The Cap Times of Madison, Wisconsin spews their usual anti-business hatred.

Who uses the word “bogus” in a headline?   From the story: 

First it was Republicans like Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), the likely chair of the House financial services committee in the 112th Congress, who took aim at the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Now, a high-ranking member of the Federal Reserve system, the agency that will eventually house the CFPB, is taking a cue from the US Chamber of Commerce’s playbook and trying to chip away at the bureau’s funding and clout.

On Monday, James Bullard, the president of the Fed’s St. Louis branch, questioned the amount of money coming out of the Fed’s budget to fund the new consumer bureau. Although housed within and funded by the Fed, the bureau, which is being launched by Harvard law professor and former bailout watchdog Elizabeth Warren, is an independent organization. It takes orders from no one but its presidentially-appointed chief. But the Fed’s Bullard said the bureau’s funding—about 10 percent of the Federal Reserve System’s spending in 2011, 11 percent the year after, and 12 percent in 2013—”is not based on any careful assessment of what the needs of the bureau will be as it attempts to fulfill the mandate of the Congress with regard to consumer protection.” He added, “I am concerned about this method of funding for the bureau.”

The CFPB will get the same scrutiny by Congress that any government agency would and should get.

From the story: 

More than 8 million consumers stopped using credit cards over the past year. The decline stems from a combination of consumer choices and bank actions.

An analysis by credit reporting agency TransUnion found that use of general purpose credit cards bearing MasterCard or Visa logos, or issued by Discover or American Express, fell more than 11 percent in the third quarter, compared with the July to September period last year.

About 62 million people now have an active card, compared with 70 million a year ago.

The Chicago company found that consumers in the subprime category, or those with low credit ratings, were believed to be without cards mostly because they were shut down by banks after payments fell behind or balances were written off.

So where do our critics think consumers should go for short-term credit?

The Kardashian sisters are pulling the plug on their debit card in the wake of criticism from so-called “consumer advocates.”

CFSA’s Rebecca Adler has a great letter in Tulsa World: 

Moreover, 41 percent of payday advance customers earn between $25,000 and $50,000; while 39 percent report incomes of $40,000 or more. Therefore, the industry doesn’t “thrive” on the poor. In such an economy, the majority of working Americans are living paycheck to paycheck and need payday loans to absorb unexpected expenses. That’s why they often use payday advance more than once a year. In fact, many bounce checks and use overdraft protection at a much higher frequency than the rate at which they use payday loans. Limiting their use only drives consumers to more expensive and less desirable alternatives.

From The Huffington Post:

Congressional Republicans are apparently intent on a big showdown with Elizabeth Warren, who is currently building up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

This is very good news for the White House, if they use this opportunity wisely.

Some Republicans seem to think that Ms. Warren is about “big government” or “intrusive regulation”. But this is not the case – Elizabeth Warren’s approach is much more appealing and already popular with almost everyone on right and left: Transparency.

Look carefully at Ms. Warren’s September speech to the Financial Services Roundtable and think about how this plays as a broader political message.

In a long piece on American financial regulatory system, the author quotes soon to be ex-Senator Chris Dodd saying this:   

“After today, regulators will no longer be able to ignore emerging threats to the economy,” said Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., a sponsor of the bill, in a release. “And financial operators from the trillion-dollar derivatives market to small time payday lending will no longer be able to operate in the shadows.”

Payday lending is strongly regulated in 33 states and the Federal Trade Commission.

Transcript from the “Wall Street Journal Report” on FoxNews: 

Moore: But you’ve left out an important word in this whole thing: oversight. And I think this might be the most important change that comes with having a Republican House is the Republicans basically having oversight over these agencies. They are rogue agencies. They act like independent fiefdoms over business. And that’ll be the real issue, is whether they’re willing to use–and one way you use oversight is through the power of the purse. You basically take money away from these agencies.

Gigot: So you deny them the funding to be able to implement the rules?

Moore: Yeah, the most obvious example is with ObamaCare. But you could do that with EPA, Interior Department. You could–the Republicans, if they wanted to, they could defund Elizabeth Warren. She has this new consumer finance agency.

Gigot: Financial bureau.

Moore: Right.

The fight over Dodd-Frank in the new Congress.  From the story:

“I don’t think that major changes will take place on Dodd-Frank,” says Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., who is expected to chair the Senate Banking Committee next year. “It’s a matter of minor changes taking place. There is not only resistance from the Senate, but the veto is possible, too. So we should focus on realistic solutions to our problems.”

His view was clearly not shared by top House Republicans, who pledged to have a go at Dodd-Frank as soon as possible. Rep. Scott Garrett, N.J., who hopes to chair the capital markets subcommittee, took a hard-line stance, calling on the administration to dismantle the new consumer bureau before it is even started.

“We don’t need a CFPB,” he says. “That would be a great first step for this administration if they want to start showing how they are willing to work with us, to say that, ‘We recognize the failure that this doesn’t do anything to address the problems, so let’s start unwinding that.’”

PDLindustrynews has the scoop.