WOW!!! Just when we thought we didn’t have quite enough government, a NEW regulatory agency has been created.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the latest in the ever growing bureaucracy of our federal government. The Senate Banking Committee voted 12–10 to confirm Richard Cordray as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Our President had a profound statement about the CFPB, “this is exactly why we need somebody whose sole job it is to prevent this kind of stuff from happening.” This kind of stuff???… He was referring to the new $5 debit card fee which, incidentally, was a result of government meddling.
With this new and wonderful CFPB, who knows what new and wonderful consumer costs will be visited upon American taxpayers. This new agency will be a political tool used to advance populist ideological goals. Even other financial regulators are showing concern about the power of the CFPB. It takes money directly from the Federal Reserve, so there is little or no direction from Congress.
Critics in the Senate have been working for substantial reforms of the agency. Lots of luck with this Senate! The result at the end of the day is another agency creating and enforcing regulations with a free hand. That’s not exactly what Tea Party folks and other conservatives have in mind.
***Gordon Howie is a nationally syndicated author and CEO of Life and Liberty Media***
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