The aim of Knowmore.org is to raise awareness of corporate abuse, and to serve as a catalyst for direct action against corporate power.

Ethical Consumerism is an important movement toward corporate reform, through which individuals recognize their own role in systems of oppression, and take personal steps toward resistance and  positive change.

However, the problem of unchecked corporate power is systemic and goes far beyond the scope of any single boycot or campaign.

Once you've seen enough of Knowmore's data and familiarized yourself with our Issues section, check out our Direct Action page to get involved!

From Knowmore.org

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[edit] Criticism

[edit] Business Ethics

• Countrywide Financial Scandal Emerges"The Countrywide Financial Corporation fabricated documents related to the bankruptcy case of a Pennsylvania homeowner, court records show, raising new questions about the business practices of the giant mortgage lender at the center of the subprime mess. The documents — three letters from Countrywide addressed to the homeowner — claimed that the borrower owed the company $4,700 because of discrepancies in escrow deductions. Countrywide’s local counsel described the letters to the court as “recreated,” "
• Enron's Second Coming?"Last year Mr. Mozilo was paid $142 million, making him the seventh-highest-paid chief executive in America. These days, of course, Mr. Mozilo doesn’t look like such a wonderful guy, after all. Instead, he’s starting to bring back memories of other people who used to be praised not just as great businessmen but as great human beings — people like Enron’s Ken Lay and WorldCom’s Bernie Ebbers...in August, Countrywide often led customers to “high-cost and sometimes unfavorable loans” that, among other things, generated “outsize fees to company affiliates providing services on the loans.” In late 2006, even as Countrywide began using shareholders’ money to buy back its own stock at more than $40 a share — it’s now worth only $19 — Mr. Mozilo was selling. Between November 2006 and August 2007 — that is, during the months before investors fully realized the extent to which his company would be hurt by the subprime mortgage crisis — he unloaded $138 million worth of Countrywide’s stock."
• Countrywide Financial hit with lawsuits as shareholders approve merger "On June 25, Attorney General officials in Illinois and California filed lawsuits against the country's largest mortgage lender. The lawsuit filed by Ilinois alleges Countrywide violated the state's consumer protection statutes by making unaffordable loans and failing to make adequate disclosures to borrowers. In California, the suit alleges that Countrywide violated the state's unfair business practices and false advertising laws to market and originate sometimes-risky mortgages."
• FBI Investigating Countrywide for Securities Fraud"A criminal investigation has been opened against Countrywide Financial by the FBI and the Justice Department for possible securities fraud. The FBI and the Justice Department is investigating whether or not the nation's largest mortgage lender falsified its financial condition and the stability of its loans in security filings. The investigators are looking to see if the officials at Countrywide had the knowledge that their mortgage securities would see more defaults than what they predicted in documents that were made available to the public."
• KB Home and Countrywide Financial Corp."A lawsuit has been filed and seeks class action status against the mortgage lender and builder for allegedly conspiring with appraisers to boost housing prices as the market crashed. The lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court and claims KB Home and Countrywide Financial Corp. compared sales prices for homes in other developments rather than neighboring houses.The lawsuit seeks restitution as well as compensatory and punitive damages on behalf of California KB Home customers who purchased homes through Countrywide financing from August 2005 to July 2006."

[edit] Workers Rights

• alleging violations of overtime laws and other workplace regulations"Class action status has been granted in a lawsuit filed against Countrywide Financial Corp. on behalf of approximately 400 employees at Countrywide call centers in Rosemead and Pasadena, California. The suit, which was filed in February 2002, alleges violations of the California Labor Code and Unfair Competition Act and other workplace regulations. The suit claims that workers were forced to work 10-hour to 15-hour days, six or seven days a week, without overtime pay."

[edit] Political Influence

• Congress and the Countrywide Scandal"Countrywide Financial Corp.'s "friends of Angelo" program provided sweetheart loans to key banking players in Washington, D.C. They included former Fannie Mae chief executive Jim Johnson, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad (D., N.D.) and Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D., Conn.)...The growing scandal surrounding the "friends of Angelo" loans (so-called by company employees, referring to Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo) should serve as a political wake-up call. Yet the Senate appears intent on pushing forward legislation, co-authored by Sen. Dodd, that would bail out the worst actors in the subprime mortgage banking industry. Campaigning in Lancaster, Pa., on March 31, Sen. Barack Obama blamed Countrywide's CEO for "infecting the economy and helping to create a home foreclosure crisis." Yet Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.) and Mr. Dodd have crafted a bill to provide $300 billion in new taxpayer loan guarantees to Countrywide and others."
• Senators Implicated in Countrywide Scandal"Condé Nast Portfolio exposes two U.S. Senators, two former Cabinet members, and a former ambassador to the United Nations, who got favorable mortgage terms from Countrywide Financial. Among them: Sen. Christopher Dodd, Sen. Kent Conrad, former HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala, and former U.N. ambassador Richard Holbrooke."

[edit] Praise

[edit] Brands & Affiliates

• Bank of America