Now it is impossible to trust credit card companies.
4
Why is this article already buried when it was on the front page this morning?
For a moment I thought I’d had a nightmare as I couldn’t find it to forward?
This isn’t good news reporting today NYTimes.
6
"Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits"? How about "Republicans Vote to Support Banks over People." Again.
13
Or how about "Democrats Vote to Support Trial Lawyer Lobby over People and the Economy"? Again.
1
Thank you, Senators Flake, Corker, McCain and Collins.
3
Please note that Senators John Mccain, Bob Corcharan, and Jeff Flake voted in favor of this. How do you like them now?
“Vice President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote Tuesday night to repeal a rule that made it easier for Americans to sue their banks and credit card companies.”
“Two Republican senators, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Kennedy of Louisiana, sided with Democrats in opposition to the resolution.”
7
ok the financial industry won. So how come my credit card interest rate is still at the statutory civil usury maximum for NY state. Despite nearly perfect credit scores.
1
I wonder why the CFPB did not propose to make a rule allowing *individuals* to sue their banks? In other words, stop banks from forcing people into arbitration. "Class Action" is a Red Herring here. Why should only Class Actions be allowed? Why can't I personally sue Wells Fargo, or Equifax for that matter? How does it help consumers to allow Class Action lawyers to swoop in, package up these cases that are designed to settle, enriching the law firms and sycophants while giving consumers a check like Steve Martin writes in "The Jerk?" "One dollar and nine cents..."
3
Your point is spot on. You need to just follow the money. Democrats are major recipients of trial lawyer funding. The CFPB was created by the Dems to be an unaccountable government agency. It is run by a left wing ideologue. Of course the Dems were going to try to focus only on class action lawsuits against a wealthy industry like banking. The money potential was too great, and the possibility of having class action windfalls recycled back to the Democrats was too great.
1
This ridiculous piece administrative rule making, written by a left wing ideologue who is (still) unaccountable to no one, was a gift to the trial lawyers lobby. The Times fails to note in its coverage that by the CFPB's own admission, the rule would have reduced payouts to consumers, as the main beneficiaries of class action law suits are trial lawyers. And while trial lawyers are the backbone of Democratic Party financing, they reach into the GOP as well, as evidenced by Senator Graham's lack of opposition to this bureaucratic overreach. The trial lawyers lobby must employ fantastic PR people: they drive up costs for consumers, decrease economic efficiency, and own the Democrats as much as the public sector unions, but seem to never be written about. Maybe one day CNN or the Times will take some staffers off the Russia story and explore how these multimillionaires come away with fortunes while their "clients" come away with pennies.
3
If arbitration clauses are so wonderful, why must they all be hidden -- buried in paragraphs of fine print?
Perhaps they are only of benefit to the GOP+WallStreet cartel -- and that is what matters most.
6
This is ridiculous, another example of our government at work and delivering on their promise of “for the people” If an election was called today, there would be many current politicians not returning. Enough is enough....
2
Our current tort system has very real issues which add unnecessary costs to goods and services, which are passed along to all in the form of higher prices for everything from coffee to health care.
However, restricting consumer access to the court system through mandatory arbitration is not the way forward as it does nothing to address issues with the tort system, rather it simply ensures consumers are the ultimate losers in the ongoing battle between business and trial attorneys.
7
This is just more proof that the Republicans (And often the Democrats) are against the constitution.
Arbitration clauses take away access to the courts, a fundamental right under the constitution.
If once legal action starts, both parties want to go to an arbitrator, there is nothing to stop them.
But forcing people to use arbitrators that don't want them is an attack on your civil liberties, and your bank account.
7
The financiers eating the lunch of the lawyers for a while. In a few years it'll swing the other way again and so on until there's nothing left of the carcass. Jackals fighting hyenas. Between these two lovely groups they take - what - 40, 50 percent of what the rest of us produce. Just an estimate, so it may be low.
2
Ah, yes. Big business is so handicapped by those dastardly customers who think they should be treated fairly that it needs government protection from them. Right.
6
Global banks hate lawsuits, until they are suing you.
4
Those who believe it should be easier to bring class-action lawsuits against financial institutions don't realize that the cost of these suits are born by all of us. Don't most of us own stocks in these companies? So why should our retirement savings be diminished to enrich lawyers or protect people who should have opened their eyes when they entered into a business relationship with a financial institution?
We already have laws that make it illegal for any company to defraud its customers. Do we need a bureau that is autonomous from both the legislative and executive branches to make new laws?
1
"We already have laws that make it illegal for any company to defraud its customers."
@ Ken Motamed since when has a law on anything prevented people from breaking the law? It's illegal to murder, yet people are murdered everyday. It's illegal to sell drugs, but our country is in the midst of a heroin epidemic. It's illegal to drive beyond the speed limit, but people speed everyday. It's illegal to drive under the influence of drugs/alcohol, and drive while texting or one the phone, but people are killed all the time by drivers who are drunk or distracted. It's illegal to cheat on your taxes, but people do it all the time, including the president.
And basically your saying that if other people are taken advantage of by a financial institution it's their fault and you don't care because your retirement savings might be at risk as a shareholder. Well if a company you have invested in is engaging in fraudulent business practices, your investment is already at risk from within more so than the external threat of litigation or settlement. Can you honestly say you would not obtain legal counsel if you were a victim of fraud?
8
There are laws on the books that make it illegal for companies to defraud individuals
but spending hugh sums of money to influence and rewrite legislation that shifts the balance of power away from individuals
and towards corporations is not one of them.
The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977
makes it illegal to bribe foreign government officials. Using the same methods to gain the same outcome domestically incures no punishment.
When Corporations and wealthy individuals
buy our politicians and hand them the legislative script, it shifts the power balance and harms us, the voters.
We need a stronger Consumer Financial Protection Bureau because the people we vote to send to Congress are failing to represent voters.
6
Laws with what teeth? Aren't Republicans famous for saying that laws don't stop people from shooting others with guns?
This is just one more step in the surrender of our country to corporations. Since the supreme court has allowed companies to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, and they allow companies to control the medical care you are able to receive, pretty soon they will be given the vote. And the vote will not be one vote, it will be weighted by the number of employees they have, and guess who will decide how they vote? The only and last question will be when this occurs, will the peoples' right to vote be superseded by the corporations. This may sound fanciful, but so did Citizens United.
3
"Stifling businesses by handcuffing them completely does not work. We’ve seen that in Socialist countries. You have to have a certain freedom to operate." ???
Freedom to operate any way they want? Forced arbitration places a wall around the actions and stacks the deck against those who have legitimate claims which should be judged by a jury of their peers.
6
Look up all of the crimes the global banks have admitted to over the last ten years. It will take a few hours, but it will be worth the education.
They are not loyal to the US or the People. They rob people regularly, and now they can get away with even more.
4
I have questions for the Republican Congressmen who voted for blocking this rule.
How would you feel to find while running for re-election that it was decided WITHOUT YOUR CONSENT that the election results would be decided not by the process of law but by an arbitrator chosen by the Democratic Party? Do you believe that you would be treated fairly?
Well, you just did that to the American consumer. The consumer now loses his access to the courts WITHOUT HIS CONSENT and is at the mercy of an
arbitrator who is chosen by the company, paid by the company, and who is
anxious for more of the company's business. Can you really in good conscience say that the consumer will receive fair and just treatment?
You just gave a license for malfeasance to corporations to get away with anything, even consumer deaths, or have you forgotten The Peanut Corporation of America that knowingly shipped contaminated product resulting in the illness and deaths of Americans?
10
There's no class action that passes directly to the jury; it has to be validated by a judge. So, the 'frivolity' thing is yet another lie.
There must be a Pence Swamp sign, for the day when the Donald Swamp is impeached.
3
It's a good thing there are no judges that are elected to the bench around the country. I am so relieved that you have assured me a judge is is controlling the validation of all mass torts. Glad to know there is no frivolity involved!
I can only imagine the tens of millions of mirrors that have been discarded from the homes of working class Americans who supported this President's election, and can no longer bear the sight of their own faces.
1
When money determines elections; the wealthy and corporation will rule.
6
Have Senate Republicans experienced collective amnesia?
2008 was not so long ago, and poorly regulated financial institutions is exactly what got us into that mess. To claim that deregulation of this industry will help Americans is not only patently false, but insulting.
22
Bob Corker, yea. Jeff Flake, yea. Susan Collins, yea. John McCain, yea. These are the "moderate Republicans?" The ones we are counting on to save the country? I really don't see the difference between them and all the other Republicans who voted the identical way to take our access to the courts away.
5
Of course consumer protection lost out. What else would you expect?
7
Remember how the GOP proletariat howled about Hillary's ties to Wall Street during the campaign? I wonder how they'll feel about this. But because it's Republicans doing it to them, I'm pretty sure I know the answer: "Thank you, sir, may I have another?"
7
I hope every senator who voted for the overturn of the rule had their personal data compromised from the Equifax hack and has their identity stolen. Let them suffer the consequences of "no recourse" when they want to sue Equifax only to realize, they just took away their right to do so. Every. One. Of. Them.
13
I agree, but no Senator would ever have to suffer any consequences. One phone call to the right person and their problem would be sorted out immediately. As for the rest of us, we're on our own.
4
That sounds like a dare to Anonymous.
3
Just more confirmation of what has been obvious for decades: The Greedy Oligarchs' Party is the Party of the Rich that exclusively represents their wealthy donors.
Unfortunately, they're also the Party of Alternative Facts, with a propaganda arm that keeps millions of chickens enthusiastically voting for Colonel Sanders.
6
And unfortunately, the only thing the Democrats want to do about it is compromise with them.
next to lift the enormous burden from the tobacco industry and one again declare that smoking is actually good for you - good job Lumpy (trump) - mission accomplished.
1
Anyone who does not have reasonable access at law to resolve tort disputes is essentially a peon, a powerless medieval peasant. This is a class question. The well off enjoy the privilege of having their own court system, staffed with competent, intelligent jurists who scrupulously respect the rights of all parties involved. The rest of us get night court. The Senate and House just put one more brick in the wall that separates Americans based solely on wealth. From sea to shining sea!
3
And of course McCain, Corker, and Flake voted to hurt Americans by allowing banks and credit card companies to continue their criminal activities. They are no heroes as they are proclaiming to be this week. It's the same old circus just a different act for attention.
6
Let me be small, petty and vindictive; may the defanging of the CFPB bring huge pain upon as many Republican voters as possible.
3
As a "good Christian" Pence had no choice but to vote as he did. Didn't the Bible say that the meek shall inherit the dirt? And there is no inheritance tax on it.
3
What ever happened to, "If you haven't done anything wrong then you have nothing to fear?" The litany of big business abuses from Enron to the 2008 meltdown, to Wells Fargo, Experien, etc. suggests that it's cheaper to buy politicians than it is to face your customers in court.
9
Good! The CFPB rule was nothing more than a giant gift to the trial lawyers. The average consumer would have received cents and the lawyers millions. Class action suits are a plague on the country.
1
We can fix class action payments without giving global banks special treatment.
1
Whether the company paid the lawyers or escapes payment through arbitration the consumer gets the same - except with the preventative threat of class action lawsuits they may think twice about deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, etc., practices in the first place. Saving everyone all the trouble.
I guess now its the same as they save everyone all the trouble AND get to use deceptive, dishonest, fraudulent, etc., practices.
