The Government Shouldn’t Collect Private Financial Information from America’s Poor

National Review covers a new rule by the CFPB in which they collect personal financial data.

One area of agreement, in principle at least, between the Left and the Right is that it’s a problem when the government collects too much data from citizens and invades Americans’ privacy.

That’s why new rules that mean that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will begin collecting huge volumes of personal financial information should concern everyone.

The CFPB, which was created under Dodd-Frank supposedly to protect consumers and prevent the next big financial crisis, is now being used to try to discourage payday lending, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. The rule will require customers applying for a small-dollar loan – the average of which is $350 — to submit extensive personal financial information in support of their applications. In addition to determining a customer’s ability to repay the loan, the lenders will be required to share this information with each credit reporting agency (CRA) registered with the Bureau.

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The Competitive Enterprise Institute just today released a paper outlining many reasons why the CFPB needs fundamental reform. Congress should take this seriously, and not allow this deeply flawed entity to increase its power and collect even more private data from vulnerable communities of Americans.

Read the full article at National Review.