Elizabeth Warren on Consumer Protection (MMBM) from Roosevelt Institute on Vimeo.
Ezra Klein posted this video on his blog.Elizabeth Warren makes a strong case for a new consumer protection agency. It's an argument that even Friedmanesque free market types can get behind. The argument is roughly this: the success of a free market depends on contracts, and in the age of what Warren calls the Complexity Machine, the market can't work because contracts are so complicated that consumers can't reasonably be expected to understand them. According to Warren, "Banks are fighting to kill contracts and to kill consumer markets so that they can drive up short-term profits."
Do yourself a favor and watch it. The video is about 11 minutes long.
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Ezra's blog is filled with great information and links. I've been seeing more of him on msnbc lately. It's about time he was given more exposure.
ReplyDeleteJust in case you were unaware, Elizabeth Warren gives a monthly report for the Congressional Oversight Panel and the video can be found here