Federal consumer agency needed
When looking at the bank bailouts, it is obvious who is watching out for the banks and the financial institutions. When do the players in Washington D.C.: our elected officials, our Federal Reserve and those regulators of the financial markets run amok, start watching out for the average person like me?
We need people in DC, watchdogs whose job it is to protect consumers. It is an indisputable fact that the current system failed to protect the working families here in the greater Chicago area. We are where we are: depleted retirements, skyrocketing foreclosures, escalating bankruptcies. There is plenty of blame to go around, and, yes, I, too, am to blame. Perhaps I didn't read the hundreds of lines of fine print on the contracts I signed. Guilty.
It is time to finger point toward a solution. One remedy is The Consumer Financial Protection Agency - HR 3126. A regulator whose sole purpose is to protect me and all of the families like mine offers a common sense start for rebuilding trust between borrowers and lenders. From what I've read, a Consumer Financial Protection Agency can help make contracts easier to read, provides for product comparisons, inspects that products are safe, and ensures that all of the me's out there are getting a fair deal.
Congress will soon vote on this important legislation. Please take time during this recess to let them know how you feel. Let's make sure the honorable representatives of Illinois honors that voice and supports this essential legislation.
Denise Gilbert
West Chicago