Draft GPUS Platform Amendment Consumer Protection

DRAFT AMENDMENT FOR THE 2010 PLATFORM OF THE GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES

CHAPTER 2: SOCIAL JUSTICE

Section title: Consumer Protection

Our position: Greens support strong protections against corporate greed, usury, rip-offs, fraud and dangerous products.

Greens believe that prevention and justice are at the heart of consumer protection. Millions of lives will be saved or lost depending on the strength of our consumer protection laws. We aim to stop corporations from defrauding consumers or endangering them with shoddy products, just to increase profits. We stand with consumers who have been injured or defrauded by corporations, and support their efforts to redress the wrongs done to them.

GREEN SOLUTIONS

  1. Prohibit lenders and credit card companies from charging more than 12% annual interest above inflation, along with broad protections against unwarranted fees and other abusive terms.

  2. Strengthen safety standards and enforcement for a variety of products, including food, motor vehicles, pharmaceuticals and airplanes.

  3. Grant consumers the right to limit collection and secondary use of personal information by any commercial entity.

  4. Prohibit price-gouging against women and the poor.

  5. Establish new independent consumer advocacy agencies to protect the interests of consumers, and restore the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs.
      
  6. Prohibit corporations from concealing information about public health, labor conditions or environmental safety via protective orders or confidential settlements.

  7. Grant consumers a legal right to be informed about the origin and ingredients of a product, including what is recycled; what is organic and what is natural.

  8. Expand class action rights against manufacturers of unsafe products and practices.

  9. New laws to protect whistleblowers against demotion, job-loss and other forms of retaliation. Whistleblowers are one of the public’s best protection against fraud, misuse and waste.

 10. States should oppose "tort reform", strengthen their civil justice systems, and supply the resources necessary to bring to justice those corporations that injure innocent consumers.

 11. Ban the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer contracts.

 12. Restore state health, safety, and consumer protection laws by striking federal preemptions that weaken state law.

 13. Restore bankruptcy as the final safety net for consumers caught by health crises, unaffordable mortgages, credit card debts and student loans.

 14. Encourage citizens to form Citizens Utility Boards to advocate for the public interest.

 15. Congress and states should oppose "medical malpractice reform" and ensure that negligent doctors are held accountable for injuring or killing their patients.