Another reason we need to keep the White House

As if we needed one...

Unbeknownst to many Americans, far too many businesses are now adding arbitration clauses to their terms of doing business with them.  Credit card companies, iTunes, banks, and numerous others are basically saying, as a consumer, you have to agree to take any issues with them to an arbitrator instead of a court of law and jury of your peers or they won't do business with you.  The reason?  You guessed it--you'll win a lot less often and win a lot less money than you would before a jury of your peers.  It's a fact that class action lawsuits punish bad business practices more and result in better ones.  It's basically a rigged game.

The last two jobs I applied for--including the one I have now--required me to agree to arbitration for any disputes before I had so much as put my name on an application form (so much for me believing either of these employers gave two shits about me as an employee!).  We recently bought a used car and I was surprised to find when I got home that I had agreed to arbitration though no one at the dealership had spoken one word to me about it (make sure to read the fine print kiddies!).

Last week, Elizabeth Warren's brainchild, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau put forth a rule that bars financial firms from having mandatory arbitration clauses.  The CFPB does not need either the President's signature or the votes of the republican controlled Senate and House to pass this rule.  While this is only a start, it is hoped that eventually it will lead to an end to arbitration clauses of any stripe.

Should republicans win the White House, within the first ten minutes of taking office (probably a slight exaggeration) they will disband the CFPB--and with it, any chance we consumers have against Big Business.

Remember, Elizabeth Warren created the CFPB because she cares about us, not Corporate America.

Republicans cannot make the same claim.

Peace,
emaycee