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.
Cascadia is an unincorporated community that was established in 1892 on the South Santiam River, 14 miles east of the current city of Sweet Home, in Linn County, Oregon, United States. Originally a stage stop on the Santiam Wagon Road, then a summer resort also known as Cascadia Mineral Springs, Cascadia had a post office established in 1898. It still maintains a zip code of 97329. The resort had a hotel established by George Geisendorfer, who was also the first postmaster. People were attracted to Cascadia because of its mineral spring water. The property was sold to the state in 1940 and now is the site of the 300-acre Cascadia State Park.