(Photo: Ismagilov / Getty Images)
It’s Shark Week, but the most dangerous predators this year aren’t on TV or at the beaches — they are in Washington DC, where they are menacing families with the help of their chums in Congress.
From payday loan sharks to Wall Street bottom-feeders, financial predators of all shapes and sizes are descending on our capital to take a bite out of financial protections.
Over the past six months, we’ve seen these sharks swarm in a feeding frenzy on our rights. GOP-backed Trumpcare wants to destroy Medicare and Medicaid, and take health care away from millions of Americans.
The Trump administration’s proposed budget slashes funds for public housing, food assistance and protecting the environment.
Newly appointed Education Secretary Betsy DeVos is refusing to to forgive loans to students defrauded by for-profit colleges, while seeking to funnel millions of dollars into for-profit charter schools.
On issue after issue, the GOP, the president and his team prioritize corporate tax breaks and tax cuts for the wealthiest one percent.
Sharks Attack the CFPB
In their latest attack on everyday people, Trump’s corporate sharks have set their sights on our financial system’s lifeguard: the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
After Wall Street speculation nearly sank our economy in 2008, Congress created the CFPB to stand up for consumers and give them a voice — and some equal footing — in dealing with banks and lenders.
The CFPB is a lifeguard for families making financial decisions. The CFPB is there when a shark gets us in their jaws through trickery or fraud — coming to the rescue and a chance for justice.
It was the CFPB that uncovered Wells Fargo’s massive effort to defraud consumers by opening fake accounts. Since it began, the CFPB has returned $11.8 billion to more than 29 million consumers defrauded by big banks and financial companies.
The CFPB rescues shark-attack victims; they issue rules that protect consumers from unfair and…