1
This is shameful, but hardly surprising. What it says to the American public is: Read all the fine print. Remember there is no such thing as a free lunch. If it looks too good to be true, it most likely is. Live within your means, whatever it takes. Know that the bank or credit card company will always get their money no matter how tricky you think you are. GET REAL and you won't have problems with your bank or credit card company.
1
Thank you citizens united. There's no way for the little guy to fight anymore. Why do Republicans hate Americans so much?
2
“Tonight’s vote is a giant setback for every consumer in this country,” Richard Cordray, the director of the consumer bureau, said in a statement. “As a result, companies like Wells Fargo and Equifax remain free to break the law without fear of legal blowback from their customers.”
That's it. There it is. As someone who brought a case in arbitration against a brokerage house, I can tell you that the system is rigged. And we "won".
Won? We got our money back, no interest, after 8 years and a ton of work. We were threatened with counter-suits and made to travel all over the country. We got back the $15,000 lost by the broker selling uncovered calls without authorization in the account of a man of 83 years age who was in the hospital at the time getting open heart surgery. There was no deterrent at all.
Yes, arbitration--good luck. And look at what banks like HSBC are doing! Laundering drug cartel money, Russian oligarch money, terrorist money. And of course lovely Equifax.
Hold your nose as the Republicans dump something else on us that's rotten and stinks.
5
Yay! I'm not tired yet of all the winning!
Banks own the country plain and simple.
Now we've come full circle. Obama let the predatory lenders off the hook for the financial crisis they created via sub-prime mortgages. His effort to be balanced was to create the Bureau and appoint a strong consumer advocate. Now the GOP, including stalwart anti-Trumpists like Flake and McCain, are stripping consumers of the best weapon to defend themselves AND deter mafia style lending practices. Any wonder people don't vote? It's because the system is rigged so the wealthy always prevail. More power to Cordray in his run for office in Ohio.
8
And then later on, when they get ripped off by their banks or credit cards with no recourse, the "economically anxious" are going to blame "corrupt politicians in Washington" and "the swamp."
So Flake and Corker voted to eliminate any meaningful legal recourse when their banks fleece them. Once again -- especially Flake -- all talk, but in the end they put corporate money over individuals and line up with Trump's crusade to complete the transition of our once great country into a plutocracy run by corporations.
Isn't it the right wing that likes to say "if you have done nothing wrong or have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear."
It would seem that the corporations are very fearful.
1
Making America Great Again by allowing corporations to rip off the average hard working American, while eliminating avenues of recourse to right the wrong.
A draft dogging sociopath who gets a 4 star general to lie for him on national TV is working as hard as he can to protect his cronies, because we all know how vulnerable and at risk the wealthy are. We must preserve and protect their wealth, because that makes me so much richer.
4
Why, oh please tell me why any thinking woman or man in the street, Republican or Democrat, would want to lose the right to take legal action against Big Banking and Big Plastic. Didn't those who voted for Trump do so because he promised to get Big Government off their backs? Here we have a classic case of BG telling them what they cannot do. To the detriment of everyone except Trump's coterie of Big Money hucksters.
2
This is one more example of the sad decline of representative government in the U.S. Of the people, for the people, by the people, HA! what a quaint thought.
4
We have government of Wall Street, by Wall Street and against the People. Can we save our experiment in democracy for our children and grandchildren. ? -Rudy
2
This NYT article ONLY confirms that the political system is primarily chosen, owned, and beholden to central bankers, wall street financiers ,and all their lesser ,"trickle down" debt capitalist, business"associates in the "loan sharking" credit card and other subsidiary ,usuriuos, money lending enterprises.
Interestingly, this "politico-finance" clandestine and endemic manipulation of government.........defines the SOURCE of the INSTITUTIONALIZED OPPORTUNISTIC CORRUPTION of POLITICS and the REAL definition of TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS and its beneficiaries !
So much for draining the swamp. This is a real gift to those financial institutions who lobbied the Republican members of congress. So shameful but what else can we expect. Even if the swamp is drained the snakes remain.
2
This is great news. No more getting checks out of the blue for $1.87 for some silly issue that looked even sillier when discovered by opening what otherwise looked like junk mail. Doubtless the lawyers were counting on my not cashing the check, and of course they were right. Keep the change fellas.
Next logical step is for Cordray to do a Flake on us minus the speech. Before Cordray gets fired, that is. Hurry up! The court could green light Trump for Cordray firing any minute.
For those wondering why class action suits are of zero value to the country, feel free to peek at my other post here:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/opinion/let-consumers-sue-companies.h...
1
Well, how much was your investment/whatever loss?? What percentage was the $1.87 of what you lost??
We just chose companies over people. The argument that frivolous lawsuits will increase like crazy is such a weak argument. If a big company engages in behavior that hurts the public, they should be allowed to be sued. All this means is that companies like Equifax can engage in risky behaviors that lead to your private info being compromised and ya can't sue them. Preposterous...and precisely when the gov needs to intervene. These Senators just dug some part of their graves.
Here I go again. I have explained to my senators staff how the average consumer does not have the ability to see through charlatans offering bad investment advice - and been disappointed with the lack of fiduciary rules.
This common sense rule should be instated and again I am disappointed.
Please call/email your senators and make them aware of how this hurts us. Don't just reply to comments here.
2
This is just plain wrong. Americans used to understand the danger posed by big banks. Remember when they they made risky investments using your money- without telling you? Remember when we bailed them out because they were too big to fail? Remember when banks made loans to Veterans and when they were posted overseas they foreclosed on Vets? Remember when bankers opened an account in your name? Without telling you? Sorry, little people, this is how Amerika works now. Courts? For the rich. Voting? Not for poor people of color. Republicans seems determined to remove what little power we as American citizens still retain.
To those who praised Senators Corker and Flake for taking on Trump, this vote tells you more about where their own moral compass is set. Sorry, they are no better then Trump; maybe worse.
The best answer is to take your money out of these banks. I took my money out of Chase Bank over 10 years ago after poor customer service, indifference and a particularly disrespectful, rude local Chase Bank Manager grilled me about why I was taking my money out, I was convinced I made the right decision. And as we see, their treatment of me is how they treat all people without significant wealth and or power. The large banks will not reform because the system we have does not demand it.
But we can all move our money to credit unions and even better, if we want banks to work for the Public good, ie for all of us & our communities as opposed to banks working for the bottom line, ie greed, Check this link out: http://www.publicbankinginstitute.org/intro_to_public_banking
Anyone still wonder what the GOP is really all about or whose “side” it’s on? I know, their supporters and those supporters of the current WH occupant don’t generalize “wonder” about anything; they just snarl and blame others.
Why does a "win" for the Republican party sound so much like a loss for the American people?
How do we get through to Republican voters that the GOP only cares about the wealthy and corporate America. An honest company would have nothing to fear by this rule. Companies like wellsfargo, Equifax, and nursing homes that abuse the elderly shouldn't be protected from being held accountable when their practices impact a large percentage of their customers. Of course people will keep voting for Republicans. We're a joke.
10
Just as much of the anti-American garbage coming out of the GOP in Congress and the Trump Administration, this will disproportionately affect Trump Nation. One of the guiding reasons for angry white voters to put Trump in the White House and Republicans into Congress was a feeling of despair because they had no voice and no jobs. Everything, that's everything that Republicans in Congress and the Administration are doing will hurt their own supporters. Will those angry voters realize it, or will Fox News convince them that it's all "fake news"? We have a government that has been put in place by a minority of Americans. Thanks, again, angry white voters.
To everyone who still believes the party of Trump is here to fight for the “little guy” and the “forgotten people” - you are delusional, and I feel sorry for you. However, your votes for this are dragging the rest of us down with you, so my pity is limited.
When the next market collapse comes - and it will - the oligarchs you elected will not lift a finger to help you. They will be too busy taking away health care access, retirement savings vehicles, and consumer protections. It’s the free market, don’t you see? Good luck with that; you’ll need it.
1
2018 Repeal Congress and Replace tRump
2
In my opinion, all arbitration is a waste of time for the victim. If you can't sue, there's really no viable legal alternative that will give you justice.
The Republican Party has shown itself to be a puppet party in the hands of Wall St., the Mercers, and the Koch brothers. These people are not Trump supporters. Trump works for them. Believe me. Trump works for them.
The Mercers could stop Trump's tweets. And if they told Trump to apologize to Mrs. Myeshia Johnson, he would do it. Trump is a liar, a small-time billionaire (if at all), loser who has not made his tax returns available to the American public. How can anyone trust him in the area of tax reform?
So much for the "maverick" Mc Cain and the "courageous" Flake ! When it comes to destroy consumers protections, they just vote like other corrupted Republicans.
2
Remember this and that each and EVERY time you hand over money, for anything service or product, consider it gone. It is near to impossible to get it back. Many businesses know this, it is a verifiable yet questionable business model or practice. Good luck getting a dime back from anyone these days.
I itemize every purchase I make and scrutinize my monthly bills. I can't you how many 'errors' I find. I save many hundreds by doing this. One of the worst offenders is the mega grocery store. They will overcharge you if they can and they do get away with it if you're not paying attention. I find an error(s) at least 50% of the time.
Don't ever do verbal agreements anymore, ever. Get it ALL on paper or electronically, (e-mail). Thieves, scoundrels, con artists, scammers and grifters are the norm today. It is now the odd person or business that is actually honest. Sadly.
1
Republicans have already proven they won't hold the Banksters accountable. Now they've removed the ability of the general public to do so as well.
WTG, Reps. When given a chance to support either the working public or the rich Wall-Streeters, you choose the thieves.
Here is to hope that one day you shall find yourselves on the either side of this particular fence. I shall finally have a real laugh after so many years of watching you slowly kill the American public. The poetic justice alone will be comical.
Looking forward to the ads the democrats will be showing of Mike Pence being the toad of Wall Street. Lawsuits are good enough for the Dotard but the rest of us get arbitration?
We can thank the Trump voters, those who stayed home or those who did not vote for Hillary for this. The swamp just got swampier. Elections do have consequences.
1
Why isn't this your number one story today? This is huge news, especially given the supposed populism of Trump, and the "brave" declarations from Flake, Corker et al.
Yeah, poor lil' Wall Street and Big Banks need "protection' from the big, bad citizens they've swindled who then seek redress... Try suing Citi or Wells Fargo on your own to get back your looted money, Mr & Mrs Customer!
Really, what else do we need to know about the priorities of Trump and the Republicans?
1
The Republican party once again takes the side of the strong over the weak.
1
Sorry NYT, the headline should read: Republicans Act to shield Wall Street from Consumers.
That’s not being liberal. That’s being honest.
1
GOP gears up to cause the next economic crash.
1
And Pence's platform was drain the swamp - sad.
1
Note that supposed "heroes" McCain, Flake, and Corker all voted to support corporations over citizens, as did supposed moderate Susan Collins.
Trump voters, you've been warned....both Trump and the GOP have no qualms about selling you out to placate their corporate donors.
2
We are being sold down the river. Shame on these greedy men who are supposed to protect us from those who have all of the chips. Shame.
2
So this just happens? I don't know with whom I am more disappointed, the NYT or the Democrats, for the lack of information that this bellwether event was taking place. The financial-industrial complex is profoundly powerful in this country, and a sequence of events like this being allowed to fly under the radar reflects poorly on the NYT as an independent liberal voice and on the Democratic Party as a champion for the average American citizen.
