ALL IN THE NAME OF “CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION …”
Heard of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)?
Probably not … as sprawling federal bureaucracies go, it’s a relatively new one. And with “only” 1,000 employees and a half-billion dollar annual budget, it’s “tiny” by Washington, D.C. standards.
Formed in 2011 in the wake of all the “corporate greed” (ahem, government incompetence) that led to America’s ongoing economic malaise, the CFPB recently appropriated unto itself
“Through the power of Dodd-Frank, (CFPB) passed a rule giving the agency unprecedented power to shut down businesses, no matter what the reason, at any time it wishes through a cease-and-desist order,” explains Katie Pavlich for TownHall. “Further, the rule puts businesses at the mercy of the CFPB and they cannot go back into operation until government approval or a court ruling is made over an issue. Subsequently because bureaucratic decisions and court rulings take a substantial amount of time to happen, businesses cannot survive during those waiting periods.”
Ummmm … so what happened to innocent until proven guilty?
Once again, the federal government is trampling all over due process …
According to Pavlich, the cease and desist rule was issued “on the heals” of the U.S. Department of Justice’s “Operation Choke Point,” an effort to intimidate banks from doing business with certain law-abiding companies (including gun manufacturers).
Pavlich’s article makes extensive reference to statements made by the U.S. Consumer Coalition – which has been leading the fight against this federal overreach.
“This is just the next step in using unaccountable agencies, with their ever-expanding agency powers, to meet the political goals of the administration,” a statement from the group reads. “This is a direct attack on every free-market business in America, and every single business should be alarmed.”
We opposed the creation of this bureaucracy back when it was first formed … and have opposed its habitual meddling in the American free market (most egregiously in the housing industry). The fact it is now engaging in such reckless, discriminatory and flagrantly unconstitutional intimidation – all to further the political ends of the administration of Barack Obama – is further proof it needs to be disbanded.
Props to Pavlich and the U.S. Consumer Coalition for sounding the alarm on this one …
66 comments
Uh-huh. Do a little research on this US Consumer Coalition – be careful how you enter the name as their name is very close to some other well known organizations. Try the link that FITS provides – you cannot find out anything about them. They refuse to disclose their donors/members – interesting. I did find the following excerpt from a story about this “mysterious organization” – the rest of this post is copied from that article – these are not my words.
Brian Wise, a partner in the Washington strategic communications shop Wise Public Affairs, began forming USCC at the beginning of the year. A Facebook site was launched in March, and the group has stepped up its media campaign with a new feature called “Whistleblower Wednesdays,” which highlights business that allegedly have been hurt by Choke Point.
But who are the “grassroots” behind the campaign?
“If the donors are identified they will automatically have a target on their back,” Wise told me in a telephone interview. “The donors will never be disclosed.”
Wise said the donors are not payday lenders, including the industry-association plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the government. And there’s no porn star money, he added. He said, “No comment” when asked if banks were putting money into the campaign.
Wise describes himself on LinkedIN as a “results-focused, politically savvy and effective leader with proven ability to turn around troubled organizations, campaigns and companies.” He was listed as USCC’s senior advisor in a June 6 press release and he has appeared on Fox Business Network’s “The Independents” talking about Choke Point.
Wise Public Affairs announced in February it hired Laura Keehner Rigas, a former communications director for the American Conservative Union (ACU) and its Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The former Bush Administration official is now the press contact for the USCC.
Wise said by late summer the campaign will begin spending at least $1.5 million on paid television commercials targeting U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder and some Congressional Democrats who have supported Choke Point.
ah yes, the ole discredit the source to deflect from the real issue.
LOL Who is the source? Who funds them? Why the secrecy?
Ah yes – the old lap it up because “It’s on the internet so it must be true!!” . . .
Maybe they don’t want to publicly criticize the agency that can unilaterally shut them down by denying the bank card payment processing.
“They” are publicly criticizing them! But who are “they”? $1.5 Million to attack Attorney General Holder?? Sounds like the usual suspects to me . . .
You are probably right. They just hate black Muslims born in Kenya.
So Attorney General Holder is now a Muslim Kenyan too??
They’re all over!
BTW I suspect Bible Thumper!Think about it.What could be a better cover?
hmmmm!
