Yay, another black hole for tax dollars!

The irony would be if Barney Frank headed up the committee.

Maybe it was the previous last 8 years and the use of the government to legitimize corporate desires (I'm looking at you, FDA, FAA and FCA!), but I can easily see this new agency doing exactly the opposite and becoming a mouth piece for businesses seeking to appear legitimate in their practices.

"Hey, we got CPA permission. What more do you want?"

I strongly suspect that if this would actually do what it was supposed to, it wouldn't get through congress.

I'm sure they'll find a way to fuck it up and cost us dearly.

I'm from the government. I'm here to help.

I hope the telecom providers will be their public enemy #1.

@I Love New Jersey: or

The administration's proposal would allow the new regulator to levy annual fees or assessments on the financial industry to help pay for regulation

@TheFuzz53:

Nevermind, I missed the "financial" part.

@wickedpixel: Local governments get to use the funds generated from traffic tickets and fees also. It is a good thing that power is never abused. So when the government wants more money you better watch out because all of those fees will go up and they will never go away.

Wow, lots of naysayers and Doubting Thomas' about a new government program. Glad to see it.

Isn't this doing what the SEC is supposed to be doing? You know, that Commission that regulates Exchange of Securities?

And this: "The Treasury also said the agency would work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Reserve on efforts to eliminate unnecessary mortgage-related paperwork, among other things" Like what? Income statements and other things that caused us to get into this mess?

Sometimes, I think Mayberry isn't the only place where there's a Barney. Now if Frank could keep his pen in his pocket so he doesn't hurt anyone, we might be okay.

I am certain this will run as smoothly and efficiently as the rest of our federal government.

@SacraBos: That is a bunch of crap. I am in the process of buying a new house right now. I have had to sign several pieces of paper because it is now required by the government and had nothing to do with me or the company I was doing business with. One paper said that it is a crime to commit mortgage fraud and it will be investigated by the FBI. So is this new commission going to undo some of what the government has just done.

@SacraBos: I'm a consumer and I don't think I've ever traded a security.

I'm not particularly conservative in the government size sense, but I'd rather see them drop money into making micro-economics mandatory in schools. like I should be learning simple interest and what it means right after I learn the math. mortgages, stock market, 401ks. this should all be taught by the time I get out of high school and can enter into those contracts.

If it's a choice between paying taxes that might keep my parents from getting scammed, or my parents getting scammed and then having to move in with me I'll pay taxes!

@wickedpixel: But what about the health insurance and government pensions not to mention all of the associated civil service nonsense?

@jstonemo: Or one of the "Friends of Angelo" Chris Dodd.

This agency will be run by Ben Popken and Meghann Marco. All employees will be required to wear Snuggies.

@dantsea: And what's wrong with the way our federal government runs? It may not be the most efficient thing known to man (it isn't), but I'll be damned if things are half as bad as some of you guys try to portray them to be.

All I keep hearing is "Government BAD!!!", but I have yet to see some of you guys actually back up your opinions with anything more than a Ronald Reagan quote.

Well, lobbyists, friends/relatives of politicians, union bosses, and people who make large campaign donations are consumers too!

@aftercancer: But you want the government to teach your parents what you or others won't? Or what they won't learn themselves because it's now the government's job? The FDIC has a ton of literature already available about online scams and schemes, as well as identity theft. They're already doing some of the work - why more government?

@I Love New Jersey: It's to "help pay". That could mean 5% of the cost to run the agency.

@raleel:
In my high school we had that. Consumer Math was the math class kids took freshman year when their grades were too low to get into regular math. So the underachievers are probably doing better today than the overachievers; hooray for priorities in the education system!

@Sheogorath: I agree! Protect consumers from the lobbyists and interests that line Congress's pockets. Doubtful.

@I Love New Jersey:

Yeah! If consumers really wanted protection, they'd hire lobbyists!

I'll admit that it could all be a waste of money, but if the government is as useless as you think it is, we should just switch to anarchy and see how that suits you.

Great. Another agency that will 'help' the consumer.

I'm sure it will be brought to heel any time it's about to do something that will benefit the consumers.

One more group of government drones who will take your complaints 'very seriously'. They won't respond directly to you, but rest assured, your compliant will be collated, filed, aged and occasionally weighed with the complaints of other consumers.

@raleel:

The only useful math skill I got in my basic 12 was balancing my checkbook.

