Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Bolinas is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area. Bolinas is located 10 miles (16 km) west-southwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 36 feet (11 m). The population of the Bolinas CDP was 1,246 at the 2000 census. Located along the coast and accessible only via sometimes unmarked roads, Bolinas is perhaps best known for its reclusive residents; historically, any road signs pointing the way into town on Highway One have invariably been torn down by local residents Bolinas and its reclusive reputation feature in the 1981 novel Ecotopia Emerging by Ernest Callenbach.