Category Archives: Uncategorized

“Trump administration rolls back protections for people in default on student loans”

That's the name of this article by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel. Some background: In mid-2015, the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that student-loan guaranty agencies may not assess collection costs against borrowers who enter the federal government’s loan rehabilitation program within 60 days of defaulting on their loans. One of the two judges in the Seventh Circuit […]

“Trump’s Washington Hotel is a Bridge Too Far for Fair Competition”

That's the name of this opinion piece by Steven Schooner & Alan Morrison, two of the lawyers for the Cork Wine Bar in its unfair competition suit against Trump and his new hotel in D.C. (Subscription possibly required.) For more information about the suit, go to our original post about the suit. Here is an excerpt from […]

Car insurance, driver distraction, car safety, and the cost of fixing teched-up cars

This article by Deirdre Fernandez explains why, according to the insurance industry, car insurance rates are on the rise: "Drivers distracted by their smartphones are crashing their cars more often, and those cars are now more expensive to repair because they’re loaded with sensors and devices." Some excerpts:  TrueMotion is a Boston company that makes an […]

“I spent my childhood on Medicaid, and Trump’s plan to roll it back is disastrous”

That is the name of this essay by consumer columnist Michelle Singletary. Here is an excerpt: When my siblings and I went to live with my grandmother, we were a sickly bunch. There were five of us. … I was 4. .. We were all undernourished. My brother Mitchell had seizures almost every night. He would lose […]

“Wells Fargo Leaders Reaped Lavish Pay Even as Account Scandal Unfolded”

The New York Times reports: Wells Fargo and its leaders have expressed much contrition about the bank’s misdeeds, which included setting up as many as 2 million bank accounts without customers’ consent. Top executives have surrendered more than $90 million in compensation, fired employees at all levels and vowed to clean house. But the top […]

Meanwhile … Congress works on legislation to inhibit federal safety standards

In an op-ed in The Hill, former Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) explains: While President Trump has kept the public busy with his latest theories about President Obama’s wire-taps, the “deep state” and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ratings, the Republican Congress has been quietly pushing forward a legislative agenda that will have an all too real impact on […]

ABA Journal: Trump budget eliminates Legal Services Corp. funding

Here. Excerpt:   The American Bar Association is “outraged” that the Trump administration is calling to eliminate funding for the LSC and is calling upon members of Congress to restore it, ABA President Linda Klein said in a statement Thursday. Klein noted that LSC offices are in every congressional district and help 1.9 million people […]

Operators of bogus telemarketing scheme settle with FTC

The Federal Trade Commission announced yesterday that the operators of a telemarketing scheme charged with bilking millions of dollars from consumers, many of whom are seniors or military veterans on fixed income, will pay approximately $7.5 million in consumer redress under a settlement with the FTC. The stipulated final order also prohibits the defendants – […]

“Trump targets Obama’s global warming emissions rule for cars”

The Hill reports: President Trump will sign an order Wednesday to formally evaluate the Obama administration’s landmark greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars. The action, a top request from the automaker lobby to the new president, is the first step toward potentially weakening the aggressive standards that set a goal of a 54.5 mile-per-gallon auto […]