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U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

nytimes.com

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Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#101

Post by Chathamization »

wallace_f wrote: post #57
hyolaris wrote: post #29

This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP. Deregulation is fine if you strengthen the ability of citizens to obtain redress through the judicial system. If you weaken that ability, or it is weakened, you increase regulation. But they're both deregulating and restricting judicial redress, which only increases power of those who don't need it. Companies either are liable or not; th…

What's crazy is that since Reagan the GOP is also fine with increased gov spending, among a host of other increasingly authoritarian policies.* So no longer can they even claim to be anti government corruption & spending, and pro business & 'freedom.' They just appear to be 'anti people.' But please don't pretend the Dems are a whole lot better on most of these issues... I really hope our generation can work together…

> But please don't pretend the Dems are a whole lot better on most of these issues... I really hope our generation can work together and do something about this failing two-party system.

Paying attention and voting accordingly is a pretty good solution. Unfortunately, almost no one does that (and it tends to be even worse at the local level).

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#102

Post by lr »

poorrights wrote: post #81
imglorp wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Correction: anti-poor people. Correction: anti-middle class people. They can't extract any money from the poor, and clearly not from the rich, so guess who's left?

Actually, exploiting the poor is a rather lucrative business for the rich: check cashing, rent-to-own furniture, trailer parks, etc. https://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/opinionator/2013/09/17/maki...

Don't forget about using collection agencies to collect local government fines. Like, how a $30 parking ticket eventually turns into $1000 and ruined credit.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#103

Post by HelloMcFly »

katastic wrote: post #98
hyolaris wrote: post #29

This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP. Deregulation is fine if you strengthen the ability of citizens to obtain redress through the judicial system. If you weaken that ability, or it is weakened, you increase regulation. But they're both deregulating and restricting judicial redress, which only increases power of those who don't need it. Companies either are liable or not; th…

>This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP. So surely you're just as angry about the Democrats deregulating the telecoms in 1996 and allowing companies to own entire vertical chains. (Comcast owns everything from the News, to the pipe you get it from. Ever notice how they never mention "big corporations are killing America" anymore?) The GOP hates you. The Democrats _pretend_ not…

The attempt to equivocate the two parties - particularly Obama and the modern GOP - is so unreasonable that it's barely worth rebutting. The fact that Democrats take actions that are inappropriate or sponsored by lobbyists doesn't automatically make them the same.

Things did get better under Obama, in many ways. To pretend otherwise by focusing on areas that didn't get better is again unreasonable. Things are getting dramatically, markedly worse under a president who is essentially pushing standard-issue GOP agenda items. This article alone is evidence of that. Little effort need be expended for more examples.

And, for what it's worth, I'm not a straight-ticket voter.

*Edited for tone.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#104

Post by zimpenfish »

katastic wrote: post #98
hyolaris wrote: post #29

This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP. Deregulation is fine if you strengthen the ability of citizens to obtain redress through the judicial system. If you weaken that ability, or it is weakened, you increase regulation. But they're both deregulating and restricting judicial redress, which only increases power of those who don't need it. Companies either are liable or not; th…

>This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP. So surely you're just as angry about the Democrats deregulating the telecoms in 1996 and allowing companies to own entire vertical chains. (Comcast owns everything from the News, to the pipe you get it from. Ever notice how they never mention "big corporations are killing America" anymore?) The GOP hates you. The Democrats _pretend_ not…

> letting Wall Street destroy the economy without jailtime

The 2007-8 crash was somewhat before Obama's time.

> giving guns to Mexican cartels

Started under Bush.

> spying on and threatening journalists

Started decades before Obama.

> unprecendented exponetial growth in classified documents

That needs a citation.

> using the IRS as a political wing

Unless I'm reading https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IRS_targeting_controversy wrong, this was a natural (and requested) response to Citizens United and Republicans abusing 501(c)(4) entities.

> hunting down and smearing [...] Julian Assange

It is extremely difficult to smear a neo-nazi misogynist more than he already does by his own words.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#105

Post by dredmorbius »

ambicapter wrote: post #72
dredmorbius wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not. Actually, you're a provider to Equifax, in the form of the data trail they're ingesting. A pretty good WashPo item (by way of Outline because fuck WP's nagwall) spelling this out: https://outline.com/aKwW2y

> fuck WP's nagwall Funny how "Fuck you, pay me" is an acceptable sentiment when you're a freelance software dev, but now when you're a journalistic institution.

