regulatory accountability

New York has successfully fought to keep predatory payday lending out of our state, as a matter of racial and economic justice. Now, the Trump administration is seeking to gut New York’s longstanding consumer protection laws, and open the door to high-cost lenders that exploit people who are struggling financially.

This month, the New York Times reported on the lack of enforcement activity at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department, showing yet another way corporations engaged in various forms of malfeasance get a free pass from the Trump administration.

Same goes for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where enforcement actions have all but screeched to a halt.

Crain’s New York Business — Esther Roman, a 60-year-old grandmother in Brooklyn, was alarmed when she noticed in January that her $300 weekly paycheck was $27.99 short. She called her employer, a home health care agency, which said her wages were being garnished after someone sued her, claiming she’d failed to pay an old credit-card bill.

We are dismayed that the New York Fed appears poised to appoint a new president through a reportedly closed process, without meaningful consideration of public input. Given the vital role of the New York Fed president and all that is at stake with this appointment, New Economy Project calls on the Fed to pursue an open, transparent process for selecting its next president, even if this means going back to square one.