Tag: AFL-CIO picnic

Hoist by Their Own Petard

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates - Consumer Financial Protection Bureau


I certainly don’t agree with Mick Mulvaney’s purported efforts – if true— to emasculate the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, but I am thoroughly enjoying the consternation he’s putting his enemies through – although probably not nearly as much as he probably is. The blatant hypocrisy they’re displaying as they fall over themselves with their fake outrage has been fun to watch.

In case you haven’t been following the story, Mulvaney – who also heads the White House Office and Management and Budget – has been running the CFPB on an interim basis ever since his predecessor, Richard Cordray, resigned from the agency the Friday after Thanksgiving last year so he could run for governor of Ohio. On his way out the door, when he thought no one was looking, Cordray appointed his second-in-command, chief of staff Leandra English, to succeed him, a move that was thrown out by a federal judge. At the same time, President Trump appointed Mulvaney – a very vocal opponent of the agency – to run the CFPB until a permanent replacement is named and seated. Continue reading "Hoist by Their Own Petard" →

Going Rogue

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates


A couple of months ago I wrote about the incredible arrogance and chutzpah of the now-former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray.

“In a country loaded with way too many arrogant politicians and government officials who think they are above the law and normal standards of decency, Cordray has set the bar pretty low,” I wrote back then. “Few public officials have shown the level of contempt for legitimate questioning from Congress, the White House and the industries his agency oversees than Cordray has shown since he took over the CFPB, and it’s only gotten worse in the past few months as his tenure winds down.”

It turns out that I grossly underestimated just how devious and cynical he can be. Continue reading "Going Rogue" →

CFPB Stays, But Cordray Goes

Posted on by George Yacik

George Yacik - INO.com Contributor - Fed & Interest Rates


The worst-kept secret in Washington is that Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray may be running for governor of Ohio. Whether that satisfies his political ambitions or not is unclear, given that if he wins he would have to answer to someone other than himself – the state’s taxpayers – a position he doesn’t seem comfortable with.

In a country loaded with way too many arrogant politicians and government officials who think they are above the law and normal standards of decency, Cordray has set the bar pretty low. Few public officials have shown the level of contempt for legitimate questioning from Congress, the White House and the industries his agency oversees than Cordray has shown since he took over the CFPB, and it’s only gotten worse in the past few months as his tenure winds down.

More seriously, his obstinacy, haughtiness, and lack of candor are likely to cost the agency a lot of goodwill and support in Washington, and possibly among the public. He owes it to the agency he helped build and supposedly loves to step down immediately before he creates more damage.

Now comes word that Cordray’s agency may have botched the Wells Fargo scandal – big time. Not only has there been previous evidence that the CFPB was lackadaisical in investigating the bank’s sales practices, at least a year after the Los Angeles Times reported there were problems, but now a recently released internal memo shows that the agency’s lawyers felt there was a strong justification to hit the bank with a $10 billion penalty, instead of settling for a paltry $100 million last September.

What’s up with that? Continue reading "CFPB Stays, But Cordray Goes" →