America’s Trumpiest court handed down a shockingly dangerous decision. The Supreme Court is likely, but not certain, to fix it.
The plaintiffs’ arguments in Consumer Financial Protection Bureau v. Community Financial Services Association, which the justices will hear on October 3, are simultaneously some of the silliest and some of the most dangerous ideas ever presented to the Supreme Court of the United States.
They claim that an entire federal agency, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), is unconstitutional. And they do so based on an interpretation of the Constitution that would invalidate Social Security, Medicaid, Medicare, and countless other federal programs. As the Justice Department notes in one of its briefs, the 2022 legislation funding the federal government contains more than 400 provisions that are invalid under these plaintiffs’ reading of the Constitution.
Perhaps recognizing that the justices are unlikely to declare the majority of all federal spending unconstitutional, the Community Financial plaintiffs then spend much of their brief suggesting arbitrary limits the Court could place on these plaintiffs’ already arbitrary interpretation of the Constitution. Without citing any legal authorities, for example, the Consumer Financial plaintiffs claim that Social Security might be excepted from the new legal regime so long as Congress is careful about how it pays for the Social Security Administration’s staff.
Unfortunately, I used to work for a bank in the US for several years. CFPB complaints are one of the few ways a consumer could get their issues to be taken seriously and for the bank to actually be held accountable for their violations of federal regulations and general scumbaggery. Upper management was quite afraid of them. 😌
The CFPB investigates important issues like discrimination (such as redlining) and has the ability to prevent a bank from doing certain things, like issuing mortgages. I’m sure it has its problems, but without it, consumers would be screwed over by the banks even more than they already are.
This is 100% truth. Source: I also work at a large FI and management is very scared of these complaints.
As a consumer, when a bank gave my girlfriend the runaround I called CFPB to complain and the bank offered to fix the problem and even followed up to make sure we were satisfied with the outcome.
I wish I was aware of this before my 3 years at Chase, so much shady shit in that company. SO MUCH.