Pop quiz: Test yourself on lessons learned with The Watchdog in the first half of 2024

Are you learning the consumer lessons The Watchdog is finding for you?
Take this fun quiz to see how well you are watching The Watchdog.
Correct results are at the bottom.
If you want to see the original story that each question is based on, click on the hyperlink in each question in the online version.
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Pencils ready? Go!
1. What’s one of the most dangerous things that can happen to you while searching on Google? A) You forget that the first few results may not be what you’re looking for because they are paid ads designed to stop you from going further; B) You use all capital letters in your searches; C) You trust Google completely about the best Texas barbecue.
2. The reason I give for why some credit card companies are demanding interest rates as high as 40% is because: A) Banks want to help you to become more responsible with your money; B) They need more money because of the CEO’s pay raise; C) They want to lock in higher rates in case the federal government puts limits on them.
3. With auto and homeowners’ insurance premiums climbing, state insurance regulators are thwarted from blocking most increases because: A) A majority of state lawmakers are insurance agents; B) They’d lose their personal discounts; C) Texas is what’s called “a file and use” state. This means a company doesn’t have to ask permission to increase prices and wait for a decision.
4. Forget national politics for a moment. Lies in local political campaigns can, unfortunately, usually be found in: A) Oversized political mailers; B) TV commercials; C) Social media; D) All of the above.
5. The federal government is trying to break up Live Nation/Ticketmaster because: A) Taylor Swift otherwise threatened to stop performing; B) Wayne Newton said he, too, would also engage in a work stoppage; C) The joint companies control most of the concert industry and behave like a runaway monopoly.
6. The new Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, which became state law July 1, allows consumers to: A) Ask companies for their personal data; B) Edit their personal data; C) Demand that the company stop collecting data on them; D) All of the above.
7. A new election that few voters saw coming and confused many was the election of: A) Christian preachers assigned to pastor at every elementary school; B) New members to serve on large appraisal districts’ boards of directors; C) Dog catchers required in counties with a population of 125,000 or more.
8. I discovered a planned end-run around the Texas-only electrical grid that involves: A) Linking the big grid to the Texas grid by building transmission lines through Louisiana and into Mississippi; B) Taking advantage of a new satellite that produces cheap energy and is funded by Elon Musk called Grid X; C) Scattered mandatory blackouts by neighborhood coming at least once a week.
9. You think your water bill is high now? Wait until water companies and utilities must: A) Spend millions to clean water of so-called unhealthy “forever chemicals;” B) Make customers pay a required $75 monthly surcharge starting in 2025; C) Raise rates to cover losses from evaporation due to climate change.
10. Which of these well-known banks favors merchants in credit card chargebacks over consumers as part of its corporate policy? A) Wells Fargo; B) Citi; C) Bank of America; D) Ally Bank.
11. The rooftop solar panel industry is in crisis because: A) Door-to-door salespeople overpromise and often exaggerate benefits; B) Confusion caused by two companies involved in a sale, one handling installation, the other financing; C) Its reputation is marred by companies that sell long-term loans to the elderly; D) All of the above.
12. As of Jan. 1, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that a new coolant for air conditioning, R-454B, will be required in all new residential AC systems. True or false?
Answers are below. If you get all 12 right, you are hereby promoted to a higher rank in Watchdog Nation. Score 8-11 correct, that’s excellent, too. Seven or less, I beseech you to spend a little more time with me.
I write two reports a week on many subjects, most of which come by reader email.
Bottom line: The Watchdog can save you money, but you gotta keep up.
Answers: 1) A; 2) C; 3) C; 4) D; 5) C; 6) D; 7) B; 8) A; 9) A; 10) B; 11) D; 12) True.