People of almost any age know a lot about the Kennedy administration with its optimistic beginnings and its sudden, tragic end. Yet many have probably never heard of one of JFK's important legacies -- his declaration that consumers have rights that deserve protection.

Fifty years ago, on March 15, 1962,...

Kudos to President Obama for standing up for consumers this week by making a recess appointment of former Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The President's action clarifies that the CFPB now has all its powers to protect the...

Holiday shopping season is upon us once again. As a parent, relative or friend, shopping for toys for the children in your life can be a challenge.

We don't always know if the gifts will be a hit but the one thing we count on is that the toys...

Calling all consumers! The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) wants to hear from you. The CFPB has rolled out two alternative, two-page mortgage disclosure forms to replace longer, unclear documents in current use. The forms are preliminary, and the CFPB wants your help to make them better.

This was written on April Fool's Day, but sadly all of it is true.

Incredibly, last week, in a letter to Professor Elizabeth Warren, House Financial Services Committee chairman Spencer Bachus (R-AL), along with key subcommittee chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), all but accused Professor Elizabeth Warren...

Professor Elizabeth Warren, the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), was in the press often this week letting the public know about the progress of "standing up" the new consumer protection agency. Her opponents took notice, and posted a "Fact Check" purporting to find...

Professor Elizabeth Warren, the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), was in the press often this week letting the public know about the progress of "standing up" the new consumer protection agency. Her opponents took notice, and posted a "Fact Check" purporting to find...

In case you hadn't noticed, the U.S. economy is still recovering from a major financial crisis caused by reckless Wall Street practices. As part of its response, Congress in 2010 beefed up two investor cops to clean up crime in the suites and created a new cop to protect consumers....

On November 9th, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a very important case that if wrongly decided will allow powerful special interests to use small print in standard ("take-it-or-leave-it") contracts to ban consumers from banding together against unfair corporate practices. This limit on class actions - which also...

This month's story, dear reader, is about sloppy bank servicing of mortgages, starting with the infamous robo-signers and now escalating to every element of the mortgage servicing and foreclosure process. Yesterday, the New York Times wrote that JP Morgan Chase hired clueless "Burger King kids" who apparently had...

The good news, of course, is that both the House and Senate passed Wall Street reform bills including a strong, new, independent consumer agency. The banks and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce tried hard to kill it; they lost.

The bad news is that now they are trying to...

The baseball philosopher Yogi Berra said "it ain't over 'til it's over."

Anyone watching the Senate battle over Wall Street reform knows that. And despite falling behind to Main Street in the early innings, the banks continue to flood Congress with cash and still have...

Kudos to U.S. Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) for criticizing TV ads running in Montana and around the country which claim that Congressional efforts to rein in the reckless Wall Street bankers will amount to another "bailout."

"That ad is confusing a lot of folks, because it's not...

There they go again.

The Wall Street bankers are paying themselves hundreds of billions of dollars in bonuses just a year or so after taxpayers bailed them out. The big bonuses have a kicker, too; since the bonuses are a business expense, $200 billion in bonuses means...

Will Congress Replace the CFPA With a Coalition of Unwilling Regulators?

Washington often seems like Superman's Bizarro World where "Us is opposite." If you don't believe me, start following House attempts to pass the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. It's on the House...

Four Tests for the House This Week

More than 14 months after taxpayers were forced to bail out Wall Street bankers, Congress is finally considering reforms to protect the rest of us.

On Wednesday and Thursday, the House considers the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009....