Friday, May 05, 2017

De-regulating regulated capitalism

In 2008, the world economy crashed. Banks, investment firms, mortgage lenders and private equity funds had suckered people into terrible loans and investments, and then engaged in reckless speculation – all to help their bottom line. The banks took the homes of millions of families; millions of hard-working people lost their jobs. To protect American families from future crises, Congress passed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010.

Despite record profits, the financial services sector wants more – and Republicans are ready to help their friends by killing the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and repealing Dodd-Frank.
If the Financial Choice Act passes, there won’t be an agency like the CFPB to take on banks such as Wells Fargo, which opened millions of fraudulent accounts and charged their customers unnecessary fees.

If you want to buy a house, it will let salespeople push you into high-interest, high-fee loans because it increases their referral fees. On top of that, it makes it easier for realtors and mortgage lenders to sell you into closing services that they actually control – essentially giving themselves a kickback.

If you’re planning for retirement, financial advisers will also be able to put their interests before yours. This means they will steer you toward high-cost retirement funds because it helps their bottom lines.


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