Don't feed the trolls.
Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] (202) 448-2898 x1 On Tue, Mar 1, 2016 at 4:02 PM, raghu <[email protected]> wrote: > I am waiting for someone to denounce Bernie Sanders because Debbie Wasserman > Schultz sucks. Because Democrat. > -raghu. > > > > > > On Tue, Mar 1, 2016 at 2:49 PM, Robert Naiman < > [email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > Looks like there is some serious organizing going on in Florida around > predatory lending. > > > > > http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/debbie-wasserman-schultz-paylenders-cfpb_us_56d4ce38e4b03260bf77e8fc?49ebfbt9 > > > > DNC Chair Joins GOP Attack On Elizabeth Warren's Agency > > > > WASHINGTON -- Payday lenders have been gunning for the Consumer > Financial Protection Bureau since the day President Barack Obama tapped > Elizabeth Warren to set up the new agency. They've had plenty of help from > congressional Republicans -- longtime recipients of campaign contributions > from the payday loan industry. As the CFPB has moved closer to adopting new > rules to shield families from predatory lending, the GOP has assailed the > agency from every conceivable angle -- going after it's budget, attempting > to tie its hands with new layers of red tape, fomenting conspiracy theories > about rogue regulators illegally shutting down businesses and launching > direct attacks on payday loan rules themselves. > > > > To date, the GOP blitz has resulted in a few close shaves for the young > agency, but no actual defeats. But the industry has cultivated a powerful > new ally in recent weeks: Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie > Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). > > > > Wasserman Schultz is co-sponsoring a new bill that would gut the CFPB's > forthcoming payday loan regulations. She's also attempting to gin up > Democratic support for the legislation on Capitol Hill, according to a memo > obtained by The Huffington Post. > > > > LISTEN to HuffPost's analysis of the bill in the latest episode of the > "So That Happened" politics podcast below. The discussion begins at the > 53:35 mark: > > > > Subscribe to HuffPost's weekly politics podcast here. > > > > The DNC chair isn't the first Democrat to defend payday lenders. A > handful of House Financial Services Committee members consistently join the > GOP's payday loan boosterism. But support from such backbenchers has been > politically impotent. Wasserman Schultz, by contrast, is the nominal head > of the Democratic Party. Her support undercuts efforts by liberals in > Congress to draw contrasts with Republicans on economic issues. > > > > The misleadingly titled Consumer Protection and Choice Act would delay > the CFPB's payday lending rules by two years, and nullify its rules in any > state with a payday lending law like the one adopted in Florida. The memo > being passed around by Wasserman Schultz staffers describes the Florida > state law as a "model" for consumer laws on payday loans, and says the CFPB > should "adjust their payday lending rules to take into account actions > Florida has already taken." > > > > Consumer groups are appalled by the bill. The Consumer Federation of > America, the NAACP, The National Consumer Law Center, The National Council > of La Raza, The Southern Poverty Law Center and hundreds of others wrote a > letter to every member of Congress in December urging them to oppose the > legislation. > > > > "The problem here is that Florida's law is a sham," says Gynnie Robnett, > director of the Campaign to Stop the Debt Trap at Americans for Financial > Reform. "It was backed by the industry." > > > > Wasserman Schultz's spokesman Sean Bartlett defended the bill in a > statement provided to HuffPost. > > > > "As a state lawmaker, she helped write Florida’s law that has sharply > reduced the need to go to bad actors, curbed predatory practices and > created standards and protections for low-income borrowers," Bartlett said. > The Congresswoman wants to work with the CFPB on the way forward, and > believes the Florida law is an example of how to achieve their shared goals > of balancing strong consumer protections with preserving access to credit > in underserved communities." > > > > The CFPB is yet to formally issue its payday lending rules. But the > agency's proposed outline is designed to prohibit a cycle of debt in which > borrowers take out a single payday loan expecting to pay a one-time fee, > but end up taking out several more loans when they are unable to make ends > meet at the end of the loan period. > > > > Florida's law has not ended this vicious cycle. According to AFR, about > 76 percent of the payday loans issued in the states are "turned" loans, > meaning they are issued to help a borrower pay off a previous loan. > > > > Data compiled by the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts is similarly > dismal. A typical Florida payday loan customer ends up taking out nine > payday loans a year and is stuck in debt for nearly half of that year, > according to Pew. The average interest rate on Florida's payday loans is > 304 percent -- only slightly better than the 390 percent annual average. > Critically, the average payday loan amount of $389 is equal to 35 percent > of average paychecks in the state -- in line with national figures. > > > > "That's one of the keys to understanding why Florida's law has not > protected consumers," says Alex Horowitz, senior research officer at Pew. > "Very few borrowers can afford to sacrifice one-third of their paycheck and > still cover their expenses." > > > > There are a host of alternatives to the Florida law. In Colorado, > consumers already pay 60 percent less for a payday loan than they do in > Florida, according to Pew, and the payday industry continues to thrive. A > well-structured CFPB rule could enable even cheaper small loan alternatives > from small banks to replace the payday lender business model. > > > > Consumer groups in Wasserman Schultz's home state are actively > organizing to support the CFPB proposal. Churches throughout the state are > holding a series of mass meetings between March and July designed to > highlight the need for the new rules by inviting testimonials from > congregation members. > > > > "We want to hear from people who are caught in this vicious cycle of > debt to show people that Florida's law is a bad model if you want to take > care of families," says Jabari Paul, North Florida Regional Director of > Faith in Florida, a social justice coalition of congregations. > > > > Going after the CFPB is becoming something of a habit for Wasserman > Schultz. In November, she voted to undercut the agency's standards on auto > lending, helping car dealers charge higher prices to customers of color. > She recently signed onto a letter to CFPB Director Richard Cordray asking > him to exempt credit unions and banks with up to $10 billion in assets from > consumer protection rules. > > > > Republicans routinely push deregulatory legislation to dilute federal > consumer protection standards. But the Wasserman Schultz payday loan bill > had implications at the state level, as well. If approved, the bill would > unleash a nationwide lobbying campaign at statehouses that would put new > pressure on states like Colorado to weaken their consumer protection > standards to fit Florida's law. > > > > A total of seven Democrats are currently co-sponsoring the bill, > including five from Florida. Six Republicans from the state are backing it. > Paul notes the bipartisan nature of the support for payday lenders, but > applauds Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) for refusing to join the herd. > > > > "Not all of our congressional delegation members sold us out," Paul > says, before offering a pointed critique of the members of Congress who he > believes have done just that. "That's the whole point of being a faith > organization. We have allegiance to no political agents. Our calling is to > do what is right." > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > pen-l mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > > > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > >
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