Why voting against the CFPB is un-American
Google “CFPB”. Learn about it. Understand it and form your own educated opinion. Because once you do, you will no doubt agree that this week’s vote was wrong.
Yesterday, here at MosaicPlanet a brief post was published regarding the Senate vote to effectively cripple some of the more important consumer protections put in place under Obama in favor of granting power and invincibility to big banks.
I am not going to get into the specifics of the vote, nor will I spend time describing who or what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is; this information is widely accessible and, really, at this point if you’re not aware of either then perhaps this particular blog post isn’t for you. In either case here’s a quick tip: Google “CFPB”. Learn about it. Understand it and form your own, educated opinion. Because once you do, you will no doubt agree that this week’s vote was wrong.
With that said, I want to speak on a personal level of my feelings on this, as it represents some of the greatest political and economic dangers that the current GOP ruling class presents.
Look, I get that roughly half the country describes itself as “fiscally conservative” (despite a greater percentage taking advantage of government-backed financial programs designed to assist Americans). I understand that — all for the “love of country” — people may be inclined to think, vote and lead in direct opposition to what is literally best for the country and its people. I understand the power of propaganda and the danger of media spin.
I also get how social conservatives may often follow party lines on principle and would perhaps rally against legislation or regulations put in place by the previous Democratic administration for those reasons alone. This puts in perspective the concept of, say, farmers whose lands are eroding due to climate change voting for an anti-science candidate, or Christian “freedom of religion” zealots supporting a Muslim travel ban. It makes sense under these circumstances that a second amendment proponent would then belittle other amendments, or a family dependent on the Affordable Care Act would support a party hell-bent on eradicating it.
Along these lines, it makes sense that many right wing voters would rally behind the call to reverse or replace much of the outstanding accomplishments of the Obama administration. It just fits the narrative.
But not the CFPB.
Here’s the thing: the CFPB was put in place to literally protect people from the big and the bad. It is the epitome of middle-class heroism — something that Republicans pretend to be more often than not — and has been instrumental in allowing American citizens, families, students, soldiers and more the ability to not get trampled by a financial system that already wrecked the economy once and has been looking for a scapegoat class on which to layer the economic burden of “reformation” ever since.
There is absolutely no logical nor true reason why anyone would want to vote as the GOP did this week. Let’s give more power to banks and less to people? Let’s embolden crony capitalism and kneecap “Main Street”? Let’s allow the economic raping of struggling, working Americans to the benefit of Wall Street?
How is that anywhere close to “draining the swamp”?
Of all the positive work to have happened over the past decade, the CFPB is perhaps the one thing that is so very not partisan. Opposing its virtues is not only wrong, it’s indefensible. It’s un-American. And it’s just plain stupid.
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