Kaldveer, Zack
Zack Kaldveer is the Communications Director for the Consumer Federation of California
CFC's November Ballot Recs: Corporate Interests vs. The Public Good
By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California
The June defeat of Propositions 16 and 17 was welcomed news for Californians fed up with the use of the initiative process to advance narrow corporate interests. The lavish spending by PG&E ($46 million on Prop 16) and Mercury Insurance ($17 million on Prop 17) to increase their bottom lines at the public's expense only confirmed voters’ suspicions that greed was the real motivating factor behind those measures. Despite PG&E outspending opponents 575 to 1, and Mercury Insurance its opposition 12 to 1, a slim majority of voters saw through the pitch these snake oil salesmen were making, rejecting each by a margin of 4 to 5 points.
Unfortunately for California, June's election results have not served as the deterrent some may have hoped. November brings a new crop of initiatives bankrolled by some of our nation's most notorious polluters and corporate bad actors. Similarly, initiatives placed on the ballot to benefit the public will face the typical wall of opposition from big business interests willing to spend tens of millions of dollars on slick and deceptive campaigns with a singular purpose: mislead the voters.
Prop 15: Step One in Breaking Big Money’s Strangle Hold on California Elections
By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California
Our state's broken campaign-finance system forces lawmakers to spend too much time begging for money from big contributors seeking favors and not enough time focusing on solving problems and representing their constituents.
Nearly $400 million was spent by candidates in California in the 2006 election – and over $1 billion since 2001.
The Consumer Federation of California witnesses first hand how this "pay to play" system undermines the public interest, as one proposed consumer protection law after another is crushed under a ton of corporate special-interest donations.
It’s not hard to understand why. California has among the weakest campaign finance rules of any state in the country.
California’s Great Recession and the Costs of War
By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California
California is on life support. Families are reeling from the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression. The state’s social safety net - and the life sustaining services it provides - is needed now more than ever. But due to massive and ongoing budget deficits, rather than strengthening programs that are in such high demand – from health care to education to assistance to the poor – we are dismantling them.
To adequately and humanely address the economic pain felt by too many Californians and prevent the recession from deepening, new revenues are desperately needed. One proposal that hasn’t received deserved attention, but critical to our long-term economic health, is ending the War in Afghanistan and bringing the troops, and the billions in military funding, home.
Privacy and the Smart Grid
By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California
On March 17 through 19th, the Public Utilities Commission held a series of workshops exploring various issues related to the development of a smart grid for distribution of electricity. My comments as a March 19th panelist on privacy concerns are reprinted below.
"The emerging Smart Grid electricity system will allow utilities to collect and possibly distribute detailed information about household electricity consumption habits - ice makers will operate only when the washing machine isn't, TVs will shut off when viewers leave the room, air conditioner and heater levels will be operated more efficiently based on time of day and climate.
The Politics of Fear and “Whole-Body-Imaging”
By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California
In response to the attempted terror attack on a Northwest flight bound for Detroit the Fear-Industrial-Complex (i.e. Department of Defense, corporate media, talk radio, security technologies industry, Congress, the White House, “the intelligence community”, pundits, weapons/defense contractors, etc.) has kicked into high gear.
"Terror hysteria" has become all the rage again - echoing throughout the corporate media landscape and out of the frothing mouths of politicians desperate to demonstrate just how tough they are (Republicans are literally disgracing themselves, again, and again).
A 2009 Consumer Review and New Laws Going into Effect Today
By Zack Kaldveer
Consumer Federation of California
Every year the Consumer Federation of California monitors dozens of consumer rights related bills - supporting legislation that protects the public interest and opposing corporate attempts to maximize profit at the consumer’s expense. Each year, many of these bills are "killed" in the legislature while many others reach the Governor's desk to either be signed into law or vetoed.
Some of the most important consumer protection laws - which CFC actively supported - going into effect on January 1st, 2010, include:
Privacy Challenges and Implications of an Electric "Smart Grid" System
By Zack Kaldveer
Communications Director, Consumer Federation of California
and author of the blog Privacy Revolt
A critically important debate has emerged regarding the privacy implications and challenges that a transition to a smart grid system for electricity poses and how such concerns can be addressed.
Obama Administration Waffles in “Defense” of California’s Financial Privacy Law
By Zack Kaldveer
Communications Director
Consumer Federation of California
and author of the blog Privacy Revolt
There’s some good and bad news to report regarding the ongoing fight to protect Californians’ financial privacy from banking industry efforts to undermine it.
A few months ago the biggest banks petitioned the Supreme Court to overturn major portions of SB 1 (Speier) - California’s landmark financial privacy law passed in 2003. The Court is currently considering taking up the banks’ appeal of a 2008 decision by the 9th Circuit Court that upheld almost all provisions of the Act. The law gave consumers the right to stop all sharing of personal information within a family of affiliated companies, as long as it is not related to credit worthiness.
On March 9th, the Supreme Court invited the Obama Administration to voice its opinion.
Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights Reintroduced in the House
by Zack Kaldveer,
Communications Director,
Consumer Federation of California
According to Americans for Fairness in Lending, credit card companies collected $115 billion in revenue in 2006, about two-thirds from interest payments, one-fifth from fees paid by merchants who accept the cards, and about 15% from consumer fees. Profits were $18 billion. The industry is dominated by just six companies - Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Capital One, Discover, and American Express - accounting for about 90% of all credit card debt.
Comparing the 2009 California Reforms
by Zack Kaldveer,
Communications Director,
Consumer Federation of California
If you’re confused by the slew of seemingly unrelated ballot measures scheduled to appear before voters in the next two elections - borne from the prolonged budget stalemate that nearly brought our state to its knees - then you’re not alone.
As many Californians are coming to realize, this year’s budget impasse – as so many before it – stemmed from the fact that California is one of only three states that require a two-thirds legislative majority to approve a budget regardless of the depth of the crisis.
As Republicans in the state senate and assembly refused to support any budget that contained revenue increases - state workers were forced to take two unpaid days leave a month, construction projects had been stopped, and state money to pay for social services had dried up.