Trump supporters are made, not born, and it is events like this that mint them.
1
Oh no, any trial lawyers who find themselves homeless because of this can live in my basement.
2
The Brietbart wing of the GOP and their "economic nationalism" theme is exposed by this kind of news --- because of their lack of comment and total inaction to protect average working class Republicans from parasitic banks.
You want to take on elites?! Start here. Anything else demonstrates that "economic nationalism" is really just an electioneering distraction. Brietbart, Bannon, and the MAGA wing has been absolutely silent on Wall Street banks and their daily attacks on average working class Americans.
16
In case you're wondering how Republicans get away with this kind of stuff over and over, head on over to Fox News. This news is nowhere to be found.
3
The Republican party is a disgrace.
4
true - but decades old news
1
Of course they did, it is what they do and what they have done for hundreds of years since invading our land. Why are people surprised by this? They are not stupid, but they are credulous and believe that rich, powerful white men will protect them. They will not.
2
This is a sad day for the American consumer.
Breathe the air while it is still clean,
and take the longer view for solace.
When the pendulum swings too far to the right,
guess where it swings next.
David blogs at InconvenientNews.wordpress.com
3
Senate crooks vote to protect Wall Street crooks.
3
fraud - the cornerstone of american business - drain the swamp? no, fill the cesspool.
3
These votes reveal that people like Jeff Flake and Bob Corker are hypocritical barking dogs and nothing more. If they are resigning anyways, then serving the people for a year should not hurt.
6
No. They are just behaving like "good" republicans because the big payout job is awaiting them beyond the revolving door & into the offices of Goldman Sachs, hedge funds, pirate--eh private equity firms, and other hustling financial enterprises.
The basket of deplorables in Congress once again inflicts damage on "ordinary Americans."
And those who voted for them and against their own interests stand there with stupid grins on their faces, still clutching the rapidly melting ice cream cone of lies the Republicans sold to them during the election campaign.
Oh, well ...
They'll just lick their empty, sticky hands and eagerly wait for the Republicans to hand them another big ice cream cone of false promises during the next election campaign.
The tinkle of ice-cream-man Trump's little bell as he pedals by will prove irresistible.
2
If this is draining the swamp, bring the bog back.
3
A disaster. Most Trump followers have no idea this is happening. Trump is a joke as a populist.
3
The ultimate hypocrites, Flake and Corker, rip Trump and then vote to fortify some other Wall Street rich guys from legal accountability.
4
we need an actual revolution where the fraudsters and their politicians are treated as the criminals they are. a curse on them all.
3
What a surprise
Jesus favors bankers and corporate CEOs over ordinary working-class folks.
2
Haven´t all of you realised that The USA is ALL about Money !
It says so in the dollar bill. " In God we trust " !
1
Question: trump voters, are you tired of winning yet?
3
This is not at all surprising.
What is surprising, however, is that Obama-worshippers seem to forget that Saint Obama and his Democratic cohorts had eight long years to make sure this didn't happen.
Even considering obstructionism by the Republicans, Obama still had a two year window with a filibuster-proof majority to abolish arbitration in financial matters by passing a law to prohibit arbitration clauses.
Obviously, the Republicans weren't going to do anything about it. But where were the Democrats, especially the President and that fabulous Democratic leadership everyone keeps raving about. Nancy? Chuck? Anyone?
This is another example of the Democrats squandering an opportunity to really deliver and make them relevant by showing that they actually care about the concerns of their constituents and not only of their donors.
But that's how you collect $500,000 a speech after you leave office because the CEOs of Wells Fargo, Equifax etc. knew they could count on you.
But, of course, brainwashed American liberals will scream "Bad, bad Trump", "Bad, bad Republicans" when it was 'their guy' that sold them down the river in the first place.
Political corruption was listed as the #1 concern by 75% of Americans in a recent poll. Problems with health insurance came in second at 55%.
This blatant corruption didn't start with Trumpelstilzkin, he just does it even more - right in your face, too.
Americans, time to wake up to the fact you are being played by BOTH sides.
For suckers.
5
Sadly, you're correct.
1
The most important news of the day, buried beneath an avalanche of reports over Flake's grandstanding and other pseudo-political fluff.
I do give the Times credit for at least reporting on this, but this should have been front-and-center news, not just in this paper, but on the networks as well. Fat chance that'll ever happen though.
1
Just another Trump / GOP lead victory for Corporate Greed and their desire to create a two tier society. Those that have much and those that have absolutely nothing. Thank you team Trump / GOP for thoroughly screwing the little folks! Just can't wait to see how great your new tax plan will be for poor people and the middle class!
1
Republicans to protect the forgotten men and women have:
- abandoned a rule that would have made over 4m more people eligible for overtime
- abandoned a rule that would have made it easier for consumers to vindicate their rights without paying out of their own pocket (i.e., class actions)
- abandoned a rule that would give independent farmers a better chance of fighting deceptive and unfair trade practices by big companies (farmer fair practice rule)
- abandoned a rule that would have made easier for low income female workers to better control when they got pregnant (free birth control mandate).
So, it looks like republicans haven't forgotten the little people. Instead, they are targeting the little people to make sure they suck every last thing out of them. But hey, they voted for it.
4
Trump, Inc. and VP Pence just gave the shaft to their most devoted constituents: working-class Americans who are loathe to engage in arbitration, and now have no alternative but to silently smolder while they swallow the insults heaped upon them by Wall Street in the form of fees and disclaimers.
Wake up, fellow Americans. You're being taken for a joy ride in a stolen car.
2
Arbitration is one-sided. Just imagine a Bank of America official arbitrating the fraudulent account case against Wells Fargo.
Arbitration is NOT subject to Judicial Review.
Arbitration is NOT subject to appeal.
Arbitration is NOT a Judicial proceeding.
Arbitration is completely SECRET.
Who is looking out for the consumer? Certainly NOT the Republicans!!
It's a shame that the ONLY way banks and the financial sector can turn a profit is by screwing over their customers!!!
4
At least Corker and Flake remain true to the Republican cause of screwing the middle class, poor and anyone else foolish enough to use Banks and financial institutions who too are working to screw us. Could it be an indication of where they would like to work next? I wonder what their compensation would look like?
Well even if they don't choose to make millions that way, they do have the satisfaction of screwing millions of us!
2
Evidently, you can fool half of the people all of the time. They vote for Republicans and then get screwed every time.
2
This is a direct attack on democracy. If lawmakers do everything in their power given by us to screw us over, guess what, sooner or later people will look for alternatives. If I were Chinese right now, and I would see what the outcome of democracy in the us is, I'm sure many would say thanks but no thanks. If politicians organize election districts so that they cannot lose, if they legalise bribery and if they vote not to protect people... The Republicans are fighting democracy, and many Americans don't care.
This is another example of how corrupt this GOP Congress is when they constantly claim to be working for the people, working for America, but instead are working for special interest, the banks, and Wall Street. They prove it by all the legislation they are now passing that benefit these, revoking rules that protect consumers, and taking away more from the middle class to give to the rich with this so-called tax cut legislation from this abomination of a President we have. Folks, these people are in DC to enrich themselves, to continue the gravy train of getting millions from lobbyist, banks, Wall Street, corporations, and the rich. They cater and pass laws to benefit these groups who in turn gives them millions. It's bribery on a grand scale. This President has them doing his bidding to further enrich himself off the government and taxpayers. This guy didn't run for President to do the right thing for America, but to do everything for himself and for more wealth. He cares nothing about people, never has, never will. You folks that voted for him were so easily taken by this con man and he knew it. Keep voting these charlatans in the GOP in and you'll always be getting shafted. People like Sen. Sanders and Sen. Warren are among the few in government that really cares about people and doing the right thing for America.
1
There they go again. screwing the middle class. And guess who picks the arbitrator you appear in front of? oh yeah the bank...wonder why republicans hat the average person and loves religious crazies and mega corporations.. hmm
1
Simple and plainly written contracts completely went out the door with the adoption of the internet, Congressional approval of one-click signatures, and website "terms and conditions". Only corporations now have "privacy rights", i.e. "trademarks", copyrights, etc. Maybe we should go back to the good old days. Congress screws everything up.
2
If this is now the case , Than Consumer should have the right for simple and plain contracts language from the Banks.
3
Republicans, including Corker and Flake, voted for the Banksters.
Hey, Trump supporters, now you know which side Trump and the Republicans are on. (Hint - not yours.)
10
It's a club, and you and I ain't in it.
1
So when the banks cause another implosion to the economy ( just a matter of time ) and again not be held responsible( at our expense) ; the next thing on their agenda will be to kill the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau at another midnight vote. There are no longer any words left to describe their actions. This is truly the dismantling America and the principles that it has stood for ; never perfect but with more freedoms that have fast become eroded.
12
Opening the floodgates to literally nickel and dime people to death. Someone is already calculating exactly the dollar figure most people will tolerate loosing without going to the trouble of trying to arbitrate. The real question is what is to preclude a financial or other firm with arbitration clauses from illegally collecting $20 or $100 from an individual (many individuals) over and over again (for different reasons of course). Arbitration is required for each separate offense (?) so what if every large corporation one deals with decides to just bilk everyone $20 or $100/month or week - I guess its a monthly arbitration for each company for each individual? What is to prevent this from happening?
8
Democrats are right ... and Republicans are right, too. Consumers should be able to trump arbitration in some instances, but there need to be standards to objectively and reliably determine which suits are frivolous, allowing summary dismissal. Cordray insisted on being Cordray and didn't even look for ways to adjust a regulation to achieve balance and bipartisan support.
Where money is concerned, people are no damned good. If left too much power or artificially protected, corporations will abuse. Yet, if there aren’t rational checks on the power to challenge abuse, the challenges themselves will become abusive – and that DOES damage growth and the economy generally. Regulators, given too much power, WILL over-regulate. They’re not put there NOT to regulate.
Responsible regulation recognizes this reality and seeks protections that curb abuse on one side yet avoid creating it on the other. In the case of Richard Cordray’s CFPB, and even Obama’s EPA, we see examples of regulatory power gone amok. Yet the absence of either consumer financial or environmental regulation damages the nation’s interests, as well.
This is why a CFPB that is not answerable in a material sense to ANY authority is a mutant in our form of government. Regulators need to be kept on a leash, and Cordray has known no leash since the CFPB was rammed by an undivided Democratic government that existed for a mere two years.
Ohio is welcome to him, if they’ll have him. He’s dangerous.
A vote for Republicans is vote to empower corruption.
If you like being legally swindled, keeping voting those moronic wedge issues.
16
I work in disability law. Our firm only gets paid if a client wins is awarded benefits and even then compensation is capped at a predetermined percentage or set dollar. Cases take years to work from start to resolution. From district court, to appeals, and even civil actions at the federal level. However, all of our clients benefit because there is strength in numbers. Now put that in the context of say Well Fargo or Equifax. How many people have spent years of their life and thousands of dollars trying to get incorrect info on their credit reports expunged to no avail? How many clients of the bank had fraudulent accounts set up in their name? How many of these individuals have the resources to take on a monolithic entity alone and win their claim? Very few. And the financial institutions, with their huge, well staffed legal departments know that.
It's like asking David to fight a legion of Goliath's with no sling or stones, and one hand tied behind his back.
30
It simply takes people being informed and showing up to vote against this,wedessertgirl.
