by Jeff Sovern An American Banker article this week (behind paywall) noted that payday lending has been the subject of only one percent of the complaints to the CFPB complaint database. According to the article: "The 1% figure for payday is very low… I think the CFPB is probably surprised, or at least disappointed," said […]
The "INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL ON CONSUMER LAW AND PRACTICE, published by the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore, has issued a call for papers. The deadline is September 1. More information below the fold.
Teresa Schmid has written The Lawyer-Rent Seeker Myth and Public Policy. Here is the abstract: Two enduring fallacies in public policy are that lawyers are rent seekers who impair rather than stimulate the economy, and that there are too many of them. While lawyers may disagree with the first premise, they tacitly accept the second. […]
by Paul Alan Levy Readers of this blog may recall that Brett Kimberlin has filed a defamation action against two dozen bloggers and other defendants; Public Citizen is in the case for the limited purpose of defending the anonymity of one of the bloggers. Since that blog post, there have been a number of developments, […]
Allison recently posted on the Obama Administration's excecutive order prohibiting government contractors from using forced arbitration in contracts with their employees in some circumstances. To watch a news story on the order, go here or click on the embedded video below. HT to Paul Bland.
Remember in March, when Senate Intelligence Committe Chair Dianne Feinstein took to the floor of the Senate to accuse the CIA of having hacked the computers of the committee, which was at the time investigating CIA abuses in the war on terror? At the time, CIA director John Brennan vehemently denied the charge. But this […]
by Deepak Gupta When Roz Terrill wrote a $41 check at the local Goodwill store to buy clothes for her two special-needs children, she had no idea it would lead to threats of criminal prosecution against her. Because of a banking mix-up, Roz’s check did not clear. Months later, she received a letter that looked […]
Check out this troubling idea for an ad campaign: giving kids fake pill bottles filled with candy. Probably not encouraging the right associations. When confronted with this observation, the company, to its credit, agreed and stopped distributing the bottles. Consumerist has the story. A testament to the power of consumer speech to change minds and […]
by Ted Mermin (guest blogger — pictured to the right) Just a quick follow-up on Allison Zieve's post on the country-of-origin-labeling case decided yesterday by the DC Circuit. As Allison notes, the case addresses the constitutional standard under which government-mandated disclosures should be reviewed. In particular, the decision will affect the manifold federal administrative regulations […]