The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Top 14 consumer stories of 2018

All in all, it’s been another bad year for consumers. President Trump and his administration’s generate so much chaos that they get all the media attention. Meanwhile in the background, federal agencies are moving forward on the administration’s conservative regulatory priorities, which are harmful to consumers. One bright spot is the Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives. That will help curb President Trump's excesses.

Here are the top 14 consumer stories for 2018:

1. The Trump administration continues decimated consumer protections.

President Trump appointed Mick Mulvaney, his budget director, as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Under Mulvaney's leadership, the bureau reversed prior actions and programs of the agency. It has delayed rules to protect consumers from payday lenders, dropped lawsuits, stripped enforcements of fair-lending protections, and reduced the number of fines issued.

Best wishes on Election Day to us all

If you haven’t voted yet, be sure and do it. So much is at stake. Americans have the opportunity to tell a racist, sexist, anti-consumer, anti-environmental president that we don’t want his toxic policies any more.

I’m hoping for a Blue Wave. We must undo the harm that President Trump and his cronies are doing to the nation’s consumer and environmental laws. I’ve written article after article on this. Some examples of Trump’s terrible policies are:

• Allowing oil and gas companies to drill in the Arctic.
• Relaxing car pollution rules.
• Extending the life of dirty coal power plants.
• Weakening protection for student borrowers harmed by for-profit colleges.
• Allowing coal ash to be dumped into streams.
• Allowing association health plans that have a history of offering inadequate coverage, even scams.
• Weakening of chemical and pesticide regulations.

See the Brookings Deregulatory Tracker for more information on the Trump administrations deregulatory program.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Baby boomers deal with life in today’s world

 

The midterm elections are Tuesday and some of our baby boomer writers are getting excited about the outcome. America could be on the cusp of political change. It all depends on who comes out to vote.

This week, boomer bloggers are writing about:

• A 50^th high school reunion.

• A family’s immigrant past.

• Bullet journals.

• The child-like part of us.

• The deferred credit card trick.

• How Congress is out of step with the rest of us.

Rebecca Forstadt-Olkowski of BabyBoomster is the host for this week’s Best of Boomer Blog 571. Click here to get links to this week’s boomer articles. And be sure to join in the conversations. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Another massacre: Let’s do something about gun control

 

Eleven people were killed and six injured in a shooting Saturday at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, a Pittsburgh neighborhood.

The killer, who burst into a baby-naming ceremony, shouted anti-sematic slogans during the 20-minute siege.

The alleged shooter, Robert D. Bowers, was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle and three handguns, officials said.

Baby boomers focus on autumn opportunities

The weather here is changing, with temperatures dropping and brightly colored leaves beginning to pile up sidewalks so you can swish through them when you walk. 

There's a fall nip in the air, foreshadowing Halloween and the Day of the Dead – just around the corner.

Our boomer bloggers are writing about fall activities – how to cut a white pumpkin in memory of your loved ones, how to decorate for Halloween, and how a candidate meeting for the U.S. House of Representatives turned out.

Other topics include lottery fever, the routine use of antibiotics in livestock, and one way to slow atrial fibrillation.

Meryl Baer of Six Decades and Counting writes about these articles on the Best of Boomer Blogs #569. Click here to get the links to the articles. And be sure to leave a comment. Boomer bloggers love to hear from readers.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Republicans want Americans to be quiet while they take away our rights

First President Trump said it, then Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Now Mitch McConnell is on a “victory tour” saying it.

They’re calling anyone who disagrees with them a mob. We’re supposed to sit back and let Republicans take away our right to clean air and water, health care, consumer protection, vote, justice, civil rights, and more.

In addition, what's adding to the frustration is the media isn't reporting on the other side of this. They keep repeating what the Republicans are saying. It's unconscionable. The press needs to do better than that. I had to listen to the clip of Mitch McConnell over and over today. Finally, I just turned the radio off.

The deadline to register to vote is coming up soon in most states

Not registered to vote? Check the chart to see when the deadline is in your state. And, be sure to go to the website for the election's office in your county to find out what the details are. For example, in Washington state where I live, today is the last you can register to vote online. Otherwise, you need to go to the Auditor's Office in your county in person by Oct. 29 to register or update your registration.

Vote, vote, vote in the upcoming November election. Our democracy depends on people's voices being heard.

 

 

Today is National Voter Registration Day

Every year millions of Americans find themselves unable to vote because they miss a registration deadline, don’t update their registration, or aren’t sure how to register. National Voter Registration Day is a coordinated effort to make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote. Today volunteers and organizations from all over the country are holding registration events.

The League of Women Voters is registering thousands of new voters as part of National Voter Registration Day.

“The level of interest in registration and voting this year, especially among young people, is unprecedented,” said Chris Carson, president of the U.S. League of Women Voters. “This Tuesday, thousands of our volunteers will get to work at schools and libraries, sporting events and transit stops, theatres and community centers, in hundreds of places nationwide, to ensure Americans know about pending voter registration deadlines to participate in this year’s pivotal elections.”

Attorneys general ask Congress to protect state election processes from cyberattacks, including Russia’s

Twenty-one attorneys general urged congressional leaders Monday to improve American cybersecurity and protect the integrity of the upcoming 2018 midterm election and elections to come, against cyberattacks and infiltrations such as the ones committed by Russia in 2016.

Investigations have made clear that Russian hackers targeted the American electoral system, stole the private information of hundreds of thousands of people, and infiltrated a company that supplies voting software across the nation, said New York Attorney General Barbara D. Underwood. 

“No matter how much President Trump waffles, the facts are clear: Russia interfered with our 2016 elections,” said Underwood. “It's high time that Congress act to prevent the next attack – because our democracy depends on it.”

Is this the end for Trump?

 

Photo: Kremlin.ru

In a widely condemned press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki following the recent Russian-United States summit, President Donald Trump sided with Russia over U.S. intelligence agencies when asked whether he would condemn Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump said Putin had strongly denied it. “I don't see any reason why it would be [Russia],” Trump said.

Trumps comments were criticized by both Democrats and most Republicans. His staff was stunned because the president was briefed on Russian interference in the 2016 election, and he was supposed to challenge Putin strongly with the information.

After the uproar, Trump issued a retraction the next day saying that he had mistakenly used the word "would" when he had meant to say "wouldn't.”