JemmyMusk wants to abolish consumer agency that has been a ‘model of efficiency’
MicroWavewww.commondreams.org/news/elon-musk-cfpb
*Summary*
Elon Musk wants to “delete” the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), which has returned nearly $20 billion to Americans since its creation after the 2008 financial crisis.
Critics, including Public Citizen, argue Musk is driven by conflicts of interest, as the CFPB recently finalized a rule to supervise large tech companies offering digital payment services, a business Musk appears poised to enter.
“In short, Musk is calling for elimination of the consumer protection regulator over a business line he seems poised to enter… This is systemic corruption at a grand and intolerable scale,” one advocate said.
The CFPB has long faced opposition from corporations and conservatives but is praised for combating financial abuses and protecting consumers.
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CharlesDarwinThe fact that trump was elected, or even close to it. And musk is now in the position he's in, just makes it feel like our society is falling apart. Like death throes, or the calm before the storm.
This all really feels like societal collapse. I hope I'm wrong.
TheDemonBuerMusk has publicly praised the book, 'The Capitalist Manifesto: Why the Global Free Market Will Save the World,' that came out last year. The book, as you would assume, advocates for essentially unregulated, free market capitalism. I think Musk, and others like him, see a second Trump term as an opportunity to try and bring about the capitalist utopia that the book envisions.
If you're a capitalism supporter, this is likely good news. And long may the free market reign. If you're a socialist, well, you better be organizing workers like there's no tomorrow.
If you're a capitalism supporter, this is likely good news.
It's not good news for intelligent capitalists either. The current systems are in place because real capitalists, starting with Adam Smith in 1776, know that regulations are critical for the success of capitalism.
People who champion deregulation are always looking to destroy the free market for their personal profit.
Unfortunate that intelligence doesn't seem to be a requirement for having success under capitalism.
"Capitalist utopia" is a bit of an oxymoron, no?
Not if you're a selfish capitalist billionaire who doesn't give two shits about other people. But for everyone else, yes.
There certainly exist capitalist utopias, like the Ayn Rand Galt's Gulch and Heinlein's Luna. All utopias are fictional, of course.
If you're a capitalism supporter, this is likely good news. And long may the free market reign. If you're a socialist, well, you better be organizing workers like there's no tomorrow.
I think it's bad news regardless of what you're rooting for. Socialists are going to get exploited and harmed just as much as the capitalists are. The only difference is that the capitalists will say "daddy please" as the boot comes down.
The only winners here are going to be the ruling class.
Pandantic [they/them]The only winners here are going to be the ruling class.
Unless we rise before they get the AI murder bots up and running…
I very much doubt that tariffs and pissing off basically everyone outside if the US will help a goal of a global free market.
Well, they have to balance their commitment to global free markets with their desire to destroy countries run by Communists, or any country that isn't sufficiently Western and liberal in their political or economic philosophies. China is especially problematic, because they've accounted for so much of the global growth that's occurred over the last several decades, but they are ultimately run by Communists, and they are certainly not liberal or Western enough.
I remember last time Trump was in office. There were massive tariffs on european products as well. There are no communist countries in the European Union. Trump and his gang openly push the "America first" narrative and that very obviously means that every other country in the global market is under attack, even those who were traditionally viewed as allies. Communism is not the issue here.
We'll see if the US manages to bully the world into submission but I have my doubts. A free global market is bound by capitalist mechanics. If the US is not an attractive trade partner the export profits will be made elsewhere.
Yes, they are not consistent in their own logic. They are hypocrites. But that doesn't mean they aren't committed to global, free-market capitalism. They're committed to it in the same way a religious person might be committed to their faith, despite not following, or even knowing all of its precepts. In fact, the rules and definitions of global, free-market capitalism don't matter. The rules of capitalism are whatever they want them to be, similarly, again, to a pastor who molds his denominations religious teachings to whatever suits him.
The important thing is that musk is a classic libertarian grifter.
His cars are propped up by government subsidies (or they were, I think he's running into problems), starlink is heavily used by NASA, and the boring company is just another way to extract government money.
He'll pretend to be a global libertarian, but what he really wants is sky high tarrifs so he doesn't have to compete with Chinese electric cars.
Meh, these people are pure corporatist fascists, not free-market capitalists. These are very different things.
If you want to see an actual free-market capitalist who also has power and is not just a guy in the internet, check out Argentina's still miraculously current president Milei.
Meh, these people are pure corporatist fascists, not free-market capitalists. These are very different things.
No true Scotsman.
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Biden is a neoliberal technocrat, a group that is becoming less and less relevant with every passing year.
I like to remind people that businesses are not the best way to run a government.
The government imposes the rules business need to follow. I seasiously doubt business would have stopped child labor, insisted on workers' safety, or minimum wage, without the government being there being rules that need to enforce the rules.
If the boot licking workers want to experience what this would be like. Go to Asia and get a job at any manufacturing site, and you'll be at your "dream job"
CorkyskogThose rules were paid for in blood and now we are just throwing it all away.
I'm *shocked*, I say. Flabbergasted. Nonplussed. Flummoxed.
The rich hypocritical narcissistic shithead is using his status and position to amass even more wealth that he won't ever use in his lifetime? Say it ain't so!
Fuck Musk and everything he stands for.
It’s long overdue time to eat the fucking rich.
News flash: Because it's not about efficiency.
It's about how to most efficiently stuff tax dollars into his pockets.
Well, his and his friends, but yeah. This is the complete answer.
