Elizabeth Warren Will Play Important Role in New Financial Protection Bureau

The reason for the development of the Financial Protection Bureau is to protect the middle class from fraudulent practices of mortgage lenders and credit lenders. It is very good for the government to step in and do something about this problem. There are plenty of programs for those living below the poverty line. There are also plenty of programs and laws in effect for the very wealthy. It is the middle class that we are losing fast, and something needs to be done about it.

One reason we are losing our middle class is because they have fallen on hard times because of loss of jobs or cut-backs in hours because of the state of economy. Right now, the middle class is very vulnerable to predatory practices. President Obama said:

"Never again will folks be confused or misled by the pages of barely understandable fine print that you find in agreements for credit cards or mortgages or student loans," while speaking of this position and of Elizabeth Warren. President Obama states that he feels this agency is important to the people of the United States.

Elizabeth Warren's official title is "assistant to the president and as a special adviser to Treasury Secretary." In appointing her this, and not the agency's director, the President can bypass Senate vote. This does appear a little sneaky, since the financial industry and the Republicans are so strongly opposed to Elizabeth Warren. However, I have yet to see any politics that didn't have some trickery in it. If the little bit of evasiveness is for the greater good, it seems forgivable.

Warren has plenty of experience in the department of consumer bankruptcy, so it appears she would be a good candidate for this job. Warren was the head of the panel that oversaw the $700 billion federal bank bailout fund as well. This was the job she just stepped down from.

There have been numerous attempts to correct the wrongs of this economy. Many based on predatory lending, which really led people into a quick downward spiral. There is the Volcker rule, which restricts the ability of banks from trading for their own benefit. One financial overhaul bill was put in place in order to regulate Wall Street and the practice of credit-default swaps and collateralized debt obligations. Another financial regulation bill was passed in order to protect consumers by putting an end to abusive lending. This was also meant to make it possible to liquidate these troubled lending institutions without costing the American citizen and using our tax money.

In creating this Financial Protection Bureau, there is finally one sector of the government overseeing these laws and making sure the new financial regulations not only go into effect, but continue to be obeyed. Although the way Elizabeth Warren was brought in appeared to be a sneaky move, in essence President Obama is getting things done in this area without fighting it out for years to come. After all, people keep complaining that our economy hasn't gotten better, but it's hard to improve something when one hits a brick wall at every turn. Elizabeth Warren's experience with the federal bank bailout fund and her experience in the department of consumer bankruptcy, I believe, will prove invaluable as adviser to President Obama in this Financial Protection Bureau.

Jim Puzzanghera "Obama puts Elizabeth Warren in charge of consumer bureau launch" LA Times
Edward Wyatt "For Securities Industry, Finance Law Could Bring New Light to Derivatives" New York Times