5
we need a new regime that will take draconian action against grifters.
1
One more nail in the coffin of democracy.
"60 minutes" had a segment a few months ago that featured a fake international investor who wanted to hide money from taxes in his home country. He took a hidden camera into meetings with several New York law firms seeking advice on how to hide the money. Only one of about the six presented told the man to get out because he didn't help launder money. The others said, in one way or another, they would get back with him. The end of the segment was a video of a lawyer saying, "We make the laws and we make them to benefit ourselves".
I got chills and realize that he spoke the truth. America is no longer a land of lawyers defending OUR American constitution. It's a land of Robber Baron lawyers helping their Robber Baron friends steal all the can from the rest of us.
Why did ethical lawyers allow these thieves to get control of OUR government? Is there any honor in the law of the land anymore? Is the "white" wall of silence as bad as the "blue" wall of protection for bad cops?
It is time for every person in The United States of America to figure out what they, individually, stand for. WE are The United States of America . WE are the government. What do WE want from ourselves?
Right Now is the time to figure it out while there is still time to preserve the America the vast majority of us want.
14
Ask, instead, where are the ethical businesses.?
Ethical lawyers, businesses and citizens should vote for ethical leaders.
Unfortunately, they seem to be outnumbered.
4
Not to seem overly cynical but it’s been my observation that “ethical” people rarely run for public offices any more. Given the enormous expenses of running even small local campaigns nearly every candidate is either beholden to corporate interests or comes into politics with wealth and personal interests.
1
Saw that 60 min episode too. These were 5 out of 6 New York law firms that did not turn away strangers looking to launder money in their office. In this country lawyers have their hands on the balance because they can and do lie and cheat with impunity. By definition this is not justice. This is not "for the people". It's just another swamp that you need to stay away from at all costs!
So the GOP has a win and democracy take a hit.
We need representation and government that protect the interests
of people who struggle against predatory and unregulated industry.
Nay to the entrenched Republican elite who are out so of touch.
11
"The friction is intensifying as Mr. Cordray’s tenure at the bureau is ending. Appointed by Mr. Obama in 2012 to a five-year term, Mr. Cordray is widely expected to step down sooner to run for governor in Ohio."
Sooner as in the next two and half months? His tenure would end by 2018 in any event. As with anything in government , when you pass laws without working with the opposition , they ultimately fail on the grounds of over reach - Cordray should have worked with the Chamber of Commerce etc to produce a rule that would have permitted legitimate grievances to come to court while fettering out the frivolous but counter productive fanaticism is faster and easier at least in the short term.
1
The Chamber of Commerce is not in 5he business of protecting consumers.
7
And here I thought that SCOTUS ruled that corporations were the same as human people. I guess that means that I can't be sued either! What a double standard.
5
Very good point, and you also can't work in the US, but claim you live somewhere else, so you can pay much lower tax rates either.
The Democratic Party should be preparing, for all to see, an omnibus bill to immediately reverse all the damage that the Trump administration and the Republican Party inflicted on our nation 2017-1018. This way, as soon as the Democrats regain legislative control, no time will be wasted in:
1. Restoring the regulations that were protecting American home buyers, consumers, workers, the environment, and our public lands;
2. Restoring the budget;
3. Reversing the tax reforms that transferred so much wealth from the 99% to the greedy rich oligarchs and overly poweful enterprises, and that increased our debt;
4. Restoring our respect and credibility in the world by rejoining the Paris accords and all the other treaties and agreements broken by Trump and his Republican enablers;
5. Restoring the abiltiy of our publicly employed scientists to publicize their findings;
6. Restoring all the cuts that shrank rather than improved our nation's healthcare.
Every new outrage by Trump and the Republican Party should predictably and immediately by followed by a uniform assurance by the Democrats, such as:
"Dear America,
This cave in by the Republican Party to make it easy for certain banks, once again, to harm individual customers and our entire economy, will be immediately reversed as soon as you vote in your own best interests and replace the harmful party of greed with honest party of the people."
12
The beginning of the end for most credit providers. Another Republican ill conceived public policy move.
Lawmakers should study the changing AGE Demographics of the United States rather than Lobbyists position papers.
Boomers and Millennials, have shown their preferences for using anything BUT credit already. Lower income groups don't make enough to qualify for credit.
Anti- consumer legislation will just hasten the demise of more retail stores. Great job , Chamber of Commerce, in helping your high dues paying members to an early retirement or bankruptcy.
2
I weep for the banks and financial institutions - the enormous burdens they must bear to extract money from the consumer.
9
After the 2008 crash, the rich got richer, thanks to bail outs and clever accounting. They took our retirement plans and bought up foreclosures so they could rent them back to us. Crashes shift money upwards, so are republicans worried about crashes? Yes - they are worried consumer protections will prevent them.
13
Excellent.
We were approached by a home repair company that demanded that we sign a contract that mandated that we agree to arbitration to settle disputes and that allowed them to put liens on our property. We looked somewhere else. This removal of protection will have a dampening effect on consumer spending.
11
In an Oct. 13 letter to Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, the Senate Banking Committee’s ranking Democrat, CFPB Director Richard Cordray was feeling pressure to fend off the Treasury Department's and Office of the Comptroller of Currency's empirical criticisms of his agency's trial lawyer-enriching anti-arbitration rule and inadvertently admitted a broader truth: Contrary to the argument that he and other rule supporters had been using all along, Mr. Cordray confessed that consumers are not being forced to sign contracts with mandatory arbitration clauses in order to access financial services.
“We know,” Mr. Cordray wrote, “that roughly half of the credit card market does not have arbitration clauses in their agreements. If the OCC review were correct, it would mean that these banks are operating at a substantial competitive disadvantage.” He added that his agency had also surveyed a “random sample” of 141 community banks, and found that only 7% of them use arbitration agreements.
Thus Mr. Cordray now admits that roughly half of big banks that issue credit cards, and nearly all smaller banks that provide checking accounts, do NOT require their customers to sign contracts with mandatory arbitration clauses. So how in the world did the CFPB ever conclude it needed to impose itself on a sound and functioning market—a market in which consumers have plenty of choices and banks that don’t require arbitration are free to advertise themselves as such?
Taking your statement of facts as accurate: why would financial institutions and the Chamber of Commerce object to the regulation ?
3
what this article does not mention is that the ability to sue is more of a gift to the trial lawyers than it is a help to consumers.
Many times I have received a letter in the mail from some law firm, telling me that I will be part of a class action.
In general, when those suits are resolved, each consumer gets a few dollars and the law firm walks away with tens of millions.
I am not sure arbitration is any better, but at least be honest - the Democrats are standing up for the law firms that give them money, not for the little guy.
3
There are 2 asp3cts to examine:
1. Repairing damage to an individual consumer - which may be small.
And
2. Stopping the odious practice.
2
Next time a family member of yours is defrauded by a major bank, call a plumber.
Don’t give up-vote in 2018 and 2020 for representatives and senators who will amend the Federal Arbitration Act to restrict the use of mandatory arbitration clauses in adhesion consumer contracts.
19
So basically the GOP believes people have a right to assemble in common purpose in order to form fictitious legal entities (aka corporations), but they do not have the right to assemble in common purpose to pursue legal remedies against those fictitious legal entities.
26
It sounds like you've just described tyranny - the most hated aspect of the government this nation's founding fathers conspired to overthrow. We appear to steadily moving back to the state of affairs in which the Unites States of America was originally conceived.
Class actions suits are a mechanism of democracy to hold those accountible who can be held so, no other way.
13
Last year I made the mistake of buying a double oven from Whirlpool. Every time that I ran the cleaning cycle the thermal fuse would blow (and the circuit board fail). I foolishly assumed that the extended warranty that I had bought from Whirlpool would protect me. Not only did Whirlpool refuse to honor their warranty they informed me that I could not sue them, I could only go to arbitration. In Michigan. With an arbitrator chosen by them. If the Republicans truly believed in markets they would be supporting any measures that could allow the consumer to fight back against the monopolists' exploitation of their market dominance. But of course, they don't
31
Whirlpool is notorious for inferior appliances and abysmal customer service...Would't even think about purchasing another thing from them...Consumers have ZERO RECOURSE against any of these corporations. Good luck fighting them, as we don't have a chance...
Very good. Isn't it funny how these pseudo-conservative Republicans rail against big government, all the while employing every advantage that very government they have hijacked is affording them? Heaven forbid the government should offer a helping hand to the people, but when it comes to coddling the corporations the wealthiest Americans own shares in and control, it's just fine. There's a word for that..
I totally agree. Unfortunately Consumer Reports had recommended Whirlpool! When I complained to them they told me that they had ranked ovens on their "listed features" but had not actually tested any of them
Consumer Reports (or some such organization) should offer a website that includes a checkbox for whether a company insists on an arbitration cause in its side-by-side product comparisons.
28
This. This is the type of thing that concerned citizens need to keep their eyes on, not on Trump’s obnoxious behavior. My hope is that the Democrats are keeping score of every narrow loss and putting those things on the top of their “fix it” agenda should they come into power in the next term. Note; if this constant whittling away of our rights continues unabated for the next 3-7 years I will be considering picking up sticks and moving to Canada. This country is going to be Downton Abbey Pt.2 if we don’t act soon. “More sugar for your tea, M’Lord?”...
17
While we are being horrified at Trump's attacks on Gold Star families, the press and the NFL, the GOP is dismantling environmental, financial and consumer protections.
We need more analysis of policy in the press. Trump's asinine behavior has been an effective smokescreen.
And now we know EXACTLY who controls congress and the White House.
The US population is so desperate for change that they gambled and lost on a huckster named Trump -- who is as subject to the whims of Wall Street as any leader in history, perhaps moreso because he has no moral philosophy whatsoever.
I am truly fearful of what comes next. As people grow more desperate for a better chance in life, what type of risks will they take?
17
So the Republicans hurt ordinary working citizens to protect and defend Wall Street, to line the pockets of their rich donors, and keep reeling in the off-shore money from who know what violent foreign kleptocrat.
This is not what the American people voted for. This is what an occupation by a foreign power looks like. 25 for 45.
6
Hey, GOP a la Trump: where's the populism in that?
How does it benefit the laid off steel worker in the Midwest to have the way blocked for her/him to sue, say Well Fargo Mortgage company for opening bogus accounts on that worker's mortgage account?
Can Pence's vote be explained on the campaign trail ... anywhere except on Wall Street?
7
A friend of mine recently complained about his working conditions and poor treatment by his employer. When I suggested that he and his coworkers needed a union, he replied "Unions are for lazy workers"
The GOP will find a way to message this that will convince people like my friend that banks and CC companies are benevolent and those who sue are unappreciative low-lifes.
5
But they can still sue us, no? The hypocrisy here is gut wrenching.
Let's see if this passes the Drain The Swamp test:
Government action prevents ordinary Americans from using their justice system to fight back in civil court when a powerful corporation harms them financially. Instead, these citizens are forced into arbitration, which is playing against a stacked deck.
Yes! It passes! The swamp is too full of rich Democratic lawyers.
Do we have time for another case, or is time for lunch?
This is great for shareholders. By stopping the capability of consumers to coordinate their legal actions the incentive of the financial institutions will be to find as many legally questionable ways to skim a little bit of money from as large of a group of their customers as they can.
