The Survive and Thrive Boomer Guide

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.

As credit card debt reaches a record high, do you need help getting out of debt?

Consumers racked up $67 billion in credit card debt during 2018, an all-time high, according to the “Credit Card Debt Study,” a report by WalletHub, a personal-finance website.

Since the end of the Great Recession, consumer have increased their credit card debt in six of every 10 quarters.

WalletHub also released a “2019 Debt Survey,” which highlights consumers’ thoughts about over-borrowing, including the fact that 156 million Americans admit they’d go into debt for frivolous purchases.

The current credit card debt situation is similar to the period just before the Great Recession. However, WalletHub’s analysis of the latest data indicates the nation is in for another $60 billion-plus in new credit card debt during 2019. That would push the average household’s balance from $8,788 currently to $9,295 by year’s end – higher than it has ever been.

How Wall Street influenced Congress last year

Ten years after the financial crisis, a majority of members of the Congress in 2018 voted again and again for bank-backed bills that endanger financial stability, undermine consumer and investor protections, and enable racial discrimination in lending, according to a report by Americans for Financial Reform.

The report, “Where They Stand on Financial Reform,” shows how each lawmaker voted in areas affecting Wall Street and predatory lenders. It also identifies those members of Congress who most frequently voted with Wall Street or predatory lenders, and against the public interest.

“Majorities in the 115th Congress voted repeatedly for measures that benefit Wall Street and predatory lenders over consumers and investors,” said Rion Dennis, financial reform advocate at AFR. “Strong public opposition and the 60-vote threshold in the Senate ensured that many of these measures passed in the House, but not the Senate. But when some Democrats joined the solid block of Republicans – or where only 50 votes were required – dangerous deregulation became law.”

What are the best and worst cars to buy in 2019?

Photo: EurovisionNim

The Consumer Reports 2019 Top Picks in cars list includes six new winners – the Hyundai Kona, Subaru Ascent, and BMW X5, and three Toyotas – the Yaris, Prius, and Avalon.

The all-new Subaru Ascent is Consumer Report’s Top Pick in the midsized SUV category. Its smooth power delivery, comfy ride, functional interior, and suspension performance that rival some luxury cars helped put it to the top of the pack, said Jake Fisher, senior director of Automotive Testing at Consumer Reports. The top luxury SUV, the BMW X5, is among the best SUVs that CR has ever tested, Fisher said.  

“The Ascent really impressed in our rigorous tests and is a great all-around performer,” he said. “It’s a highly functional and comfortable three-row vehicle that will appeal to many families.”

Toyota led all the automotive brands with four Consumer Reports Top Picks for the second consecutive year. The Prius earned Consumer Reports Top Pick honors for a record 16th time, this year including in the newly created Hybrid/Electric Car category. The fourth-generation of the pioneering hybrid gets 52 mpg overall in Consumer Reports’ fuel economy tests, and maintains an outstanding track record for reliability and owner satisfaction, Fisher said. The Camry is the top midsized sedan for second straight year. This is the second time that the Yaris has been a Top Pick; the first time it made the list was in 2017. The Avalon is on the list for the very first time.

Education Department fails to adequately supervise student loan servicers, federal watchdog says

Student loan debt is now the second largest debt in the United States with only mortgage debt higher. And, since 2013, most people aren’t able to discharge their student loan debts through bankruptcy.

That’s what makes a report from the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Education, which is highly critical of how the department is handling federal student loan servicers, disturbing. A loan servicer is a company that handles the billing and other services on a federal student loan.

In an audit, the inspector general found that Federal Student Aid, an office of the department, hadn’t adequately supervised student loan servicers.

Which cities have the highest and lowest credit scores?

Source: Wallethub

With tax season coming up and people evaluating their spending and debts more closely, consumers may want to have more information about their credit scores.

WalletHub, a personal finance website, has analyzed 2,572 cities to determine 2019's Cities with the Highest and Lowest Credit Scores:

Federal consumer agency proposes gutting protections on payday loan debt traps

Photo: Aliman Senai

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday that it’s proposing to roll back payday lending protections. The bureau is proposing to rescind the requirements that lenders make sure consumers can repay payday loans before issuing them.

While the bureau contends the changes will increase consumer access to credit, consumer groups say it's gutting consumer protections.

The bureau also proposed to push back the date lenders must comply with the rule from this August to November 2020.

The best and worst super bowl ads of 2019

For years, I’ve written about the Super Bowl ads because they get so much attention. Since so many of them have been violent, ageist, and sexist, I think it’s something that consumers need to know about.

However, this year, before I evaluate the ads, I need to comment on the NFL’s attempts to smooth over its botch response to black athletes kneeling when the national anthem is played to protest police brutality and racism.

Dr. Bernice A. King, the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, came out on the field before Super Bowl LIII for the coin toss. Two civil rights leaders, Ambassador Andrew Young and U.S. Representative John Lewis, joined by her.

Federal actions against corporations continue to drop in Trump’s second year, despite his ‘tough on crime’ rhetoric

Under President Donald Trump, the “tough on crime” president, corporate enforcement actions at the U.S. Department of Justice fell for the second year in a row, according to a Public Citizen report.

In Trump’s second year, the DOJ completed just 227 cases against corporate offenders, 14 fewer than in 2017, and down heavily from 308 in President Barack Obama’s final year in office.

While the Trump DOJ’s financial penalties did increase to $15.7 billion in 2018 from $4.9 billion, the 2018 level is below Obama-era penalties. In addition, the report states that 62 percent of the 2018 total is attributable to just four cases against big banks – Royal Bank of Scotland, Wells Fargo, Barclays, and HSBC – which were initiated by the Obama administration for financial crisis-era allegations.

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.