While the issue of big banks and abuse of the public is one I tend to agree with you on, let’s be honest about ONE thing…. Holder is an incompetent, politically biased HACK who probably needs prosecuting himself.
If the govt was really that vindictive, they’d use the NSA to find the donors.
THE REST OF THE STORY. THE ABOVE EXCERPT GIVES ONE SIDE. HERE IS THE OTHER SIDE FROM THE SAME ARTICLE by WASHINGTON BUSINESS JOURNAL.
“”This is a situation where the banks are kind of the victims,” Wise said. “This is the ultimate chilling effect. Now we are seeing people lose bank accounts who can’t get new accounts.”
I’ve talked to several community bankers in Greater Washington about whether Operation Choke Point is having a chilling effect. They are naturally cautious about criticizing the government, which already heavily regulates their operations.
“We have turned down some potential account holders because we don’t want to have to be the morality police,” said Hunt Burke, chairman and CEO of Burke & Hurbert Bank in Alexandria. “We don’t want to give the impression that we don’t want to do business, but it is making us question every account we open.”
Camden Fine, president and CEO of the Independent Community Bankers Association of America, described Choke Point as “ready, shoot, aim” and “a witch hunt.”
OKAY – I CAN DO ALL CAPS TOO – CAN YOU HEAR ME?? WHAT OTHER SIDE OF THE STORY??? THE “EXCERPT” THAT I POSTED WAS ABOUT THE GROUP AND THE FACT THAT IT WILL NOT IDENTIFY WHO THEIR DONORS OR MEMBERS ARE – WHY THE SECRECY???? OH – ALMOST FORGOT – HERE IS THE TITLE TO THE STORY THAT YOU CONVENIENTLY LEFT OFF – NOTE THE FIRST TWO WORDS OF THE TITLE:
Mysterious group to spend $5 million to break Operation Choke Point stranglehold
BECAUSE, RIGHT AFTER YOUR UNIDENTIFIED DONORS WAS CRITICISM FROM IDENTIFIED SOURCES.
Hey I got a list of crooked “businessmen!”
Guess lll just ontact this agency and they’ll just close em down eh?
Hahahaha!
This Burger King gave me fries instead of onion rings! You guys should shut them down!
The libertarian ideal – sue the inconveniencers! It’s the “market force” – why “prohibit” when you can “litigate?”
They pretend to hate trial lawyers… but…
Lawyers LOVE libertarians!!!
Well darn..only a 1000 employees and a measly 1/2 billion..guess who is gonna want a budget increase…sheesh..
The squeaky wheel gets the grease.
Martin Luther King, Jr., in his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, gave this explanation of how one determines whether a law is unjust, “How does one determine whether a law is just or unjust? A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.”
SHOULD AMERICA GO TO WAR AGAIN IN IRAQ?
NO (90%, 405 Votes)
YES (10%, 46 Votes)
Total Voters: 451
Obama, McCain and Graham voted NO. It might be more interesting if you ask about the 300 military advisers or if it is acceptable to have ISIL ruling a third of Syria and Iraq.
Hmmm . . . trying to connect some dots here . . . .I’m thinking that your Co-Pilot must have steered you on to the wrong thread . . .
Fits placed the poll on his home page. If he placed it in an article, we would have a place to comment. So, I found the closest place.
Funny I haven’t read of a single business closed down by this agency on a “whim” or for any other reason.
I’m sure Fits has a list.
Hahaha!
If it is printed on the internet it has to be true. Really.
youtube.com/watch?v=YWdD206eSv0
Of course not. They cave in first.
Oh yeh right thats it!
Then maybe again this is all some more of Fits WELL KNOWN
BS?
When criminals get caught, they usually take a deal when it’s offered….
What businesses caved in?
Speaking of political ends, did you happen the catch the SC Supreme Ct. ruling today? No agendas required for govt meetings, and those conducting meetings can add what they want on the spot. Talk about potential for abuse. SC govt agencies require a full-time nanny.
Repub-LIE-CONS, like a lot of Nikki Haley stories of how SC is better now. Yep, Obama crushed us, BAAAHHH!!!!!
SC political biz should of been shut down 3 years ago, LOL.