If a million people each lose $5 to the bank's fraudulent practices and their individual cost to recover it is $5,000, then there will be no check on abuses. Think you're going to take your business elsewhere? Guess again! They'll all be running the same scams.
4
Yet again, Republicans who claim they are tired of Trump's lack of decency and ethics voted against the common people. I guess it all depends on who they are talking to and when. My own senators are worthless, in my estimation, one sponsoring onerous health care bills and the other not doing much of anything that I can see.
The problem with individual arbitration is that it is not only unwieldy but also that results are often hidden. In effect, the wheel is invented again and again in the most costly and suspect manner.
2
The oft-repeated canard that class action lawsuits only serve to make lawyers rich omits to note that lawyers only get rich if the Court finds that the rights of their clients were breached and awards compensation to those victimized. A frivolous case brings nothing to a lawyer except his own costs thrown away. If lawyers are making millions on these lawsuits, there is a lot of abusive conduct being found by impartial judges who stand to make nothing by their decisions.
6
More of the same from Trump and the Republicans. Good luck to those Trump supporters when banks act like Wells Fargo and play with their accounts in order to boost their numbers and profits. What happened to protecting consumers from the bad acts of some businesses? How much money will the banks give to Republicans to hurt consumers?
2
The GOP exists to cut taxes and regulations for its moneyed donor class that keeps it in power. It wins elections by lying to average Americans that the benefits will "trickle down" to them.
All average Americans get are: ripped of by big businesses; and a destroyed environment.
5
Isn't it suppose to be government for the people, not for the banks and special interest groups?
4
How does striking down a 'sweeping new rule' "further loosen regulation of Wall Street... and roll back Obama-era policies?" The 'Consumer Bureau' is redundant, we already had consumer protections through a number of existing government laws and agencies.
The DoddFrank finance reform legislation is over 1000 pages, and did nothing to protect the US from the next meltdown. It was pure politics and pork. Like everything out of DC since 2008
Why were financial institutions worried in the first place? If they get in trouble, we'll simply bail em out again. A world without Wells Fargo would be, well, like a world without sunshine!
2
Why doesn't congress just get it over with and codify our increasingly caste society? Just another example of who congress actually represents. Obviously not the 99%.
The only people this rule benefited were the ambulance chasers and class action lawyers. The people who were hurt by the financial institutions rarely see much in the way of benefits from these class action suits, and the cost to society of this grossly expensive litigation is paid by all consumers. Sure, lawyers need to eat, and drive expensive cars and live in big, fancy homes, but the average consumer does not need to subsidize these vultures. Besides, if the state attorneys-general and other government watchdogs did their jobs, consumers would be protected without the need for the class-action lawyers to get rich at our expense.
Are you referring to government watchdogs whose agency's heads have all been appointed by the President?
Let's get this correct. It wasn't the Senate, it was Republicans in the Senate, including the "principled heroes" Flake, Corker and McCain who, as usual, voted to advance the Trump agenda.
1
"I am a most unhappy man. I have unwittingly ruined my country. A great industrial nation is controlled by its system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated. The growth of the nation, therefore, and all our activities are in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated Governments in the civilized world — no longer a Government by free opinion, no longer a Government by conviction and the vote of the majority, but a Government by the opinion and duress of a small group of dominant men." Woodrow Wilson after signing the Federal Reserve Act on December 22,1913. This quote will always stick with me everytime the govt votes to enrich the bankers.
17
Have we elected a bunch of goldfish to the Senate? How can they not remember the crash less than 10 years ago that decimated our economy? It has been proven that corporations will push the boundaries and put their customers at risk. Expanding their boundaries will only expand the risk to the public. The financial industry needs tight regulations.
38
For those that want Trump out, note Pence's vote as an indication of what he would be as president. Not for the common man.
28
Note it also for anyone hoping Pence would ever, ever supply the required authorization for a 25th Amendment removal.
2
How easy and sleazy to go after protections people don’t realize they need. Until they do. The arguments are so simple—who can say they love costly, frivolous lawsuits? Until your life is at stake, and frivolous depends on who has the money and power. Just like the ACA rhetoric. Forcing people to buy a premium, costs aren’t controlled, etc. So much easier than helping people understand there are situations in life where we must band together for the greatest good, and government can be our most effective way to do this as a society.
When will America shed her frontier notions that money talks? When will we leave this adolescence?
12
R’s argue that this rule would cost corporations up to ‘500 million in legal fees from frivolous lawsuits’... and instead voted so that a consumer with almost no money is forced to go through a difficult and tricky process if they feel they’ve been wronged. Also, I’m not a legal expert but doesn’t a class action suit have to be legally certified? In other words, these corporations wouldn’t be spending lots of money on legal fees unless the lawsuit is completely warranted??? How does any of this make sense?? I keep telling myself that this time will pass, that 2018 is coming, but as someone would say:I guess that doesn’t make it any better
18
Arbitration clauses commonly inserted into consumer agreements-- automobiles, furniture purchases, cable television, bank, credit card, stock brokerage agreements--have spread like kudzu growing in a dry field for the last decade. Sellers generally possess unequal leverage including monopoly or oligopoly market power (e.g. the cable company) and the attorney advising a seller of goods or services almost commits malpractice if he does not insist on including an arbitration clause limiting remedies against the seller, decision by mandatory arbitration, eliminating punitive damages, and inclusion of insurmountable indemnification clauses. Most insidious of all is that the corporate seller decides who the arbitrator is and the buyer waives the right to take the dispute to Court and, once there, to join others with similar, modest disputes.
I've read hundreds of contracts where consumer rights are thus restricted.
Compelling a buyer to waive his right to resolve disputes with the seller in Court is a fundamental assault on something that has made democracy strong, namely the right of the aggrieved to have an independent determination made about her grievances. Those who oppose this right--like Mike Pence and those in the Senate who voted against this bill--are opposing a fundamental democratic right of the people. The Senate's action acknowledges what the GOP won't admit publicly-consumers have been effective in identifying and remedying illegitimate uses of corporate power.
51
Well written!
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is under direct assault from the Republicans. If they can't do away with it, they will render it useless by negating all of the consumer protections under its control. Sad indeed. Give the corporations a tax cut.
12
Was is the point of a Judicial Branch, if citizens have no access to its protections?
62
What's the point of judiciary? o protect the government and corporations from the citizens silly.
Having received checks for less than $20 in two class action laws suits, while the attorneys collected huge legal fees, it is clear who benefits the most. My tax bill for supporting the country's legal system costs me more than any settlement. If the Consumer Bureau is interested in justice, limit the legal fees and distribute more to the aggrieved parties.
12
The agency doesn't have authority to limit legal fees. How do people come up with this stuff?
5
You don't get how class actions work, nor the incentives involved.
4
Dude, are you suggesting we not have courts? You failed to mention what was at stake in these suits. The purpose of a class, for which lawyers are not paid unless they prevail through settlement or trial, is to permit, for example, 10,000 people who were all ripped off for $100 to be able to recover. You are free to opt out and bring your own claim. But for one hundred dollars it will not be worth it you. The courts review class settlements and fees for fairness. BTW, what would you have received without the class actions? Zero.
2
But Congress decides to go after Bitcoin, because Bitcoin is not regulated enough. It is stories like this that drive consumers away from banks and credit cards to Bitcoin. Banks will only have themselves to blame when people abandon them for digital currency.
6
This follows the same logic as the anti-union efforts of the Republicans and business: get the individuals into a room to sign a contract and forbid them to report to others what they have signed. If too many workers and consumers mobilize (God forbid!), they might be able to balance their power against that of business (but, then, who would pay the campaign bills?).
18
"The rule, five years in the making, would have dealt a serious blow to financial firms..."
That can only be true if financial firms make a significant fraction of their profits from activities like defrauding and cheating consumers. A financial firm running an honest business would have nothing to fear; indeed, such a firm should welcome this rule because it would encourage all firms to be honest.
81
The outcome of deregulation of banks and credit card companies goes beyond U.S. jurisdiction. Other banks and credit card affiliates in other major economies will argue before foreign governments that they are burdened by regulations that the U.S. banking sector doesn't have. Other foreign banking groups will seek competitive rules by pointing to the watered-down U.S. regulations as setting the global tone for all banks dealings with their customers. Will NAFTA's arbitration clause be clawed-back as a result of this deregulation of U.S. banks and credit card companies? The unknown unknowns of Republican deregulation of the economy will spill-over into other foreign jurisdictions and negatively impact on global trade customers in products and services: the GOP's intent to reduce business friction and open markets through deregulation may have the opposite effect.
Global entropy is a race to the lowest common denominator. The Republicans squeaked-by a financial services industry dereguation law that not only harms American customers, but also customers from other countries that do business with American financial services industry.
13
Unless a consumer directly buys a service from a credit reporting agency, there is no way that mandatory arbitration for a consumer for lawsuits involving carelessness or neglect in protecting data can be enforced. Unfortunately, these companies may not be protected from mandatory arbitration whenever an identity theft protection insurance product or credit freezes requested or paid for by consumers. Maybe states can pass their own laws to prohibit mandatory arbitration since the consumer has no say in which company a bank or credit card purveyor chooses to use.
4
Every time a bill is introduced to enhance the rights of consumers, i.e. the little guy, the GOP, aided by the banking and insurance lobbies, kills it in its tracks. The GOP opposed the CFPB and it corrupted the bankruptcy laws more than a decade ago to give banks preferences in collecting credit card debt from the bankrupt.
Never let it be said that the Republican stands up for ordinary people or the middle class. It is solidly in the pocket of the wealthy and the corporate lobbies.
54
I don't believe many people thought or still think the Republicans were ever for the small guy, they just were not as upfront, careless, uncaring, and callous about it now that Trump is in office. You have to remember Trump flat out stated you donate big money to me and if I win I will take take care of you, he never stated hey you small worthless uneducated people who vote for me ill take care of you. For instance look a DeVos never had any experience in schooling but because her and her husband donated millions look where she is. He was pointing his finger at Clinton stating she was in Wall Streets pocket all during the campaign, sorry he has proven once again anything he blames someone else for is actually what he is doing or plans on doing.
This story shouldn't be in the Business Day section of the paper. It should be in the Politics section (and on a police blotter).
Last week you put the Harvey Weinstein story in the Arts section. There was nothing artful about it.
You wouldn't put Jeffrey Dahmer in the Food section, now, would you?
21
It's academic as to who cast the "deciding vote".
You say it was Pence.
I say it could have been Pence.... but it also could have been:
John McCain, Olympia Snowe, Murkowski of Alaska, or our newest "Republican Hero" Jeff Flake. Oh, and I forgot Corker.
Republicans: Always ready to rip down any Bureau out to protect Americans.
Another one of their "finest hours".
24
@ Rosa
It was NOT academic as to who cast the "deciding vote."
The Senate vote was 50-50. In the case of a tie, the Vice President casts the deciding vote. Absent a tie, the VP does not vote.
Therefore it WAS Pence who cast the deciding vote.
We've sat through this movie before. Deregulation, a soaring Wall Street, housing prices rising. Add to the mix a never-ending involvement in the Middle East and tax cuts.
This GOP Congress and its inept president are setting us up for another Great (Greater?) Recession. And once again it will take the Democrats to save us. Perhaps, there is a silver lining to our present political mess...we'll finally be rid of this group.
14
The last recession didn't rid you of them.
What makes you think the next one will?
