education Fund | Transportation

Transportation and the New Generation

From World War II until just a few years ago, the number of miles driven annually on America’s roads steadily increased. Then, at the turn of the century, something changed: Americans began driving less. By 2011, the average American was driving 6 percent fewer miles per year than in 2004. 

> Keep Reading
Report | RIPIRG | 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.

> Keep Reading
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.

> Keep Reading
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.

> Keep Reading

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Blog Post | Transportation

Private High-Speed Rail: A Dangerous Fantasy | Phineas Baxandall

The politics of high-speed rail can be bizarre. Few people actually oppose connecting our cities with fast intercity trains. Most of the industrialized world has already shown that the idea is popular and works well. The politicians that do the most to prevent high-speed rail generally claim to be fans of bullet trains who just want the task to be left to the private sector.

> Keep Reading
Blog Post | Safe Energy

Maine Approves Historic Law To Reduce Oil Use (Really!) | Phineas Baxandall

The politics of Maine's leadership has shifted dramatically in the past few years. The new Tea Party Governor and Republican-dominated legislature have made waves rolling back energy-efficiency rules, making it easier for insurance companies to raise premiums, and making it harder to register to vote. But just in time for Independence Day, Maine has passed legislation putting the state at the cutting-edge for reducing America's unhealthy dependence on oil. This important tool can reduce global-warming pollution and encourage more efficient alternatives to driving.

> Keep Reading

Tools & Resources

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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Consumer Alerts

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Your donation supports RIPIRG's work to stand up for consumers on the issues that matter, especially when powerful interests are blocking progress.

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