consumer financial protection bureau

This year marks the twelfth anniversary of an important consumer protection that was adopted as a response to millions of foreclosures and the resulting Great Recession

Despite the rate of inflation slowing from last year’s 40-year high, elevated household costs still plague most families.

Amid still-rising interest rates, most families remain financially challenged to make household needs fit into their budgets. For Black Americans, whose wealth on average amounts to 25 cents for every $1 of white family wealth, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the challenge is especially daunting. 

On Sept. 28, two of the nation’s largest and most influential business groups filed a lawsuit against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and its Director Rohit Chopra.

Although debt collection has been a longtime leading issue reported to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), during the COVID-19 pandemic, another issue emerged as the nation’s number one consumer concern: credit reporting errors. 

Although credit accounts enable widely accepted alternatives to cash transactions, the convenience of both debit and credit cards can also become costly when patterns of errors and inaccuracies emerge in credit reports. In just one year — 2020 — over 300,000 complaints were filed with federal financial regulators concerning credit or consumer reporting.   

When it comes to personal finance, multiple issues confront consumers every day. From ever-deepening student debt, to denials on mortgage applications to small-dollar payday loans that come with legal triple-digit interest rates in 33 states — all contribute to a series of financial challenges.

The fundamental premise of a democratic government is that voters will support those policies that benefit them, and they will oppose issues that are harmful. The problem in America is that society has become so complex that it is often difficult to determine whether or not a government policy is really beneficial. Republicans are often willing to finance expensive and sophisticated public relations campaigns to delude voters into supporting conservative policies that the middle and working classes should oppose. A prime example of this is the campaign against the Affordable Care Act.