1
"Arbitration" = "Except from the Law". Thanks, Senate.
6
Well, you can’t sue the buggers, but not to worry, they can, and will, sue you. All to make America great again, of course.
17
And the Republicans claim that they're not the lap dogs of big business???? This shows the truth. The Republicans screw the citizens again to the benefit of the financial industry.
19
The GOP once again vigorously demonstrates that it is the OMPP: The Old Man Potter Party. The only thing missing from Cornyn's claim is a shamefully hijacked quotation from either Martin Luther King, Jr. or FDR.
9
Gee. I'm so glad we have the GOP looking out for our best interests and are perfectly content in further diminishing the lower and middle classes and ushering in Great Recession Part III! Good times!
22
It seems that the NYT has long held that arbitration is the bane of justice.
I would ask that it take an in-depth look at the process:
It provides the parties with the same rights and remedies as litigation, that is discovery, actual and punitive damages, application of jurisdictional substantive rights and attorneys' fees and costs.
What it avoids are long court docket delays, costs that that are disproportionate to the potential return and finality.
There is a presumption that arbitrators are "in the pocket" of there companies, in this case, financial institutions. but in virtually all other situations...that assumption needs to be vetted, not concluded.
Not every case has an ad damnum of $$$$.
All this ancient arbitrator requires is a fair analysis, not one sponsored by the (fill in the blank) Trial Lawyers Association.
2
What you're questioning HAS been vetted, repeatedly, by multiple news organizations, and numerous independent studies. Corporate arbitration clauses overwhelmingly favor corporations, because the arbitration panels rule overwhelmingly - irrespective of evidence - against consumers. It has been proven. That's why people are up in arms over this decision. You either don't know that, or don't want to acknowledge it.
52
Multiple in depth statistical analyses of both lawsuits vs arbitration shows that when a grievance goes to court, the plantiff (i.e. the consumer) wins about 50% of the time. When going to arbitration (and dealing with a company that's usually under contract with the company you have a grievance with), the rate the consumer wins plummets to about 3-8%. And you have the gall to suggest that somehow arbitration is okay.
4
"It provides the parties with the same rights and remedies as litigation, that is discovery, actual and punitive damages, application of jurisdictional substantive rights and attorneys' fees and costs."
This is a straight-up lie. Depending on the rules chosen, discovery and forms of damages may be heavily restricted or unavailable.
I'm guessing, "ancient arbitrator," that not many actual consumers have ever come before you. Ever wonder why?
3
Arbitration is like putting a gun to the head of the consumer and asking them if they want to sue. Of course they will say no. Arbitration never helps the consumer. Republicans want people at Wells Fargo (a shady business to say the least) to prey upon existing customers.
19
trumpie and his soulless republican party filling the swamp with financial toxic avengers. What a surprise.
23
Ah, the republicans once again protecting the "forgotten" people. "Contracts" -- most not negotiated and not even seen by consumers --forcing arbitration before biased corporate arbitration panels and banning class and damages claims have left citizens with little ability or incentive to defend themselves against rampant corporate fraud/negligence/malfeasance and severely limited access to the courts.
BTW, trumpsters, this is the "swamp". Wake up.
33
Wheee! Free for all (well, the 1%) is back again. The Wolf of Wall Street, The Big Short and Inside Job are back in vogue thanks to the Republicans. How can you lie, cheat and steal if these pesky laws get in the way?
Mike Pence is going to personally assure Jesus's words "The poor are always with us". That thing about a camel getting through the eye of a needle... that's just fake news.
49
How did our heroes John McCain, Jeff Flake and Bob Corker vote on this issue? They voted for the repeal. Speeches are fine but votes speak volumes.
193
When it comes down to the crunch, no Republican can be trusted to support anybody except the plutocrats.
Including the party's so-called heroes.
4
While I appreciate any Republican - any one - speaking out against Trump, I'd be a lot more impressed if it was one who had something to lose. Somehow, Corker and Flake only had the "integrity" and temerity to speak out when it wasn't going to cost them their elected positions, where the almost without exception voted in support of everything Trump did.
Spot on. I would like to see a list of who voted yea and nay. Very easy for these three to criticize trump as they won't be around for much longer and face no danger of losing their next election but if they voted against this new rule which protects millions of Americans then I can't take them seriously given their collective disrespect of the common American.
1
One of the favorite right wing tactics is to say "Don't break the law and you don't need to be afraid of the police/jail/fines" or "If you aren't doing anything wrong you nothing to hide".
Using their own logic the fact that the corporations feel they need protection from the people is an admission that they are doing wrong else what they be afraid of? If they aren't breaking the rules, laws, than any suit would be dismissed a frivolous and without merit. But they are afraid. the guilty always are.
2
No help in defeating this bill by Corker, Flake, McCain, Makowski or Collins. I thought they were all for doing what's right
2
once again Republicans protect their own --- completely reprehensible ---
3
Not protecting their own, protecting the rich of any political persuasion against the white working class, displaced industrial workers, farmers, and all the other "real Americans."
Congress disarmed citizens in a struggle against huge criminal syndicates. (See Wells Fargo.) And they want to take money from the poor to give to the rich in their new tax restructuring. Why should anyone point fingers at Russia and call it a kleptocracy when we have our own right here at home?
9
Ironic isn't it that Trump whined about Hillary being cosy with Wall Street yet there he is giving Wall Street every thing Wall Street ever dream about getting. Wall Street must feel that Christmas came early for them.
6
Trump supporter comments were "He's independent, not like Hillary beholden to big business".
My response was always "Trump IS big business." He bragged of his billions and corporate connections to prove it. Except when it was inconvenient and he wanted to portray himself as a man of the people.
I guess the actual robber baron was preferable to the one paid by the robber baron. At least with robber baron you always know they will side with the robber barons than possibly side with the people.
1
Not at all ironic. We knew everything coming out of his mouth was a lie, and it still is. 100% consistent.
1
Once again they win and we lose. No surprises, it is called Fascism.
3
But... but... but... the evil Hillary was paid for speaking to Wall Street companies!!!!! She's way worse than Trump and the Republicans, who promised they wouldn't be beholden to Wall Street!
Make Wall Street Great Again!!
9
So she didn't receive any campaign contributions from any of the financial institutions that lobbied Congress to prevent implementation of this rule? Also, do you understand that this is an act by Congress and not the President?
1
Does anyone out there in readership land know whether Trump, and any of his Cabinet members, currently employ restrictive arbitration clauses, or have done so, in their many businesses? Particularly, I wonder whether Mnuchin, Cohen, Ross, Tillerson have, or had, "skin in the game".
With this unethical gang doing their backstrokes in Swampland, it would hardly be surprising if some deep investigative reporting turned up some very revealing information. A follow-up piece Ms. Silver-Greenberg? Thank you.
7
By saying that the lawsuits only exist to enrich lawyers is to also undermine all the judges that allow the suits to proceed.
Either way, it's all a smoke screen. The goal is not to stop lawyers from getting rich, it's to stop people from being allowed to defend themselves.
If arrested for crime in America, you basically have no chance of being put in front of a jury of your peers. And if a large corporate wronged you, you basically have chance to correct the situation in any way that would make the offender think twice next time. Awesome.
8
WOW! The lack of understanding of the nuances of the issues by the NYT readers is astounding! You want to hate Trump so anything associated with him is bad. This is called Semantic bias. How many of you own stocks in your portfolio or your 401ks? How many are dependent on upside from their investments in securities or even real estate? How many understand how the economy works? This was the problem with the Obama administration. It did not understand that checks AND balances are required in successful policy making. While they merrily put checks in place everywhere they could, they forgot about the balances. Laws and policies have to have balance. There has been a lot of overreach by Obama’s admin over the past 8 years. Several were just knee jerk reactions to the financial crises in 2008. The Republicans are now trying to bring back some balance across the board. Stifling businesses by handcuffing them completely does not work. We’ve seen that in Socialist countries. You have to have a certain freedom to operate. Think about the tech economy in the US. This is the biggest and best in the world. Pretty much every major product, service or invention in the world has been created by US tech companies in the past 20 years. This would not have been the case if the industry was stifled by regulation. Policy making by knee jerk reaction is not a sound way to govern.
1
Not as many of us as you think. Those in 401ks often have no choice. We just pray that big business is not allowed to bankrupt our retirement by stealing our money & using it to make gazillions more for themselves. Trust has been murdered. It was murdered on Election Day 2016. No trust for the wealthy, big corporations, or those who think *he* is a saint. When we get rid of *him* (Impeached, tried, & hung, or taken to Court & has every thing his family owns confiscated & turned over to US) watch out. We will be pushing to have all of you pay back all you have stolen from us, the little guys. Then it’s jump out the 100th story window, or start selling apples (moldy ones, cause you wouldn’t spend 1 cent on something you will try to sell for $10). This time we won’t buy, feel sorry for your family, or do more than hose you off the pavement.
1
I might find merit in this argument if the economy had struggled for the eight years of the Obama administration, but alas...
2
I struggled to find even one truth in all that. OK, found one. Lot's of people own stocks and have 401(k). That doesn't mean that I don't want my company or any company I own in whole or part to act unethically.
1
Mike Pence - eyes on you
5
This Senate vote, maintaining “forced arbitration,” fits into the culture of no personal responsibility by legislative officials.For their words or deeds.Which shouldn’t be. And for what they don’t say or do,which they should be!Forcing an ordinary citizen-individual to arbitrate with a powerful system. Our not having our day in court.About an issue which may, or may not, have legal merits.This challenges law in a democracy. “THEY” are deaf to Gov. Barnes’ caveat: “The law should be a shield for the weak and powerless and not a club for the powerful.” The vote challenges mutual respect.Trust.Anchors a WE-THEY culture.Powerful systems do not have to change their ways. Violating systems can go back to business as usual.Democracy is ridiculed when only a total of 78 arbitrations, are awarded $400,000.Consider the “swampiness” of those who created,and then passed this complex issue. 60 minutes, April 24, 2016, documented the “commodification of legislate work in DC.Congressional representatives, who generally do not work more than 3 days a week, are expected to spend half their working day hours dialing- for- dollars for their own re-election,and for their party's needs. At a phone bank near Capitol Hill. At times this amounts to 6-8 hours a day.Time that they were elected to be working on legislation.Both parties are involved in this political telemarketing. David Jolly, a Republican Congressman from Florida, at the time, that he was told to raise $18,000 a day. Arbitrate?
1
Thank goodness that someone is still looking out for the banks.
17
Let's call it what it really is, the Wells Fargo Protection Act. Yet again, greed overcomes the common good. How long will it be before we relive the 2008 financial debacle.
Congratulations to trump/pence et. al. for helping insure the 1% prospers while their blind, angry, betrayed, victimized base takes it on their masochistic chins once again. How much abuse are we going to absorb before we all wake up to how we're being used and abused by this unholy cabal?
Vote the bums out.
We can save our Democracy at the voting booth.
16
Oh, it's coming again. The Reps have already rolled back or gutted any law, rule, or regulation which was put in place as a lesson learned from the last time. In fact, they've even made some ways to enhance the next crash even easier.
1
If Trump supporters have a brain left they should demand that he veto this bill if it ever passes both houses. See what he says to the "little people" about standing up to mega banks and Wall Street. Who will be told to "drop dead?"
12
Let's see, Yes Sir May I Have Another Pence voted Yes.
That puts the chances of a Trump Veto as high as his admitting a mistake.
