Consumer Protection & Corporate Accountability

The same large banks whose unregulated actions were primary contributors to the economic downturn have also been manipulating state and local governments to profit from budget deficits for years.  Essentially, banks are alluring states with the promise of a means to cut borrowing costs and increase returns through the use of an interest rate swap.  The mechanism is a derivative that allows cash-strapped municipalities and states to exchange interest payments on a variable bond deal for an allocation of funds from a bank.  So, the bank would establish a fixed rate on the bond and swap for the variable "interest rate of the bond that was set by larger macroeconomic forces, such as the Federal Reserve."  Unfortunately, the results have been disastrous.

There will be 2.4 million foreclosures in 2009 along with 9 million foreclosures between 2009-2012, according to the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL).  CRL also estimates that 69 million homes will lose property value because of nearby foreclosures for a total property value loss of $502 billion.  As part of our Multi-State Shared Agenda, the Progressive States Network is working with its partners and leading experts to promote reforms to stem the foreclosure crisis and put in place reforms to discourage predatory lending practices in the future. 

Yesterday, the U.S. House Banking Committee defeated amendments that would have gutted provisions in law to restore state powers to protect consumers of national banks.  Instead, the Committee approved compromise language that, while not as expansive in the protection of state legislation as the Obama administration had urged, is still a significant victory overall against large financial interests.  By a vote of 29-38, the committee defeated a proposed amendment by Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) that would have preempted all state regulation of national financial institutions.

Even as Congress debates increased funding for the federal food stamps program and nutrition aid, this Dispatch will outline the steps states are taking on a wide array of policies that impact working families in urban centers and on rural farms, from food safety and regulation to access to local foods to improving health and nutrition in our communities.

The context of this call is that, in the wake of the financial meltdown that engulfed the country last year largely caused by fraud and predatory lending, Congress is now debating the Consumer Financial Protection Agency Act (CFPA Act, H 3126). The act would create a consumer product protection agency for financial products analogous to the Consumer Product Safety Board.

As the economic downturn progresses, American workers are facing a disturbing rise in employers using credit ratings to determine job worthiness.  According to a 2006 survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, the number of firms using credit histories to screen applicants rose from 25% in 1998 to 43% despite such inquiries often being discriminatory and even illegal. 

This Dispatch will highlight many of the rising concerns by state leaders over recent federal trade deals, how states have been taking action to increase their roles in the trade negotiation process, and recent mobilization by those state leaders working with federal allies to institutionalize the role of states in the trade negotiation and implementation process.

Whether out of circumstance or an emerging trend, where state authority was at issue, this term the U.S. Supreme Court overwhelmingly deferred to state decision makers-- a significant reveral from last year. 

Overall, federal recovery spending is working as intended, helping states provide needed services and avoid layoffs that would be worsening unemployment rates.  The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that these funds are providing states with 40 percent of what is needed to help their budgets in balance over the next few fiscal years.  The recovery plan has provided states with flexibility in addressing key programs and priorities. Unfortunately, a number of states have wasted budget funds on trying to steal jobs from one another, as highlighted by Good Jobs First.

As this Dispatch will outline, Buy American policies are a first step in promoting an alternative to the trade and deregulation policies that fueled the current economic crisis.  Ultimately, we need policies that strengthen local tools for economic growth at home, combined with fair trade policies to raise wage standards abroad as well.   Also, as corporate interests increasingly use trade agreements to restrict state authority to protect worker, consumer and environmental interests, states are increasingly reviewing those trade agreements in order to restore states' ability to effectively respond to economic crises and protect the long-term interests of working families.