As Elizabeth Warren memorably wrote, “It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance an existing home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting the family out on the street.”
That quotation is an apt introduction to Mallory SoRelle's book, Democracy Declined – the Failed Politics of Consumer Financial Protection.
Consumer financial protections are becoming more and more complex and yet the system still requires individuals to sift through fine print to make sure they aren't going to get taken advantage of by predatory lenders. In this episode we'll look at the history of federal policies related to consumer financial protection, and options for how policies might be changed to benefit Americans and our economy.