My Top 10 list

If I had just 10 minutes with the new president, after the formalities were over and we had patted the puppy, I'd present Consumers Union's Top 10 wish list on behalf of American consumers:

1. Lower the cost of health care. A November 2007 survey by Consumer Reports found that 35 percent of respondents had postponed or skipped medical care to control their expenses.
2. Guarantee quality health coverage for everyone at a price they can afford. In the U.S., 46 million people have no health insurance. Even those with insurance fear being bankrupted by a medical crisis or losing their job and health insurance.
3. Make drugs safer to take and patients safer in hospitals. Consumers deserve to know the effects of medications and to feel confident that they won't be victims of medical errors.
4. Require lenders to make only sound loans that the borrower is reasonably likely to be able to repay.
5. Ensure effective federal regulation of financial services and products. And allow states to put in place stronger consumer protections for their residents.
6. Make credit products clear and appropriate for the customer. End "gotcha" fees and interest-rate spikes.
7. Fix the food-safety system. No more salmonella-spiked jalepeño peppers, poison pet food, or E. coli-laced spinach. The government should be able to trace a product from start to finish and have the authority to recall it if needed.
8. Fund the Consumer Product Safety Commission so that it can enforce the new product-safety act, which essentially bans lead in toys and enables the CPSC to penalize safety violators.
9. Ensure that before products are sold they are safe not only for people but for the environment.
10. Choose active federal regulators who protect the consumer interest. Restore the U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs, which was shut down in 1997. The head of that office once had regular access to the president. The office gave a voice to consumers and counterbalanced the well-funded business lobby.