And I took "Management for living!"

@pecan 3.14159265:

...because if someone else was doing it, maybe the government wouldn't have to?

Oh, and expecting anyone over the age of 40 to look up anything on the internet is impossible. Sure, some can. But most people of my parent's generation (50+) still call their computer "the hard drive," and their monitor "the computer."

If they even know that much.

@HiPwr:

Yes, but they get all the secret info at their Skull & Bones meetings.

@superberg: I thought they all gathered together somewhere and worshiped a giant, wooden owl, or some such thing.

Harumph. Protecting individual consumers? What a weird concept.
Next thing you know, those Commie Fascist Socialist Radical Muslims in Washington will start yammering some nonsense about a government for the people, by the people. Even not perishing from Earth!
Damn beard-wearing, theater-going hippies!

@I Love New Jersey: Why not drop a note to Bonior, Paul, Romney, McCain & Palin, and ask them about theirs?

@SacraBos: Don't let Republicans run agencies whose mission it is to take care of the middle class. You'll find it solves most of your complaints.
Or, bring back the sorts of people who thought Cox or Paulson were the best ones in a nation of 600m to run 'em, and you'll be able to whine some more four years later.

@superberg: I dunno...my mom and my father in law are both chained to their Crackberries so they're pretty tech savvy. My dad has a laptop connected to his drum set so he can record and cut his own drum solos and work on his rhythm. Old people can surprise you. I think you're talking about people who are now in their 60s and 70s.

@YOXIM: Would that be the same Ron Reagan who saw the size of the government dramatically expand while he ran things?

@twophrasebark: And own cats!

Uh... isn't this what the Federal Trade Commission is for? Why yes it is. They have a Bureau of Consumer Protection who's website is:

[www.ftc.gov]

First thing on the page is
"Who we are

The Federal Trade Commission is the nation's consumer protection agency."

So what is this new agency going to do for us?

Check this out:

[www.ftc.gov]

The Federal Trade Commission says its Bureau of Consumer Protection "is the nation's consumer protection agency. The FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection works For The Consumer to prevent fraud, deception, and unfair business practices in the marketplace. "

So what is this new agency for?

Guessing student loans will somehow be exempt from this agencies protection.

@HiPwr:

No, no. Those are the Illuminati. Completely different.

@pecan 3.14159265:

Look, I know people in their thirties that can barely find google.

Old people can surprise me, but the key thing about surprise is that it's surprising, not expected.

@AnonyLawyer: Bingo. I have given up any hope of help for our deterioration coming from the government itself. It's too inherent to the problem. What we need is a good ol' revolution.

@Trai_Dep: I think you're missing what we nay-sayers are really saying here. I'd love for some kind of regulation to truly protect consumers. Unfortunately, this same federal government already has several similar agencies with (I thought) similar purposes, at least on paper, and that's worked out so well that they need to create yet another one.

Revolution, people. Eschew ALL political parties and those who insist on associating themselves with one. Reject false promises that obviously cannot be fulfilled. We must start almost from scratch. No amount of bandaiding from within is going to repair the mess we call our government, because it no longer works for the people, in case you hadn't noticed.

I'm very afraid that these people will take away important financial tools for me. Observe the death of credit card rewards as a consequence of the ostensibly "pro-consumer" credit card reform. Or what if I want to buy a house with a balloon mortgage because I have enough money for the balloon payment and want to take advantage of extremely low interest rates?

Ben's first act will be to allow consumers to pay their bills with drawings of spiders. The recession will immediately end.

@dantsea: You mean those guys that take the envelope from my apartment, and for 44 cents fly it cross continent to the airforce base in california, to my federally employed friend who keeps the country safe?

@superberg: But arent the union bosses and lobbyists the real illuminati, and the people who run shadow governments? Did you miss the memo or what? The wise folks on the internet have been trying to tell you about it for so long. And their predictions were proved true beyond doubt when Bush attacked Iran just before the elections and imposed martial law and scrapped the elections, and then no one could get on the internet.

@CheritaChen: Thats precisely why they need to create a new agency, because the old ones, with vague definitions and toothless bites were ineffective. What this is, is an agency formed for a single purpose, and to do it well. A philosophy very Unix-ian in its nature. Zen, if you will.

So figure a year at the most before this agency is totally pwned by the people it's supposed to be protecting you against and instead provides government sanctioned binding arbitration that always sides with the company, etc. etc.