Edwards and ‘One American Economy’ updated
It is impossible to buy a toaster that has a one-in-five chance of bursting
into flames and burning down your house. But it is possible to refinance an
existing home with a mortgage that has the same one-in-five chance of putting
the family out on the street–and the mortgage won’t even carry
a disclosure of that fact to the homeowner. Similarly, it’s impossible
to change the price on a toaster once it has been purchased. But long after
the papers have been signed, it is possible to triple the price of the credit
used to finance the purchase of that appliance, even if the customer meets
all the credit terms, in full and on time. Why are consumers safe when they
purchase tangible consumer products with cash, but when they sign up for routine
financial products like mortgages and credit cards they are left at the mercy
of their creditors?Unsafe at Any
Rate
If it’s good enough for microwaves, it’s good enough for mortgages. Why we
need a Financial Product Safety Commission.
This from Edwards’
speech.
I have learned something in the last four years, though. It’s not enough
to talk about the Two Americas. We also need to talk about what we need to
do to build One America – and to do that, I believe we have to build
One American Economy.We should start with the Wild West of the credit industry, where some abusive
and predatory lenders are robbing families blind. It’s time for a new
sheriff in town.It’s time we did more than say “buyer beware” while millions
of families go broke every year. We should put in place the same consumer
protections for financial products that we have for everything else Americans
can buy. And when I’m president, I’ll do just that.”
UPDATE: More on Edwards speech.
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