The time is coming, once *he* is in jail, for the rest of *his* life, when the republicans only hold 1 position in either the senate & house, regulations they have sundered will be turned into hard & fast LAW. When the price banks & other financial institutions will go bankrupt because they will have to pay out billions to consumers who are the reason they are in business. When those higher up in management, stockholders, & owners will have to put in every cent they have, including the worth of all other businesses, real property, & family heirlooms, to pay damages. Then these businesses will have to have 1/2, plus 1, of their board members be customers with very small accounts. So they will control.
The last time businesses ended up doing themselves such harm the owners ended up jumping out of windows, because they couldn’t face having to live like the rest of us. Maybe it’s time for the buildings the same type of people work in now should have 10 windows on every floor above the 10th be made to open, so there will be no waiting. They may all jump at their leisure. Leaving their families to starve. It’s the kind of morals they have.
3
Notice how this story, which affects virtually every American, is buried in the middle of the page. Notice how virtually no one talked about this over the past few weeks as this repeal moved through Congress. Instead, everyone was focused on the Trump and his dealing with a military widow or his feud with Sen. Corker.
That's the danger of Trump--he distracts with chaos and the GOP is able to move major changes through Congress to protect Wall St. and hurt the people. I'm sure most Americans will never know about this ( note the only 5 comments).
199
I did notice that this story did not get its due in the newspapers it deserved. Just like the following story "ICE Arrested a Man in Oregon Without a Warrant. Senators Want to Know Why." The article is worth reading for it cites another incident whereby an American citizen was accosted by ICE agents who, just like in the former mentioned case, never identified themselves nor showed their badges except in this case it was a case of mistaken identity. Where is the outrage? Why can these agents run roughshod over the varies ammendments that supposedly protect ordinary americans? Clearly Trump condons such actions and the GOP ignores ordinary american citizens. For the GOP it is all about money and supporting big companies and the monied people.
3
I think most Times readers were well aware of this. Most people who automatically dismiss anything published in the Times as "fake news" did not know anything about it, and furthermore, still don't care.
That is exactly the plan, and exactly how global corporate mass media is designed to function.
We now have a permanent Shock Doctrine.
Trump supplies the daily shock for the media to obsess over, while the corporate hacks sell off our republic for parts.
Read Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein to see how it had been done all over the world for decades. It's even how the Bushes and Clintons helped put Putin in power.
Just another example of our government of corporate America, by corporate America and for corporate America.
10
Yet another example of the GOP fighting for red state middle class Americans...
...who are so uninformed and clueless as they keep gulping down the Fox (aka Faux) News kool-aid and voting against their own economic self interests.
Sad!
9
The CPB and any type of rule or legislation that would tend to protect consumers seems to be the enemy of republicans as their vote last night showed. The rule was intended to change a culture that has been pro profit at any cost to one where the consumer has a chance at not suffering under the power of the financial companies that hurt Americans in 2007. Arbitration is not friendly toward the party filing the complaint it is weighed in favor of the large company and always will. Shame on the party of Lincoln, but hey that’s who they work for.
6
"The agency found that once blocked from suing, few people went to arbitration at all. And the results for those who did were dismal. During the two-year period studied, only 78 arbitration claims resulted in judgments in favor of consumers, who got $400,000 in total relief."
This is a great day for the Robber Barons, the Trump Universities, and the Wells Fargo thiefs in America.
Fraud is the GOP business model....buyer beware....and buyers have no recourse, except to present their case to a rigged 'arbitration' panel hired by the corporations that defrauded them.
It's the same mindset as Republicans suppressing voter rights nationwide and then having the suppressed voters have to appeal their case to the Republican-rigged Supreme Court that gutted the Voting Rights Act - what a great deal !
When you vote Republican, you are voting to slit your own economic and physical throats.
154
Socrates:
I believe the agency didn't tell you that the arbitration claims have larger dollar awards to consumers than class actions (a 40-cent coupon, anyone?). But of course class action lawyers made out like bandits.
2
I am appauled!
Ian Maitland,
I believe you haven't seen the studies that concluded that the vast majority of consumers get nothing in arbitration and the banks pay almost no penalty for their fraud.
3
The irony is that this is being positioned as a win for the consumer - protection from all the lawyers who would get bonanzas when they sue businesses on behalf of a consumer and win. If that truly is the case, it appears that could have/should have been addressed.
6
There is no better spin machine than the Republican spin machine. I've been watching it spin and mischaracterize for a lifetime.
4
Another very good reason to switch out this Trump Regime.
12
Meanwhile half the American public and 90% of media outlets are prominently focusing on puerile tweets. I had no idea that congress was even voting on this issue. Leave aside the fact that so much of our commerce has moved on line where consumers electronically opt into terms of service that are now legislatively anti-consumer (you know, those small parts of the system that actually make the circular economy function), we have now given our historically crooked financial institutions a free pass to to continue bilk customers with no fear of civil penalties. Wells Fargo must be psyched. And the media needs to focus on the long term damage that is happening, not sensational stupidity from the "president".
66
So Pence becomes the new Queen of the Temple of Congressional Temple of Money Changers! What an immoral hypocrite! No surprise there.
78
He had a campaign fund to pay for his mortgage groceries and sundries, no card necessary.
We the Corporations of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Wall against the people, establish arbitration panels, insure domestic Immunity, provide for our common defense from the Rabble, promote the Corporate Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Money to ourselves and our Shareholders, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Corporate States of America...
74
Sadly accurate.
We get the politicians for whom we vote and in effect, the policies we deserve.
9
Ummm... whoever is surprised that the Republicans side with big business over defrauded consumers raise your hand. No one? The astonishing lie that 'whatever is good for business is good for America' is amazingly resilient despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
17
Republicans protecting their true constituents, just as they promised they would when they accepted the campaign donations. This is how a plutocracy works.
27
I'm waiting to see what Warren has to say about this disgraceful new law. Pence is never to be trusted nor are the GOP. What Wells Fargo did should have shut the entire bank down completely. Have 'we' learned nothing from W.'s disaster in 2008?
26
Pence is a shame who prays to the God of Money. He isn't a Christian and never will be. His god is $$$.
8
A few Republican legislators are trying to present themselves as independent of the establishment, and yet they keep voting for laws and judicial and cabinet nominees that are unAmerican.
21
Whenever politicians claim something is “harmful regulation that imposes obvious costs and offers invisible benefits,” you better believe big business will benefit from its repeal, not consumers.
And the notion that class actions “enrich lawyers” at the expense of consumers: of course there are specious lawsuits that take advantage of plaintiffs and line the pockets of lawyers.
But there are also legitimate class-action lawsuits that help injured citizens to go after bad actors, lawsuits that allow individuals to band together to stand up to powerful corporations.
Arbitration clauses are sneaky and unfair. "The agency found that once blocked from suing, few people went to arbitration at all. And the results for those who did were dismal. During the two-year period studied, only 78 arbitration claims resulted in judgments in favor of consumers, who got $400,000 in total relief."
This Senate vote is shameful. But not surprising.
168
Even the best class-actions do exactly NOTHING but make the megacorps throw us some coupons, if we register and give our names and SSNs and wotnot, and wait a year or three, and not notice they are for a sampler of some side-brand product like Bounty Basic that we'd never buy before heavy intoxication.
So the megacorps have nothing to worry about; heroic C-A lawsuits take nothing out of their pocket. They just bought this bill to rub in their November victory and get some extra Change They Can Believe In, from our pockets.
The choice of arbitrators are by the businesses. Already with the financial resources heavily weighted in favor of the business, the little guy has no chance.
A vote for the payday lenders! Astonishing. I know everyone is fawning all over Corker and Flake but their votes on this legislation tarnish their halos.
109
Let's not forget, or forgive, McCain!
2
It's obvious that the GOP doesn't represent the American people. What I don't understand is why some continue to vote Republican when it's not in their best interest. Hopefully that will soon change or we're doomed.
13
As long as the GOP has an anti-abortion platform, people will continue to vote GOP. For most GOP voters, the anti-abortion statements are the most important platform piece. Who cares if you are personally harmed by GOP policies? You are saving babies.
4
Isn't it ironic .. and more than a it hypocritical how the RNC continually votes against the needs and rights of the constituents who voted them into power ?
And isn't even more ironic that the people voting for them keep voting for them as their rights and needs are cast aside ?
The Collective Stupidity of America rising its ugly head time and time again
29
WE, the profit-seekers of the United States, in Order to form more lucrative Banks & Credit Unions, establish Covetousness, insure pecuniary Tranquility, provide for the defence of Privilege, promote predatory Warfare, and secure the Blessings of Greed to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution ...
13
It seems that ordinary Americans have no true representation in Congress - only the lobbyists' voices are heard. In light of all the information about financial shenanigans which have come out since 2008, the terrific in-depth reporting on the arbitration issue by the New York Times, and Wells Fargo's predation on its own customers, it is stunning that the Senate would vote this way. Senators, you have thrown your constituents to the wolves.
And Senator McCain, you can rail about Trump all you want, but you still vote straight down the GOP party line, no matter how immoral the vote. You are no different than the rest of the GOP. Shame!
28
Doing what's wrong when you clearly know what is required of you ethically is despicable. There's no ethical grey area on this issue and legislators have recent events--the banking collapse of less than a decade ago and various incidents since--to remind them what can happen when large corporations with limitless assets are allowed to run amok. What makes it all worse is that these companies are essentially using the very assets of those they're hurting to protect their ability to continue to hurt us by paying lobbyists with the money they earn from our savings, checking, and credit card accounts. If keeping my money under the mattress were practicable I'd do it.
12
I think this is appalling, and I do not know why all Americans are not moving to credit unions.
However, there is most certainly grey area on this. While arbitration doesn't work, neither do class actions. People who are hurt don't get any compensation in either situation. The problem is that we need another method for enforcement. The CFPB could provide that, if the Republicans didn't keep trying to destroy it - and the Democrats didn't act as though its every facet is the holy grail. It needs to be made to work. That does not mean operating exactly as it does now. Maybe if Warren and others hadn't been so clever in setting it up, we wouldn't be where we are now.
First, remember during the campaign when Trump claimed to be on the side of the little guy, homeowners and the working class and a critic of the banks? Are you paying attention, voters in the Midwest? He duped you. Republicans always do the bidding of the big banks.
Second, while it appears to be true that Senate Democrats were united in their opposition to overturning this rule, I do not recall reading or hearing a single word out of the mouth of Senate Minority Leader, Schumer, or Gillibrand about how important it was to stop this. Apparently, they were content to passively let Republicans get away with this without spending a penny of political capital. They did not fight at all, nor did they use the news media to engage the public. They accepted losing because the banks also have them in their back pockets.
12
Trump voters are aligned to Trump, not the GOP. He just happened to run as a Republican. They think that the GOP is not looking out for them, but Trump is their savior. The thinking is that if only the GOP would fall in line with Trump's campaign promises, their lives would be so much better. They never take responsibility for anything that has every happened to them. For Trump voters, it's all about what "those people" are doing that keeps them from all being CEOs. I hear this all the time from the Trump voters in my world. I'd be others hear similar things.
Sadly, the dummies who keep electing these people propably don't read the paper and have no clue what is really going on....
3
Stories such as this make me feel hopeless about America. Republicans unashamedly exist to serve the rich and the powerful, and they are ever more ruthless in their quest for permanent power. Even more depressing are the people who keep voting against their own interests and returning these venal, craven politicians to office.