Literally whatever he thinks and says, I want the exact opposite. Don’t trust the rich, especially the richest of the rich!!
This is how they get us. They'll overwhelm with the volume of terrible shit that they're doing. We just won't be able to stop it all. We can organize and protest one thing at a time, But how can we organize to stop a thousand different things all happening at once?
Once they're back to putting children in cages and banning birth control, how are we really going to be motivated to rally around stopping the shutdown of a government bureau?
USA could've organized to stop thousands of different things all at once, but they decided to let it happen. That was on 5-NOV-2024.
Some people tried. Worth keeping them in mind when condemning the whole country as complicit.
I agree with you. I'm not blaming everyone.
That's good.
Everyone who could have voted Harris but didn’t is complicit. Or at least was fine with a Trump presidency.
That’s most people in the US.
Why do you think I'm talking about them? I said *tried*.
I’m not disagreeing with you. Just pointing out that most of the US is at fault for what’s to come.
Surly the face eating leopard won’t eat MY face…
Yep. Non voters asked for this, whether they realize it or not. Hope they enjoy the shit sandwich
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Fuck. Fine, I'll tone it down a notch.
By offering our oligarchs a free haircut. There's a French style that would be a perfect match!
Fox says hen house ineffective, should tear it down
In equally surprising news, leading oceanographers agree : Pacific Ocean larger than average dog's water bowl in terms of both area and depth.
Whatever the complete opposite of a red flag, they have it. It'd be hard to find a thing these two groups have in common with an average citizen if that's not just an infight between the two.
...i.e., not corrupt enough to keep around
So 20 more billion moved from the pockets of citizens into the pockets of oligarchs. System works as designed.
Nah, worse than that.
When a organization like this exists it also puts pressure in companies to behave properly. The $20b was from those that weren't.
But with it gone, they'll start up again.
That agency was created by congress and it will take congress to destroy it, no matter what President Musk says.
In ideal circumstances yes. Nothing stops president Cheeto from firing everyone at the agency. Nothing stops him from initiating a hiring freeze at said agency.
Nothing stops him from locking the doors, removing computers, desks, phones...
This is how fascism works. Anything they can't legislate they'll make damn near impossible to do.
That particular agency was created by law, has a mandate, and is not part of the administration. Its creation by Congress as part of a compromise on an SEC restructure and receives budget as a set percentage of it. It's purpose is to look out for consumers getting ripped off, such as bank fees. I remember it because it is Elizabeth Warren's brainchild during the Clinton years. She was supposed to run it, but Republicans didn't like her. So, she ran for Congress, won a senate seat, and they really don't like her now.
You know that the Republicans will also control both houses of Congress, right?
The house is really close. So much so that Republicans will have a one seat majority until April. The Republicans will have a 3 seat majority in the senate. IDT it's anything to brag about and not a foregone conclusion for anything.
GOP has Congress. They're going to rubber stamp whatever Musky tells Trump. If they don't they get primaried, funded by musky. There's really no point in trying to be pedantic (which everyone already knows anyway).
Life is grand if you are a narcissists in USA.
A very rich narcissist at least.
No not just the rich, narcissism is not only accepted but respected in USA. Stand your ground, discriminate minorities, falsify historic events, and generally cheat and lie. You can do these things and become a local or even national hero, AND President of the USA!
It's all accepted and legal to a way higher degree than other countries that are economically comparable.
america needs the Law of Jante.
Absolutely, it's insane how many Americans call USA God's country, and the Bible preaches to be humble, which is kind of what the Jantelov is about, but being humble is completely alien to most of the Americans that claim they are Christian.
Most of Christianity is alien to most Americans who claim they are Christian
The wealthy elite class hates that kind of efficiency.
Why is anyone even considering what that pissfart wants?
Sure. Just let him gut whatever. He thinks gutting things is automatically smart, though really it just gives him a little thrill.
At this point, the best (and maybe only option) is just let these clowns run wild. The system will fail sooner that way. Best not to draw it out.
Did you read the article?
Yep. Not making any counter claims versus the article.
On the other hand, it's because of the CPFB that one must have absolutely sterling credit to even think about getting a mortgage. Prior to the 2008 housing crisis that led to its creation, banks were handing out mortgages like Halloween candy, all anyone had to do was walk up and say "Trick or Treat!". Didn't matter whether or not the person getting the mortgage made enough money to even pay the interest, the mortgage and the house were both there for the taking.
Well, yeah, which lead to the 2008 crisis, and the creation of the CPFB to try to avoid that in the future
Look, I've made some bad choices in life. I'm in my 30's, I live with my girlfriend and her mother, and my credit only just recently got above 600. But because of the rules the CPFB put in place, I'll be laughed out of ANY bank if I walk in and ask for a mortgage for just a bare plot of land with nothing on it. And maybe I'm being selfish, but the CPFB hasn't done dick to make home ownership more affordable, or to keep private equity from snatching up all available inventory.
For houses, most people's barrier is the downpayment. Loans on raw land are more risky, because it's not immediately going to be someone's home (which people will go to extremes not to lose), and there's no guarantee a home will ever be finished there. All things being equal, it's usually cheaper to buy an older home than to build one (to code). I guess an exception would be buying land, having utilities ran, septic tank/well installed, and driveway and pad poured for a trailer, then getting an old trailer and fixing it up (all assuming zoning allows). Even that would be more expensive than buying a plot with an old trailer already on it though. But, I guess you can't use a lot of downpayment/mortgage assistance programs on trailers either.