CONSUMERS "PAYING THE PRICE"
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Full Report Online
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Item Pricing Media Reports
as of 10-04-12
The Craig Fahle Show, WDET 101.9 FM http://wdet.org/shows/craig-fahle-show/episode/podcast-wednesday-october-3-2012/ Sticky Data in Item Pricing ‘Study’ Mackinac Center for Public Policy http://www.mackinac.org/17616 Michigan Retailers Association Reports Item Pricing Reforms Keeping Grocery Prices Down MarketWatch, The Wall Street Journal http://www.marketwatch.com/story/michigan-retailers-association-reports-item-pricing-reforms-keeping-grocery-prices-down-2012-10-02 Study Says Price Tag Law Hurts Consumers Fox 47 News http://www.fox47news.com/news/topstories/172461421.html Study: Prices rose after law's repeal The Detroit News http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20121002/METRO/210020344/Study-Prices-rose-after-law-s-repeal?odyssey=mod|newswell|img|FRONTPAGE|p Study Says Price Tag Law Hurts Consumers WILX Channel 10 http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/Study-Says-Price-Tag-Law-Hurts-Consumers-172374671.html Group: Repeal of Michigan item pricing hurts consumer Ruth to the Rescue - Local 4 TV http://www.clickondetroit.com/money/consumer/Group-Repeal-of-Michigan-item-pricing-hurts-consumer/-/1719076/16831740/-/9yafcoz/-/index.html Jobs lost, retail costs rise after item-pricing law repeal, study says ... Lansing State Journal http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121003/NEWS04/310030031/Jobs-lost-retail-costs-rise-after-item-pricing-law-repeal-study-says?gcheck=1&nclick_check=1 Detroit News: Study finds repealing item pricing law did not ... WMUK Radio http://wmuk.org/news/select/316172/ Report: Consumers pay price for item pricing law WZZM Channel 13 http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/227483/14/Report-Consumers-pay-price-for-item-pricing-law Michigan's Item Pricing Changes Under Attack WTVB AM 1590 FM 95.5 http://wtvbam.com/news/articles/2012/oct/03/michigans-item-pricing-changes-under-attack/ Michigan Daybook Cadillac News http://www.cadillacnews.com/ap_story/?story_id=39711&issue=20121002&ap_cat=2 Several radio websites ran same article: Michigan Citizen Action: Item pricing repeal a failure WKZO AM 590, FM 96.5 http://wkzo.com/news/articles/2012/oct/03/michigan-citizen-action-item-pricing-repeal-a-failure/ WHTC 1450 AM http://whtc.com/news/articles/2012/oct/03/michigan-citizen-action-item-pricing-repeal-a-failure/ 94.1 FM http://941theedge.com/news/articles/2012/oct/03/michigan-citizen-action-item-pricing-repeal-a-failure/ MIRS ARTICLE: Group Puts A Price Tag On Item Pricing When the Legislature took aim at the item pricing law last year, advocates claimed the cost savings of repealing the law would be passed to consumers. A year after its implementation, at least one group is saying that hasn't happened. Michigan Citizen Action (MCA) organized secret shoppers to go into nine retailers every month with a typical household's shopping list. The shoppers went back every month beginning in June 2011, and found pricing discrepancies and confusion. Linda TEETER, executive director of MCA, described one store where she found $7.99 toilet paper marked with a sign for 88 cents. She brought it to the attention of clerks, but any remedy was slow. "It took five months before they finally took the 88 cent price tag down, and then there was nothing," said Teeter. According to the MCA report, the real effects of the item pricing law's repeal have been higher prices and lower wages for grocery store workers. The report shows that wages dropped 3.5 percent, while prices remained consistently higher than the national consumer price index. The Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) in a press release said that the repeal of the item pricing law is keeping prices down. They pointed to grocery store prices from the first half of 2011 to the first half of 2012 increasing far less in Michigan than at the national level. At their press conference today, MCA pointed to the Attorney General for not overseeing this. The group claimed that of the $100,000 appropriated to the AG for consumer education and oversight, only $6,236.77 had been used. However, AG spokesperson Joy YEAROUT said that figure wasn't correct. "The alleged scanner law consumer education spending figure cited in the Michigan Citizen Action report released today is off by a mile. To date, the Attorney General's Office has spent nearly half - $46,902.14 - of the $100,000 appropriation for consumer education on the scanner law update," said Yearout. She said that the department had practiced some frugality by incorporating their education efforts into existing programs. Such programs as the Senior Brigade presentations now include information on the item pricing repeal, a website has been established and an informational packet has been printed. Still, advocates are seeking a better fix. They called for Attorney General Bill SCHUETTE to launch an investigation into the matter. Teeter said that the law hadn't been a winner for consumers. "The winners are the corporations. They've wanted this repeal for a very long time," said Teeter. |
Press Conferences
Lansing Press Conference
with Michael Shpunt, Linda Teeter and others from the MCA team 
Grand Rapids Press Conference
with Michael Shpunt 
Detroit Press Conference
Making a visual statement |