Opponents of the Trump administration have called for a boycott of Tesla because of Elon Musk's high-profile role in reccomending cuts in government spending. However, Tesla is just the latest company to feel the wrath of consumers – not for the quality of the product but for political reasons. In 2012, Dan Cathy, at the time the CEO of Chick-fil-A, triggered calls for a boycott when he said he opposed same-sex marriage. The boycott had nothing to do with the quality of the product, which...

If it takes a lot longer to get a doctor’s appointment these days, it should come as no surprise. The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates the U.S. will face a shortage of up to 86,000 physicians by 2036. Alexandra Tien, a family physician at Medical Associates of Rhode Island, says the current shortage is most pronounced among primary care doctors. She says they are the worst paid of all physicians so fewer medical students choose it as a specialty, especially if they have...

With home prices still rising in many areas of the U.S., affordable housing will remain one of the most pressing consumer and economic issues in 2025, especially if mortgage rates remain elevated. There are fewer homes for sale, which has put upward pressure on prices. In November, the National Association of Realtors reported the median price of an existing home was $406,100, up 4.7% from one year ago. Industry experts quizzed by ConsumerAffairs don’t expect much improvement for buyers in...

As shocking as the cold-blooded murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was, the reaction of many on social media may have been equally as shocking. Any expressions of sympathy were largely overshadowed by the torrent of hate directed at health benefit providers. This is not exactly a new phenomenon. In the 1997 movie “As Good as it Gets,” Helen Hunt played a low-income single mother of a son with chronic health problems. When a doctor tells her that a simple allergy test that her...