Trump and Republicans want to make it easier to discriminate in auto lending because of course
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When I was a kid, one of the old reruns that played on TV in the afternoon was a show called “Gomer Pyle.” Gomer had a number of catch phrases, one of which (see the image on the right) came to mind as I learned about another thing Donald Trump and his ReTrump and Republicans want to make it easier to discriminate in auto lending because of course
When I was a kid, one of the old reruns that played on TV in the afternoon was a show called “Gomer Pyle.” Gomer had a number of catch phrases, one of which (see the image on the right) came to mind as I learned about another thing Donald Trump and his Republican henchmen on Capitol Hill were doing to make our economy and our society less just and definitely not great. The Trump presidency has been full of “surprises” on many fronts. Making it easier for businesses to discriminate against black and Latino Americans? Well, that’s no surprise. Since Trump entered the Oval Office, he has taken aim at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The CFPB—conceived of and initially organized by Elizabeth Warren—is one of the Obama Administration’s signature achievements, one that strongly reflects the progressive value that government must act vigorously to protect regular Americans from being abused, ripped off, or mistreated by corporations and businesses. In 2013 it issued the following guidance on auto loans: Certain lenders that offer auto loans through dealerships are responsible for unlawful, discriminatory pricing. Potentially discriminatory markups in auto lending may result in tens of millions of dollars in consumer harm each year. [snip] “Consumers should not have to pay more for a car loan simply based on their race,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. [snip] The CFPB recommends that indirect auto lenders within its jurisdiction take steps to ensure that they are operating in compliance with fair lending laws as applied to dealer markup and compensation policies. These steps may include, but are not limited to: Imposing controls on dealer markup, or otherwise revising dealer markup policies; Monitoring and addressing the effects of markup policies as part of a robust fair lending compliance program; and Eliminating dealer discretion to markup buy rates, and fairly compensating dealers using a different mechanism that does not result in discrimination, such as flat fees per transaction. You might think that righting this wrong and combating racial discrimination in car loans sounds like a no-brainer, something that any right-thinking American could get behind. You might also think that the CFPB’s guidance here is very reasonable, as it even offers a clear suggestion on how to avoid violating anti-discrimination laws (the recommendation that lenders pay flat fees to dealers). However, if you think the Trump Administration agrees with you, well, you’re as wrong as someone who thinks orange is anyone’s natural skin color. Read more