It's often claimed that patent law and its enforcement (or not) affects consumer well-being. We know, for instance, that the presence of a patent (or not) often has a significant effect on a drug's price. And drug companies maintain that patent protection promotes innovation, in turn, they say, benefiting consumers. (For more on that topic, […]
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That's the name of this article by Steven Harper (subscription possibly required). Harper begins by telling us that his concerns over [Secretary of Education Betsy] DeVos's willingness to deal effectively with student-loan policy "goes far beyond the embarrassing ignorance on display at DeVos’ confirmation hearing. . . . She knows nothing about basic educational policy, the decades-old Individuals […]
This article by Bobby Allyn discusses a program, begun by the Obama Administration in 2015, to step up use of private law firms to collect student-loan debt through federal-court lawsuits. The program apparently includes obtaining judgments and then placing liens on poor people's homes. Allyn's article focuses on law suits filed in federal court in Philadelphia, […]
This article by Jonathan Swan and David Nather about the republicans' continuing efforts to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act starts with something that would be laughable if it weren't so serious: House Republican leaders are worried that a concession in the developing Trumpcare talks could make already anxious moderates run away from the bill. […]
Tobie Stanger has posted this piece at Consumer Reports comparing no-cost and low-cost tax preparation options from the major commercial tax preparation companies and the IRS.
Ya know how your credit card company now gives you your FICO credit score for free each month? And what about all those online companies peddling "free" credit scores? (They are sometimes free, sometimes not, and the companies are usually trying to sell you something else.) This article by Kenneth Harney explains that the credit score from […]
There's been a good bit of news on the financial disclosures for the people who work in the Trump white house. Go here to read each employee's disclosure form. (Click on the pdf for each employee, listed in alphabetical order.) What hasn't gotten much news is that in addition to disclosing the value (with ranges) of […]
Jeff posted yesterday one of the amicus briefs filed in support of the CFPB in the pending DC Circuit case. The others amicus briefs in support of the CFPB are these: Public Citizen, Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, National Association of Consumer Advocates, and National Consumer Law Center, and Tzedek DC – Click here. Americans […]
The D.C. Circuit today issued a 2-1 decision in Bais Yaakov of Spring Valley v. FCC, which tossed a Federal Communications Act rule requiring senders of so-called "solicited" faxes to provide recipients notice of a right to opt-out. The first few sentences of Judge Kavanaugh's majority opinion provides an overview: Believe it or not, the fax machine […]
This article (registration possibly required) by C. Ryan Barber covers an appearance yesterday by Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray before the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in which, among other things, Cordray explained his views on regulating via across-the-board regulation versus individual enforcement action.