Author Archives: Brian Wolfman

New FDA cigarette-pack graphic warnings finalized; slated to go into effect 2021

Jacqueline Howard of CNN explains here that "the US Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule Tuesday that requires tobacco companies to place new graphic health warnings on cigarette packages and in advertisements. Beginning on June 18, 2021, the new cigarette health warnings will be required on cigarette packages and in advertisements, occupying the […]

Why few legislators are interested in Trump’s proposal to suspend the payroll tax

Trump tweeted yesterday that "Only [suspending the payroll tax] will make a big difference!" (my emphasis). Yet Congress appears uninterested. And Trump himself just endorsed Nancy Pelosi's bill, which doesn't touch the payroll tax. For more on why, on policy grounds, Trump didn't get his way, read Why Trump isn’t getting the payroll-tax cut he […]

Congress has overturned Betsy DeVos’s rule drastically limiting student-loan debt relief

Will Trump sign or veto? That topic is addressed in this article by CNN's Katie Lobosco. For other coverage, go here and here. This NYT's piece by Erica Green and Stacy Cowley does a nice job explaining the restrictive DeVos rule. Here's an excerpt from the CNN article: Senate Republicans joined Democrats Wednesday to overturn a […]

Student debt relief from a civil-rights perspective

Law profs Dalie Jimenez and Jonathan Glater have written Student Debt is a Civil Rights Issue: The Case for Debt Relief and Higher Education Reform for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Here is the abstract:  For an ever-growing number of students aspiring to higher education, borrowing is essential. Yet the burdens of indebtedness […]

CFPB: Five ways to recognize a social-security scam

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published Five ways to recognize a Social Security scam. Last summer, the agency warned in this short memo about the increasing number of scams aimed at getting social-security numbers or benefits. It explained how to identify scams (as opposed to legit inquiries from the Social Security Administration) and how consumers […]

Industry knows damn well that forced arbitration is unfair

Isn't that why the HR director at Wells Fargo, in explaining why his company was getting rid of forced arbitration of sexual-harassment claims, observed that "Wells Fargo has zero tolerance for sexual harassment"? So, for really bad stuff, it's only fair to let people go to court. Is that it? Does the company tolerate just […]

Trump looks to gut student-loan forgiveness programs

I was surprised to see this headline given Trump's reverence for education and that he once headed a university himself. But it appears to be true. In Trump looks to kill student loan forgiveness program, Annie Nova explains that  As student debt continues to climb, President Donald Trump on Monday released a budget for 2021 […]