by Jeff Sovern
Here. Here's something they say about transferring the Bureau's authority to the FTC:
Transferring all federal consumer protection authority to the Federal Trade Commission, the agency with vast regulatory experience in assessing practices affecting consumer financial services markets, would dramatically improve the federal regulatory framework for consumer financial protection.
Maybe Heritage should have paid closer attention to the limits to the FTC's power spelled out in 15 U.S.C. section 46(a) (emphasis added): "The Commission shall also have power . . . To gather and compile information concerning, and to investigate from time to time the organization, business, conduct, practices, and management of any person, partnership, or corporation engaged in or whose business affects commerce, excepting banks, savings and loan institutions described in section 57a(f)(3) of this title, Federal credit unions . . . ."
And for a bonus, here is an excerpt from the report (footnotes omitted) on the causes of the Great Recession:
Reckless lending did play a role in the crisis, but the reality is that millions of lenders and borrowers were responding rationally to incentives created by an array of deeply flawed government policies, including artificially low interest rates contrived by the Federal Reserve, the massive subsidy of risky loans by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the low-income lending quotas set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Perhaps Heritage should also have paid closer attention to the report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission.
