We've discussed before the threats to privacy posed by secret government data collection programs of various kinds (see, for instance, here and here). Challenges to such programs are hard to bring because of the difficulty of establishing standing — i.e., the challenger must show (to a very high likelihood or certainty) that his or her […]
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King v. Burwell is the case currently before the Supreme Court that asks whether the Affordable Care Act (ACA) authorizes health-care insurance subsidies for all otherwise qualified people nationwide or only for people who live in states that run their own health care "exchanges." Exchanges are ACA-defined marketplaces in which people buy health insurance. Under […]
President Obama has proposed increasing taxes on high-income people as part of the package of tax code changes rolled out in his State of the Union address. Which efforts to obtain more revenue from wealthy and/or high-income people are practical and politically feasible? Those issues are taken up by law professor David Kamin in How to […]
The Hill reports: College students would be protected from dubious credit card, debit card and checking account offers under new recommendations from the Obama administration’s top consumer watchdog. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is considering new guidelines to help colleges in selecting banks to partner with and offer financial services to their students. The […]
by Jeff Sovern The Faculty Lounge Blog recently posted a census of law professors who post on Twitter. I was disappointed to see that consumer law professors were not really represented on the list (I tweet, but rarely, and then not always about consumer law; indeed my most recent tweet said something like "This just […]
We're written before about the problem of civil asset forfeiture — the law enforcement practice, disproportionately affecting low income people and people of color, of taking property from people on the suspicion that it had something to do with a crime. This month, following on the heels of forfeiture reform in D.C., Attorney General Holder […]
"There have been powerful reminders in recent days that the financial system needs more regulatory vigilance, not less. But they come just as Republicans are setting their agenda in Congress, complete with vows to weaken the Dodd-Frank reform law." So begins a New York Times editorial entitled "An Uncertain Future for Dodd Frank." As the […]
As we've discussed recently, the Supreme Court is set to decide by June whether the Fair Housing Act covers policies and practices that contribute to racial segregation in housing where there has been no showing they were intended to do so. (See here and here, for instance.) This morning, Brian discussed some of the historical […]
That's the question posed by law professor and writer Garrett Epps in this article about Wednesday's Supreme Court oral argument (and the issues raised by it) in Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. — the case about whether the Fair Housing Act authorizes claims based on disparate impact (and […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau this week finalized changes to the “Know Before You Owe” mortgage disclosure rules. The changes were proposed in October and address (1) when consumers will receive updated disclosures after locking in an interest rate and (2) how consumers receive information regarding certain construction loans. The final rule is posted here. […]