Earlier in the year, we noted a looming fight over the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, as Republicans saw an opportunity to dismantle this important government agency. But as the New York Times recently reported, even as the financial sector’s hatred of the bureau remains unabated, and right-wing legislators harp on its alleged tyrannical powers, GOP moderates seem to have held back a full-scale assault on the bureau thus far. Its staying power stems from the fact that it is actually performing as intended, protecting the interests of ordinary Americans by pushing back against predatory financial industry practices. Since its creation, the CFPB has restrained abusive debt collection, improved mortgage lending, and actually investigated hundreds of thousands of consumer complaints — investigations that have resulted in financial benefits on the order of $12 billion for 29 million people.
That’s a lot of money, and that’s a hell of a lot of registered voters.
The Hot Screen has previously argued that Democrats need to place a vigorous defense of the CFPB at the forefront of their efforts to retake Congress and the presidency (in this case, the best offense is actually a good defense). A decade out from the 2008 crash, the financial industry retains its predatory, anti-democratic instincts, seeing the American people as a collection of marks to rip off, rather than a citizenry seeking to build a meaningful economy for themselves and their families. Amazingly, the financial industry continues to try painting itself as a victim of government overreach, despite massive government bailouts and continued bad behavior that is never adequately sanctioned (hello, crooked Wells Fargo!).
The CFPB is the sharp end of the spear pushing back against the otherwise accountable power of a huge, and hugely important, sector of the American economy. It’s also a vivid demonstration of the more general proposition that government needs to, and can, serve the basic interests of the public; clearly this is a reason why the GOP hates it so much, and why progressives need to make the CFPB a household name. The economy as a whole, and our prosperity as individuals, are not well served when we are all being constantly ripped off by big corporations and don’t have enough money to invest in the actual economy. It is like we are constantly being taxed, with the money going into the pockets of private interests dedicated to giving nothing back to society.
It’s amusing to see Republicans use the elements that make the CFPB such an effective advocate for consumers — its insulation and independence from political pressures — to paint it as an out-of-control government agency. Irrepressible Texas Representative Jeb Hensarling calls the CFPB “the single most unaccountable and powerful agency in the history of our republic”; apparently, in its short existence, the bureau has managed to surpass even the J. Edgar Hoover-era FBI in its abusive power!
