In Trump's economy, mammas should make sure their babies grow up to be con men
By Catherine Rampell Opinion writer November 28 at 7:32 PM
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One of the many underappreciated legacies of the Obama administration has been its widespread implementation of pro-consumer policies. Under the outgoing presidents leadership, multiple executive branch departments and independent agencies have enacted laws, rules and regulations designed to protect regular Americans from, well, the Donald Trumps of the world.
By which I mean big companies and moneyed interests eager to fleece unsophisticated or shallow-pocketed borrowers, investors, consumers, workers and small-potatoes entrepreneurs. To the untrained ear, Trumps campaign rhetoric suggested he might be on board with Obamas mission.
Trump spoke frequently of how the system was rigged against the little guy, and how because no one knows the system better than Trump he alone could un-rig it. But now that hes heading into office, Trump has flanked himself with a fleet of anti-regulation, anti-consumer subordinates who appear hellbent on dismantling the Obama administrations hard-won pro-little-guy protections.
With a Cabinet likely worth tens of billions of dollars, Trump is assembling a government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. And the policies his team wants to enact wont line only their leaders pockets to the contrary, if they succeed, theyll enrich enterprising " target="_blank">mugs, pugs and thugs throughout the land, too.
Almost immediately after the election, a Trump transition team member declared the president-elects intention to scrap the Obama administrations new fiduciary duty rule. This rule, set to take effect in April, would require retirement investment advisers to act in the best interests of their clients. The finance industry hates the rule and would rather preserve its ability to sell products that are, by definition, not in the best interest of little-old-lady clients.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-trumps-economy-mammas-should-make-sure-their-babies-grow-up-to-be-con-men/2016/11/28/43ace7c6-b5af-11e6-959c-172c82123976_story.html?utm_term=.bfe1f0067571&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1