3 ms·

Does CFPB even have teeth? I've filed complaints with them before when debt collectors broke the law and the collectors pretty much laughed it off and became e

Does CFPB even have teeth? I've filed complaints with them before when debt collectors broke the law and the collectors pretty much laughed it off and became even more aggressive. They don't seem to be an organization that's taken seriously.

jkaplowitz 2y ago
Its constitutionality and funding structure have been tied up in lawsuits for the past 7 years or so, which has made it hard for them to enforce stuff as much as they might otherwise have been able to. Now those fundamental lawsuits are resolved, with the CFPB's structure and funding being found fully constitutional as legislated except that the CFPB Director is removable by the President at will instead of having extra protections against removal. At this point, the CFPB will be able to proceed to more useful enforcement - except that years of legal challenges to their regulations which had been delayed by these fundamental structural challenges will now proceed, so it may be a while before they can actually succeed at enforcement in the end. And if Trump and the Republicans take control of the federal government in November, they could easily gut or eliminate the CFPB before that happens. All of which is to say: The CFPB's teeth have been fully cleaned by the dentists at SCOTUS, but this November's elections will determine whether they have time to bite before they are knocked out. Or some such twisted metaphor. It's a very tough agency to make work in our current political environment. The entities they are regulating have huge political influence, lots of money, and well-connected media allies, whereas the consumers they are protecting have none of these.
toomuchtodo 2y ago
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/enforcement-by-the-numbers/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/enforcement-by-t...

3 ms·

Does CFPB even have teeth? I've filed complaints with them before when debt collectors broke the law and the collectors pretty much laughed it off and became e

by beaeglebeachedd 2y ago

jkaplowitz 2y ago
Its constitutionality and funding structure have been tied up in lawsuits for the past 7 years or so, which has made it hard for them to enforce stuff as much as they might otherwise have been able to. Now those fundamental lawsuits are resolved, with the CFPB's structure and funding being found fully constitutional as legislated except that the CFPB Director is removable by the President at will instead of having extra protections against removal. At this point, the CFPB will be able to proceed to more useful enforcement - except that years of legal challenges to their regulations which had been delayed by these fundamental structural challenges will now proceed, so it may be a while before they can actually succeed at enforcement in the end. And if Trump and the Republicans take control of the federal government in November, they could easily gut or eliminate the CFPB before that happens. All of which is to say: The CFPB's teeth have been fully cleaned by the dentists at SCOTUS, but this November's elections will determine whether they have time to bite before they are knocked out. Or some such twisted metaphor. It's a very tough agency to make work in our current political environment. The entities they are regulating have huge political influence, lots of money, and well-connected media allies, whereas the consumers they are protecting have none of these.
toomuchtodo 2y ago
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/enforcement-by-the-numbers/ https://www.consumerfinance.gov/enforcement/enforcement-by-t...