Musk Wants to Abolish Consumer Agency That Has Been a 'Model of Efficiency' | Common Dreams
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"This is systemic corruption at a grand and intolerable scale," one advocate said of the billionaire's call to "delete" the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Summary

Elon Musk wants to “delete” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has returned nearly $20 billion to Americans since its creation after the 2008 financial crisis.

Critics, including Public Citizen, argue Musk is driven by conflicts of interest, as the CFPB recently finalized a rule to supervise large tech companies offering digital payment services, a business Musk appears poised to enter.

“In short, Musk is calling for elimination of the consumer protection regulator over a business line he seems poised to enter… This is systemic corruption at a grand and intolerable scale,” one advocate said.

The CFPB has long faced opposition from corporations and conservatives but is praised for combating financial abuses and protecting consumers.

  • gamermanh@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    9·
    5 days ago

    Prior to the 2008 housing crisis that led to its creation, banks were handing out mortgages like Halloween candy, all anyone had to do was walk up and say “Trick or Treat!”

    Well, yeah, which lead to the 2008 crisis, and the creation of the CPFB to try to avoid that in the future

    • AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world
      14·
      4 days ago

      Look, I’ve made some bad choices in life. I’m in my 30’s, I live with my girlfriend and her mother, and my credit only just recently got above 600. But because of the rules the CPFB put in place, I’ll be laughed out of ANY bank if I walk in and ask for a mortgage for just a bare plot of land with nothing on it. And maybe I’m being selfish, but the CPFB hasn’t done dick to make home ownership more affordable, or to keep private equity from snatching up all available inventory.

      • 31337@sh.itjust.works
        1·
        20 hours ago

        For houses, most people’s barrier is the downpayment. Loans on raw land are more risky, because it’s not immediately going to be someone’s home (which people will go to extremes not to lose), and there’s no guarantee a home will ever be finished there. All things being equal, it’s usually cheaper to buy an older home than to build one (to code). I guess an exception would be buying land, having utilities ran, septic tank/well installed, and driveway and pad poured for a trailer, then getting an old trailer and fixing it up (all assuming zoning allows). Even that would be more expensive than buying a plot with an old trailer already on it though. But, I guess you can’t use a lot of downpayment/mortgage assistance programs on trailers either.