The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

Number of renters 60-plus up 43 percent in a decade

As the baby boom generation gets older with 22 percent of the nation now 60-plus, the number of older adults renting, rather than owning their own homes, is increasing. Renters households aged 60 and up increased 43 percent, from 6,550,000 in 2007 to 9,370,000 in 2017. This growth was more than younger renter groups.

In more than 300 cities analyzed, 24 cities have larger numbers of older adult renters over 60-plus years of age than young renters under 35 years of age. 

In a study analyzing the growth of renters 60-plus across the United States since 2007, RENTCafe.com, an apartment news website, found:

Under Trump, enforcement of consumer financial laws drops sharply, especially in areas with the highest complaints

The number of publicly announced enforcement actions under the Trump administration at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is dropping sharply, according to a report by the Consumer Federation of America.

“Law enforcement activity at the CFPB has dropped precipitously under the Trump Administration’s leadership,” said Christopher Peterson, director of financial services for the federation and author of the report.

The bureau is charged with enforcing federal consumer financial law and bringing legal action against companies that violate that law. The bureau also has the authority to seek restitution for consumers and levy fines when it finds violations. The report finds that activity in both of these areas is on the decline – overall enforcement activity is down by 80 percent from the bureau’s peak in enforcement actions in 2015 and average relief to victims is down by 96 percent per case.

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.

Consumers need more information about how real estate transactions work, consumer group says

Two-thirds of consumers believe that real estate agents are always or almost always required to represent the interests of the home buyer or seller with whom they are working, according a survey. Yet, many agents working with consumers represent the interests of the other party or the interests of neither party.

A report by the Consumer Federation of America incorporated its research of the literature on real estate agency, its mystery shopper survey of agents, and a survey by ORC International.

“Today, many home buyers and sellers do not know whether their agent is representing their interests, those of the other party, or those of neither,” said the report’s author, Stephen Brobeck, a federation senior fellow. “Given the huge expenditure of a home purchase and the conflict of financial interests between seller and buyer, it is important that consumers know who their real estate agent is actually representing.”

Manafort, guilty – Cohen, guilty: What’s next?

Paul Manafort                        Michael Cohen

Photo: Voice of America        Photo: IowaPolitics.com

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know that I’ve written dozens of articles about how the Trump administration is slashing environmental and consumer laws and regulations as fast as it can.

To me, yesterday was a great day in terms of beginning to get some answers about the crimes being committed by members of Trump’s inner circle and, perhaps, the president himself.

Paul Manafort, 69, Trump's former campaign chairman, was found guilty Tuesday by a jury on eight counts of financial crimes. The eight counts included five tax fraud charges, one charge of hiding foreign bank accounts, and two counts of bank fraud.

Michael Cohen, 51, former longtime Trump attorney, pleaded guilty Tuesday to eight felony charges of tax fraud, bank fraud, and campaign finance violations. Cohen said he coordinated with Trump to illegally payoff two women to keep them quiet about alleged affairs with Trump.

At last, we’re beginning to get some answers on what officials in the Trump administration were up to. Cohen pointing to Trump about a campaign violation is particularly illuminating.

What’s next?

Boomer bloggers continuing onward as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our nation

It’s July already, and Wednesday we’ll be celebrating the 242^nd Independence Day in the United States.

Democracy is so important to this country, and since President Donald Trump was elected in 2016, our democracy has been under attack. Each day Trump and his cronies seem to come out with some new way to tromp on consumers and the environment.

Despite these challenges, baby boomer bloggers are keeping keeping on. They’re writing about the pros and cons of apartment living in retirement, how to make decisions that let you keep growing, the difficulties working with an internet service provider, how to change ourselves, and jewelry for the private parts.

Sue Loncaric of Sizzling Towards 60 and Beyond reports on these articles for the Best of Boomer Blogs 553.

I hope you have enjoyed this week’s edition of our boomer writings.  Don’t forget to leave us a comment and also share the love.

Copyright 2018, Rita R. Robison, Consumer Specialist

Top 11 occupations held by American’s 65 and older

Baby boomers are retiring in record numbers and with higher life expectancy and better healthcare. But, a record number of people 65 and older are continuing to work

Higher education teachers 65 and older make up 11.3 percent of the workforce, and despite universities trying to buy out older professors, retirement offers are being declined, and 15 percent plan to keep teaching until they’re 80.

The top 11 occupations held by American’s 65 and over, according to SeniorLiving.org, are:

Best wishes on Memorial Day

On the 150th anniversary of Memorial Day, it's a good day to remember the men and women who have served our country.

Some possible activities include:

• Visit a cemetery and place a flag or flowers on veterans’ graves.
• Visit war memorials.
• Fly the U.S. flag.
• Participate in the National Moment of Remembrance at 3 p.m. to pause and think about the meaning of Memorial Day and listen to the taps being played.
• Volunteer with a local veterans’ group or organization or attend an event.
• Donate to a charity that helps veterans.

Banks convince lawmakers to pass massive bank deregulation, despite record earnings

Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reported net income of $56 billion in the first quarter of 2018, up $12.1 billion or 27.5 percent from a year ago.

The Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion tax cuts and higher revenue are responsible for the record income, said FDIC Chairman Martin J. Gruenberg.

Despite the fact that banks are having record earnings, they lobbied hard to get the Republican-led Congress and President Trump to enact huge cuts to regulations.

If banks have record earnings, why do they need to have regulations slashed, so they can make even more?

Barclays agrees to pay $2 billion to settle fraud charges related to the sale of mortgage securities prior to the Great Recession

Photo: Secretlondon

Barclays Capital Inc. and several of its affiliates agreed Thursday to settle charges of fraudulent conduct related to Barclays’ issuance of residential mortgage-backed securities between 2005 and 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Barclays, a huge British bank, will pay $2 billion in civil penalties in exchange for dismissal of the lawsuit.

The settlement is about $3 billion less than what the department originally asked for, according to a Consumer Affairs article. Barclays refused to pay $5 billion, causing the department to file a lawsuit in 2016. From the beginning, Barclays said it would refuse to pay more than $2 billion.

The department’s lawsuit alleged that Barclays caused billions of dollars in losses to investors by engaging in a fraudulent scheme to sell 36 RMBS deals, and that it misled investors about the quality of the mortgage loans backing those deals.