16
Oligarchs: 1
People: 0
43
Oligarchs: 1,359 and counting
People: 0
4
I doubt my family members who voted for Donald Trump will even learn about this. They will be too busy being enraged about black men kneeling during the national anthem to read a story about a regulatory agency and loss of consumer protections. It's puzzling why so many vote for people who do not have their best interests in mind.
61
Official doctrine of the Republican Party is that ordinary Americans shall have no access to the judicial system for grievances against business. By rejecting the CFPB’s rule against mandatory arbitration, the Senate, soon to be followed by the House, has declared that we are merely sheep that exist to be fleeced by the financial industry. Their cynicism and corruption seem boundless.
The rule of law is one of the pillars of democracy. When Congress denies the whole population the right to sue businesses in our courts, how can it be said we still live under the rule of law? Could there be a clearer demonstration of the fact that we instead live in a plutocracy?
18
Forcing arbitration in order to get service or employment needs to be made illegal. Republicans have no desire to fix a truly crooked arbitration system that hurts the 99.9%
20
In a society that allows free access to all kinds of murderous weapons, denying all legal recourse to people who believe they have been deliberately cheated, defrauded, impoverished or otherwise personally injured seems, shall we say, a bit injudicious? The denial of a legal hearing to the alleged villains also seems unfair to them, as not everyone who believes something is correct about it.
1
A well deserved win of the struggling financial industry over greedy American people.
Wouldn't it be nice to send Mike Pence where he belongs - 6000 years ago, to live with other dinosaurs.
16
The "Swamp" wins again.
13
The approval of this anti consumer bill in the Senate is more evidence that the modern Republican party is wholly on the side of the moneyed interests and gives not one damn for the people. All their claims to the contrary are lies. "Not true" you say. Well then, just wait to see what they do to us with their "tax reform" legislation.
9
The most likely beneficiaries of the Rule are the trump supporters. Class-actions were designed, in part, to provide recourse to people who individually did not possess the wherewithal do sue a defendant that possessed ample ability to engage in litigation. Obviously the poorer one is, the more likely class-actions would offer a vehicle to civil justice. The "forgotten people" that make up the bulk of trump voters are precisely those that benefit from class-actions. Of course their racism will blind them to this reality.
8
I'm so glad that American journalists spilled so much ink telling us about Hillary Clinton's Wall Street speech transcripts last year. What a valuable use of time and energy! Yes, let's not bother with the very public and very long track record of the GOP and Donald Trump screwing over the American taxpayers to benefit themselves and financial corporations.
8
Further proof Pence is almost as dangerous to Democracy as Trump.
Thank you, GOP!
10
Typical Republican anti-consumer trick. If there is a way to help corporations and hurt consumers, Republicans -- who claim to be the party of the average person -- will always favor their corporate friends and fundraisers.
Wake up America. Republicans are not the friends of average citizens.
11
It's good to know that the Times is all over McCain and Flake and Corker for voting for this, instead of giving them a tongue bath all over the front page...aw, spit!
5
This repeal doesn't Make America Great.
It Makes America a Great Place to be Sleazy.
So, basically fulfilling the Trump agenda.
6
Obliterate Obama's legacy at any cost to society. That is the true Trump agenda.
8
If the banks were being fair and honest to begin with then they'd have nothing to worry about. The problem is they're not. I wish consumers would pull all their money and business from Wells Fargo, Chase and the other "Banksters" in effect voting with their pocketbooks. The same as not purchasing from criminal corporations. If there's no market for their garbage products or unfair practices then they'll have to do something different. There are other ways to fight back if our new "benevolent" government seeks to undermine our legal rights.
7
Perhaps the Bernie Bros would like to chime in at this point and remind us how the Democrats are too close the big banks and Wall Street.
7
This issue was not covered enough in what is left of the independent media. It is a travesty and those who voted for it should be ashamed of themselves.
9
Doesn't look like the swamp is being drained. Maybe Trump should VETO this and prove that he's a "true man of the people" and "real populist" President, as he claims, who's on the side of the little guys who voted for him.
6
Shameful.
5
Another victory for the Corporate States of America!!!!!
The Tories never went away. They've been working since 1789 to erase the liberal ideals established in 1776 to reestablish the rightful aristocracy (that naturally THEY are part of) and serfs beholding to their Lords and Ladies.
4
"Free at last, free at last! God Almighty, free at last!"
The banks, not you.
Thanks GOP.
6
Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, should donate his personal wealth to single mothers of America, struggling in their hardscrabble existence to support their children, who are forced to take out a credit card loan from a bank that assesses 23.99% compounded annualized interest charges.
5
Gee – I thought that Republicans were the populists and Democrats the elitists… So disillusioned!
7
If you ever thought that Pence was a reasonable alternative to the heel spur bozo, it just proves he's the vice bozo.
Removing the right to sue gives a whole sector the right to run rough shod over consumers. There is already a distinct possibility that the arbitration clauses for employment will become more difficult to overturn.
Does the GOP as well as this administration want working Americans to be serfs?
5
The current media darlings, Corker and Flake and McCain, voted to abolish the rule. So even Republicans no longer in thrall to big donors still take the side of the financial industry rather than protect their constituents.
Notice how this vote got crowded out of the news cycle by the Corker/Flake hullabaloo. Accidental?
5
That these giant companies require defrauding ordinary Americans to be profitable is a sign of something deeper that is wrong with our economy. That Republicans betray ordinary Americans is just business as usual for them.
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Why not simply say: "Consumers Lose Fight..."? Because the Bureau never stood to profit from this rule, but the it certainly levelled the fight between multi-national financial corporations and relatively powerless individuals. The only winners here are the financial behemoths with a record of economy-wrecking, and the arbitration companies that are on their payrolls.
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This is right up there with the GOP vote a few months ago to allow ISP's to sell your internet browsing history to anyone they want.
A widely unpopular vote, but the GOP base won't know about it because Fox won't report it.
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What is sad is that the democrats could have stopped both bills by requiring the Senate to have 60 votes. But, they chose not to.
if a large payout is a hindrance to bad business policy, corporate criminal activity, etc., then the lawyers provided all Americans a valuable service. some of these decisions may result in future laws written to the benefit of consumer protection.
As an arbitrator, I feel a great burden whenever rendering decision. My duty is to be just and fair, and the idea that fellow arbitrators and I might not accept and perform that duty to the best of our ability in a consumer lending case is insulting. The primary beneficiaries of a large class action lawsuit are the attorneys. Anyone who has received notice of being in a class and, after a fair bit of time and paperwork, received token compensation, knows that already.
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That's all very well and noble, but the astounding success rate of corporations in arbitration cases (i.e. arbitration almost always going in their favor) suggests one of two things: either they are practically never guilty of wrongdoing or the system is stacked in their favor.
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Alan, realize that it is not you or any individual arbitrator or arbitrators in general that are unfair. It is that arbitration itself is unfair as it pits an individual against a huge financial institution. Yes the individual may make out better than in a class action suit but the financial institution isn't punished because the amounts are trivial to them. Only a class action lawsuit can change financial institution behavior.
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Class Action suits aren't about the possible financial reward which you point out is small for the plaintiffs.
They are about punishing egregious corporate behavior, in say, the lending industry, and serving as a lesson to other companies.
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So now there is some legal cover so banks like Wells Fargo no longer need be concerned over violating the trust of the consumer. I guess weakening the fines should be the next step for these men "standing up for the little guy". The middle class should rejoice to have such a burden lifted from them. I guess savings will be reflected in higher interest paid to consumers right?
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I don't think people understand how powerful this change would have been for consumer protection. Class action litigation serves a legitimate purpose: keeping corporations honest. It's easy to cheat one million people out of $20.00 each, but if those one million people combine together in a class action for a refund totalling $20 million, every company will think twice about cheating. Yes, lawyers make money, but they also assume the risks of failure. Another sad day for ordinary Americans.
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And another typically corrupt day for Republicans in Congress.
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We are all being nickled and dimed to death.
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If class action litigation keeps corporations honest, why does there continue to be never ending corporate greed and malfeasance this country? Tort Lawyers are, at the end of the day, simply paid and highly skilled liars. They are as much truth hiders as truth tellers. I have seen lawyer's adds posted above every urinal at football games along with a near complete list of all imaginable torts. I penciled in Zipper Malfunction to complete the list. They work for themselves, not the people. They are a problem, not a solution.
Although consumers can not band together in class actions, there are state and federal regulators that have the legal authority to levy fines and order restitution paid to affected consumers.
I hope defrauded consumers turn to those regulators, such as state banking regulators, state attorneys general, the CFPB itself, the FTC, and the OCC. Ask those powers to investigate banking fraud, and ask them to order full restitution and levy heavy fines. Make the banks wish they were only dealing with consumer class actions.
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State regulators, state attorneys general, and the FTC are underfunded. The OCC isn't going to do anything regarding consumer protection; the agency typically defers to the banks and that's why CFPB had to be created. Several years ago, the OCC preempted state attorneys general from taking action on a consumer protection matter. The CFPB has made a large impact, which is why it has been targeted by Republicans more than any other financial regulator. The other regulators are not going to do anything more than what they have already done, regardless of whether people contact them.
The electorate has not made consumer protection a political issue of importance, regardless of the fact that it impacts most people (CFPB has affected how credit reporting agencies operate). People seem to prefer fighting over the same social and cultural issues that have divided them for many years.
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Let's see, Republican regulators, who were chosen precisely because they stood against the regulations and agencies they administer. Good luck with that.
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There is a problem with funding sufficient investigators to be effective, part and parcel of starving the beast by the republicans.
The only consumers the GOP is interested in protecting are the ones who line their pockets. The pay-to-play election funding system we've embraced and expanded guarantees a perspective that's badly distorted in favor of those with the most cash/influence. How anyone with a shred of compassion can side with the financial "service" industry over the defrauded masses of their constituents in this lopsided industry is beyond me.
I can only hope that those NO votes belong to legislators who will suffer the pains of their choice by running up against one of these companies' failures to treat them fairly, so they can experience firsthand the endless treadmill of frustration and poor treatment they have enabled.
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Can someone explain to me the benefits of overturning this rule? I understand that certain people think the CFPB needs more oversight by Congress, and will therefore fight against any CFPB rules put into place. But I'm failing to see the benefit of disallowing class-action lawsuits against financial institutions. Is it just an ideological blow against the CFPB? I suppose it saves WF, BoA, etc, millions of dollars it would otherwise have to pay in legal fees, but that's just a drop in the bucket really.
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Hi Ryan, the idea here is to allow financial institutions to undermind people, without those people having any recourse.
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Significant campaign contributions from financial institutions who don't want to face well financed class action suits would be one benefit.
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The conservative majority in the Supreme Court has ruled in several cases since the 1990s that arbitration clauses are binding, even in the one-sided contracts that employees and consumers must sign. By imposing arbitration, companies obtain not only freedom from the class actions that are the only practical form of recourse for most people, but also secrecy. Preserving this lack of accountability for financial institutions, especially the most dishonest ones, is the "benefit" of the Republican action.
One more piece of evidence of how the GOP and Trump serve the corporations over the consumers.
Term-limits, campaign finance reform and over-turning the Citizens United decision may be the only way to put a stop to the ongoing erosion of our democracy.
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