From the CFPB website: “Our mission is to make markets for consumer financial products and services work for Americans — whether they are applying for a mortgage, choosing among credit cards, or using any number of other consumer financial products.”
These are ‘businesses’ are things like banks, mortgage companies and, I hope pay-day lenders.
They are not mom and pop corner retail stores which are obviously the business people you are trying to terrify. Inn fact the mom and pop stores are consumers, too and might need some help from the businesses they have to do business with.
What is wrong with you people?
You live to monger fear of any kind you can think of. You lie and lie and lie.
There you go again! Allowing the facts to interfere with a hefty dose of right-wing outrage. When will you learn that within “The Bubble” the facts are irrelevant?
Dude, helping average guys avoid being ripped off hurts the corporations’ profits. How DARE you not think about the poor, helpless, multi-billion dollar corporations?
The gov’t little shoveled money created out of thin air in the middle of the financial crisis and you think they are on the side of the little people over the banks?
lol…..
*literally
Forest Gump, we know you have some delays but, if you look at the screen beneath your comment long enough, you will see the word ‘edit’.
When you click on that word, it opens your comment so that you can ‘edit’ and change any misspellings or any other errors and not have to ‘reply’ to your comment.
I’m not logging in genius.
NSA still knows who and where you are.
Who cares, it’s not the NSA I’m avoiding.
The good news: Alcoa is making record profits
The bad news: The run on aluminum is causing shortages.
You have the wrong culprit, it was the gov’ts favorite tax payer bailed out crony that is the guilty party(Goldman Sachs):
http://www.cnbc.com/id/101724273
For one thing this Dodd-Frank act immediately helped larger corps and
banks by limiting the POS fees charged at businesses, giving even
greater assistance to the behemoths like Wally World and Bank of America
and reducing the income of local and smaller banks effectively causing
them to raise other fees and making them less effective. For every
action “for the greater good” by the Government there is a consequence
that affects the less prosperous. If people want to cause heartburn for
these out of control and too big to fail P-o-S companies QUIT doing
business with them. We do not need more Governmental oversight, we need
to learn and educate ourselves how to look out for the tricksters out
there..
THE CFPB NEEDS TO COME DOWN TO SOUTH CAROLINA AND KICK THE FORECLOSURE MILL LAW FIRMS IN THE A$$………
•Restrict unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices
•Take consumer complaints
•Promote financial education
•Research consumer behavior
•Monitor financial markets for new risks to consumers
•Enforce laws that outlaw discrimination and other unfair treatment in consumer finance
Can we start with State Farm?
Tango has found a way to make money using US military men for a gain in the Bush boondoggle, that will help the disabled veterans with their problems. Thank you, Tango for your help.!!!
I swear, reading this site hurts my brain anymore. I’m so glad Willie is getting such a fair description of what the agency does from a neutral source like Townhall! Oh, and he listed such damning examples of the CFPB maliciously shutting down poor mom and pop businesses for no reason, because that totally happens!
You do realize the government already takes over banks when they are going under, or when they are doing shady shit that might hurt their customers and others, right?
In Rare Consensus, Sunnis and Shiites Tell Cheney to Shut Up
BAGHDAD (The Borowitz Report) — In a development that offers a faint glimmer of hope for Iraq, both Sunnis and Shiites are finding common ground in the view that former Vice-President Dick Cheney seriously needs to shut up.
In the days following the publication this week of a Wall Street Journal op-ed piece about Iraq that Cheney wrote with his daughter Liz, hatred of the former Vice-President has, to the surprise of many, become the first thing that Sunnis and Shiites have agreed upon in centuries.
Iraqi observers in recent days have reported seeing both Sunnis and Shiites reading the Cheneys’ op-ed then tearing it to shreds in a rage.
“Cheney is an ass!” a Sunni merchant reportedly exclaimed in a Baghdad market on Thursday, to the resounding cheers of several Shiites nearby.
“Historically, it’s been challenging to find anything that Sunnis and Shiites agree on,” said Sabah al-Alousi, a history professor at the University of Baghdad. “That’s why their apparent consensus that Dick Cheney needs to shut the hell up is so significant.”