As to the article: I've already read it. I'd clicked through to the link (from my Reddit blog) to confirm it addressed what I'd remembered. And I'm sharing it here which may drive slightly more clicks to washpo's site. But, because I got smacked by the nagwall (and again, having already read the article), no.

NY Times has a similarly annoying practice of disabling copy/paste from articles (trivial to get around on various browsers, but not Chrome/Android), so I frequently point to Outline for that as well.

I sympathise with the problems of publishers. But I've also done a lot of research and thinking on this, and they're fundamentally fighting a losing war.

Either go fully behind a paywall (and suffer the consequences of that), go nonprofit (see ProPublica, ICIJ, NPR/PBS), find a patronage option, or ... well, I don't know.

But the system we've got (and which a great many HN folk are directly participating in, as I have myself) SIMPLY. IS. NOT. WORKING.

(It's one of a bunch of things that aren't working presently, though it ties in to many of the others in particularly distressing ways.)

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#106

Post by Chathamization »

katastic wrote: post #98
hyolaris wrote: post #29

This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP. Deregulation is fine if you strengthen the ability of citizens to obtain redress through the judicial system. If you weaken that ability, or it is weakened, you increase regulation. But they're both deregulating and restricting judicial redress, which only increases power of those who don't need it. Companies either are liable or not; th…

>This only highlights the moral emptiness and naked corruption of the modern GOP. So surely you're just as angry about the Democrats deregulating the telecoms in 1996 and allowing companies to own entire vertical chains. (Comcast owns everything from the News, to the pipe you get it from. Ever notice how they never mention "big corporations are killing America" anymore?) The GOP hates you. The Democrats _pretend_ not…

> So surely you're just as angry about the Democrats deregulating the telecoms in 1996 and allowing companies to own entire vertical chains.

Looks like that was a bi-partisan effort, but with more Democrats opposing it than Republicans. Senators who voted for the act: 51 Republicans, 30 Democrats. Senators opposed: 2 Republicans, 16 Democrats (one Republican senator didn't vote).[1]

House members who voted for the act: 236 Republicans, 178 Democrats. House members opposed: 0 Republicans, 15 Democrats (four Democratic house members didn't vote).[2]

[1] https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1995/s268 [2] https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1996/h25

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#107

Post by fragsworth »

I'm losing faith in our system of government. Citibank did this to me on a credit card I had with them:

1. I stopped using the card for several months.

2. I then used it once on a small purchase.

3. They stopped sending me an e-mail reminders for my bill. (An "error" in their system disabled e-mails for my account specifically)

4. I racked up about $100 in late fees and interest charges.

5. I called them up and they said they'd waive the fees and interest charges.

6. They did not waive the fees and interest charges.

7. At this point, I had to give up and pay it because it was about to go to collections and damage my credit rating.

What recourse is there for this kind of thing if the GOP doesn't allow us class-action lawsuits?

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#108

Post by creaghpatr »

fragsworth wrote: post #107

I'm losing faith in our system of government. Citibank did this to me on a credit card I had with them: 1. I stopped using the card for several months. 2. I then used it once on a small purchase. 3. They stopped sending me an e-mail reminders for my bill. (An "error" in their system disabled e-mails for my account specifically) 4. I racked up about $100 in late fees and interest charges. 5. I called them up and they…

Elect a Democratic congress, like the first Obama administration, who incidentally did not allow class-action lawsuits either? At least this time a bill made it to a Senate vote.

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#109

Post by cryoshon »

fragsworth wrote: post #107

I'm losing faith in our system of government. Citibank did this to me on a credit card I had with them: 1. I stopped using the card for several months. 2. I then used it once on a small purchase. 3. They stopped sending me an e-mail reminders for my bill. (An "error" in their system disabled e-mails for my account specifically) 4. I racked up about $100 in late fees and interest charges. 5. I called them up and they…

only now do you start to lose faith? only now?

not after failing to enact meaningful comeuppance for the financial crisis, not after endless spying on the public, not after any of the last billions of abuses, but now?

Re: U.S. Consumer Bureau Loses Fight to Allow More Class-Action Suits

#110

Post by tantalor »

tertius wrote: post #79

What's the best argument for this vote?

It's not very good:

"the rule would harm our community banks and credit unions by opening the door to frivolous lawsuits by special interest trial lawyers."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/25/559950275/...

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