The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued its 82-page second semi-annual report. It should be an interesting read. This article by Jenna Green notes that the report contains only "four sentences about the Office of Enforcement — even though the category "Supervision, Enforcement, Fair Lending" accounted for a hefty $63 million in agency spending through June […]
Author Archives: Brian Wolfman
First, there were a handful of cities, such as New York, San Francisco, and Philadelphia, that required chain restaurants to disclose the calories in the foods they sell. Some counties followed suit. California joined in. Then, as part of the Affordable Care Act, Congress demanded calorie disclosure nationwide, but the new rules probably won't go […]
Yesterday we posted on the significant rise in U.S. wealth inequality. Now, the Census Bureau is reporting that income inequality continued to grow in 2011. The top fifth now takes in 50% of the nation's income.
That's what this report issued by the FDIC shows. A Washington Post story on the report says that In the aftermath of one of the worst recessions in history, more Americans have limited or no interaction with banks, instead relying on check cashers and payday lenders to manage their finances, according to a new federal […]
In 1962, the net worth of the wealthiest 1% of Americans had 125 times the net worth of the median household. That number is now 288, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute. That study is discussed in this CNNMoney article. EPI's full report provides many more details. Note the chart below, which […]
Of course, debt collectors always make money because people's loans are in default. But student loan debt appears to be especially attractive for debt collectors, as explained in this article by Andrew Martin. Why? Among other reasons, the government helps debt collectors track down many of the debtors, and it is very hard to discharge […]
Here's an explanation: U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren is a superstar within the Democratic Party and a lightning rod for Republican outrage over the issue of tax fairness. But there is one tax that Warren doesn't like and it's part of Obamacare. The 2.3 percent excise tax on medical devices is a little-known provision in […]
This article by Todd Ruger compares the views of President Obama and former Governor Romeny on legal issues, including judicial nominations.
This Washington Post article from last Friday explains that a coalition of the top state highway safety officers want to ban hand-held cell phone use by drivers. But their ultimate goal is probably a ban on all cell-phone use by drivers — hand-held or hands-free — because, as we've explained earlier, studies show that hands-free cell […]
One of things that bothers opponents of binding pre-dispute mandatory agreements in consumer contracts is that often they don't seem like agreements at all. In most cases, the arbitration clauses are buried in take-or-leave-it contracts that the consumer doesn't read (and sometimes has little opportunity to read). Arbitration opponents sometimes say that contracts of adhesion […]