Washington, D.C. – Dennis M. Kelleher, President and CEO of Better Markets, issued the following statement with the filing of a comment letter on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (“CFPB’s”) proposed rules implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act:

“Almost all Americans pay their debts and most of those who don’t are facing circumstances beyond their control like unemployment, a medical calamity, and other usually tragic occurrences. Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) to protect those vulnerable Americans from shocking, egregious, and abusive practices by the debt collection industry: calling homes repeatedly day and night; calling employers to get people fired; calling friends, neighbors, and relatives to embarrass people; and generally harassing people nonstop to boost their profits. The list of horror stories is long and revolting.

“The CFPB is now charged with implementing and enforcing the FDCPA and it must be guided by Congress’s clear and unequivocal objective to protect consumers not the debt collection industry. It must strongly and clearly regulate a business model that is embedded with incentives to pursue debtors ruthlessly using abusive tactics.

“The CFPB has proposed a rule to implement the provisions of the FDCPA. While it has a few modest consumer protections in it, the proposal also opens too many loopholes and ambiguities that will enable debt collectors to once again engage in too many near-abusive or outright abusive practices. For example, as we detailed in our comment letter, the proposal allows too many communications with debtors, essentially amounting to legalized harassment, and it would create an escape hatch from liability when debt collectors file lawsuits to collect on debts that are actually time-barred under the law.

“The CFPB must finalize a rule consistent with the letter and spirit of the FDCPA, which means it must put consumer interests over debt collectors and meaningfully constrain their impulse to engage in abusive but highly profitable practices.”

###

Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies – including many in finance – to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.

Dozens of Long Island teenagers whipped out their phones an recorded the stabbing of one of their classmates instead of helping him, local police have reported.

Khaseen Morris, 16, was stabbed once in the chest while onlookers recorded the attack. The Oceanside High School senior had supposedly walked a girl home from a party the nigh before and was sought by the girl’s ex-boyfriend. Reports indicate somewhere between 50-70 teens witnessed the attack with many of them recording it instead of intervening.

Morris was transported to a local hospital where he died.

Opinion

Kids do stupid things. They always have. But this recent trend of recording events rather than acting on them stems from a cultural and spiritual disregard for humanity. Events such as these happen outside of reach once mobile devices become the go-to. The response is not to participate or help. It’s to record it. Many teens can’t imagine being at an “event” without having digital record of it occurring.

This shift in mentality is isolated to those who have grown up separated from the real world by the devices they carry constantly. They might forget their keys or wallet when going somewhere, but they never forget their phones. These devices have become a part of us, very much like a technological extension similar to the cyborg technology found in science fiction. But this is willful. Nobody is forced to carry their phones everywhere. We do it willingly.

What does that say about society when someone is murdered right in front of dozens of people whose first reaction is to start recording the attack? How have Americans become so lost that the notion of helping our fellow men, women, and children is an instinct that has been superseded by the need for something to share with friends on social media? It’s sickening.

These kids and their parents should be ashamed.

Quote

“Kids stood there and didn’t help Khaseen. They’d rather video. They videoed his death instead of helping him.” – Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick

Final Thoughts

Much of American society has become observers, recorders, and posters instead of doers. Young people in particular have grown up with faster reactions to their smartphones than to the world around them. This must change.

Gun control is a hot topic. Nearly the entirety of the modern day Democratic Party wants gun control measures in place at the local, state, or national level that they influence. This has been and always will be one of the main reasons conservatives vote for Republicans – as a shield against the gun-grabbers.

But today, many Republican lawmakers are leaning towards “common sense” gun control measures. Whether it’s universal background checks that lead to a national gun registry, red flag gun laws that sidestep due process, or outright gun bans that will turn hundreds of thousands of law-abiding citizens into criminals if they are unwilling to give up their rights, the attacks against the 2nd Amendment are growing in scope and scale.

We will be watching very closely at how Republican politicians discuss and vote in regards to gun control measures. It’s a litmus test; either they are willing to defend the 2nd Amendment or they are betraying their oath to protect the Constitution.

As the American Conservative Movement inches closer to officially launching, we will use this litmus test and a feasibility analysis to determine which RINOs (Republicans In Name Only) are poised for a Constitutional conservative challenger in their next election. We must be pragmatic about this. There’s no reason to invest in primary battles that have no chance. But if a lawmaker favors gun control and is vulnerable, we will go on the attack.

This is, of course, secondary to the primary goal of removing progressives from office. Like a political Hippocratic Oath, we will not do harm to the republic by bolstering a progressive candidate against a moderate Republican. If it isn’t feasible to replace a RINO with a Constitutional conservative who will win the general election, we will direct our efforts elsewhere. Gun control is a litmus test, not an ironclad call for immediate opposition.

We will not repeat the mistakes of those who came before us, who occasionally did so much harm to the Republican they tried to primary that they ended up helping a Democrat take over the position. We will also not attack for the sake of attacking. If we are unable to find a viable candidate to replace the RINO, then we’ll move on and search harder next election.

Installing Constitutional conservatives into the halls of government requires a systematic approach. Gun control will help us identify targets. Realistic yet passionate grassroots efforts will help us push the right people into office.

We are currently forming the American Conservative Movement. If you are interested in learning more, we will be sending out information in a few weeks.