Visiting Baghdad on Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry said that the joint Sunni-Shiite calls for Dick Cheney to shut his pie hole were a cause for optimism.
“If Dick Cheney winds up being the one thing that brings Sunnis and Shiites together, the United States owes him a debt of thanks,” he said, adding that the two sects’ view of the former Vice-President was also shared by the Kurds.
The only surprise is that you Dumb@$$#$ are surprised.
Im not, you are. Sing it again faggot boy. Dems are getting ready to stick LARGE cocks in your faggott ass. You are a dumb republican, LOMO !!!!
Get ready for Tango fun !
Kinda old news: Obama playing Gestapo. This site is kinda lazy:
Got some great NEW stuff, here: Is the worst over for Danny Frazier? and – WHY is Metts busted for giving illegals special treatment, not gambling related?
http://scdigest.blogspot.com/
We told you so. 8 years of Bush. We told you so. But you wouldn’t listen.
Republicans fucked up the Middle East, and our economy doing it. They caused division. They went along with every crude diversion and lie, and helped to put lipstick on the pig.
Republicans are scum.
There is no equality of “radical conservatives vs liberals.”
You are a prime example of why I tell you not try to imitate.
It’s takes a exceptional: talent, drive, experience intellect and insight. You obviously want it (many do) but you just don’t have it. And attempting just exposes you for what you Don’t have.
Are you friend or foe?
Now THAT’s priceless….LMAO…good one, e.m….good one…hahahaha..You finally delivered something of value…
The irony is worth its weight in gold…LMAO…thanks. you finally contributed something…congrats..
COLUMBIA, SC: SC outspent NC for tire company | Business | The State
http://www.thestate.com/2014/06/21/3523406/sc-outspent-nc-for-tire-company.html?sp=/99/205/&ihp=1
Lousy ass Haley just spent $38.7 million dollars of tax payer money to try and get reelected….Sheeple…beleive anything she tells them..
Lousy ass Haley just spent $38.7 million dollars of tax payer money to try and get reelected….Sheeple…beleive anything she tells them..
——–
Sounds like she’s smarter than the average South Carolinan.. doesn’t that mean you’re fairly represented?
…or is that why people want Lee Bright – So they can be represented by someone who makes them feel smarter?
No it means corporate welfare to companies that just
transfer their people here to work and the average South Carolina worker will be paid shIt pay. The so-called Governor who enjoys the tax payer funded perks of the mansion /taxi service to campaign for re-election leaching off the tax payers will get votes because idiots think she is helping South Carolina. She is as smart as her high school overpaid staff.
Let see Haley should transfer DOT to Charleston and fire the current workers and hire more as temps with no benefits run up there and say look I created more fucking jobs you dumb asses.
Haley is like the king in dragon slayer after the guy kills the dragon the king runs up and declares himself dragon slayer after someone else killed the dragon. She is a self serving narcissist.
She is as smart as her high school overpaid staff.
—–
sounds like the voters aren’t even that smart – isn’t that why she’s in office? Because of them? That’s what I meant by being fairly represented – stupid is as stupid votes.
Not not an economics major…are you???
When you calculate the return, in paychecks, tax revenues, residual business…etc…, Haley makes you, and The State newspaper, look like the Dumb@$$#$ you are…She got a deal…
Ever wonder why Obama invests taxpayers’ money in food stamps, welfare, takers and ignorant solar panels…and the economy just gets worse.
Yet governments that entice profit-makers, producers and contributors, fare far far better, and grow their sates???
We True Americans Welcome America’s Failure As An Imperialist Power
We sons (and daughters) of our freedom-fighter Founding Fathers want all imperialist powers to fail, and if necessary to that end, even to fall.
The CFPB should shut down the foreclosure mills in South Carolina.
The foreclosure mill law firms in South Carolina are nothing but a bunch of crooks.
Everyone knows that in South Carolina the big law firms in South Carolina are THE Foreclosure Mills in SC taking advantage of consumers. They are ruthless, mind-less, numb-nuts, illegally stealing homes from vulnerable homeowners, that’s why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was formed. The big law firms are so out-of-control that they lie to judges, forge documents, file false pleadings, and use political power to steal homes. It would be interesting to see if those bastards are able to look at themselves in the mirror everyday.