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Daily Litany of Citizen and Consumer Smackdowns

New Orleans     Like a modern version of the 12 days before Christmas, I think we could all start listing a daily beating we are taking from business, government, or both.

Yesterday news came out that a fair chunk of the $26 billion settlement with banks over their home mortgage scandals and abuses with the state attorney [...]

Elizabeth Warren Can Work on the Outside

New Orleans      Finally to the surprise of no one, President Obama whispered over the weekend that he would not be appointing Professor Elizabeth Warren to run the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  Someone will do the job, and if Warren has spent her last year in the setup profitably, it would seem [...]

Debit Charges and Senate Hucksters

Dodd-Frank Bill

New Orleans The Dodd-Frank Financial Reform Act called for the Federal Reserve to put an end to the debit card surcharge padding when that retailers were paying to banks and credit card companies, usually amounting to 44 cents a transaction.  New Fed proposals would cap the amounts at 7 to 14 cents, [...]

Act Now to Really Enforce The CRA

Dauphine Island The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) passed in 1977 occupies a lot of space in my book, Citizen Wealth, because it is both arguably the single largest legislative victory achieved by community organizations over the last generation and because it has helped millions purchase homes, one of the most dramatic creators of citizen wealth [...]