The Bankster Model: Ripping Off Consumers With The Help Of Their Bribed Politicians

Possible GOP/Wall Street candidate to steal Trump's-- or Cruz's-- nomination

Yesterday, writing about the dangers to America from Paul Ryan, Hamilton Nolan called the attention of Gawker readers to Ryan's fight against the fiduciary rules Senator Warren has been working for. As Chair of the House Ways and Means and Banking Committees and now as Speaker, Ryan has taken $6,008,853 in legalistic bribes from the Finance Sector and fights assiduously for their toxic agenda. This cycle alone, Ryan has gobbled up $1,072,975 from the banksters, about the same amount they've given corrupt Florida Democrat Patrick Murphy ($1,054,300), the banksters' #1 priority for a Senate race.

Today’s enactment of the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule, which protects regular people from being swindled by financial advisors, is an opportune time to reflect on the fact that Paul Ryan led the opposition to this rule, meaning that he is in favor of regular people being swindled by the financial industry. But his undercover fealty to corporate interests is positively run-of-the-mill compared to the contrast between his reputation (caring, concerned with the less fortunate, a believer in the redemption of government) and the reality of his budget proposals.

New Dems and Blue Dogs joined the Republicans to pass the Panama trade deal

Alex Leary, the Washington Bureau Chief for the Tampa Bay Times gives another in a long, long list of way Patrick Murphy earns such loyalty from the Wall Street banksters and other financial predators. After all, it isn't just Debbie Wasserman Schultz responsible for the payday lender scandal. In fact, Murphy, who serves on the House Financial Services Committee and was the original co-sponsor of this Republican legislation, is even more at fault. Leary reports that Murphy insists that Florida’s payday lender law is a model that should be implemented nationally, regardless of what Elizabeth Warren or consumer groups think. Consumer groups are pushing back against Murphy (and Wasserman Schultz) and "point to interest rates that approach 300 percent and argue Murphy, Wasserman Schultz and others are trying to block reforms championed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts."

“The persistent pattern of repeat lending in Florida occurs despite the 2001-enacted Deferred Presentment Act, a state law that limits borrowers to only one loan at a time and includes a 24-hour wait period between loans,” reads a recent report from the Center for Responsible Lending, National Council of La Raza, Latino Leadership, Inc. and the Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection. “Passed with bipartisan support in the legislature along with that of the payday industry, today payday lenders in Florida are more commonplace than Starbucks’ 642 coffee shop locations and charge on average 278% annual percentage rate.”

Murphy, who is running for Senate, has sponsored legislation that would prevent proposed regulations under the Warren-White House backed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

...[A] report issued by an array of consumer groups criticized the regulations, noting the high interest and calling the 24-hour cooling off period insufficient. “In spite of the industry-backed Florida law, 88% of repeat loans were made before the borrower’s next paycheck,” a December memo says.

Last month Warren criticized the legisaltion before the House. "The @CFPB is doing a great job to crack down on the tricks & traps in payday loans. Congress should back the @CFPB, not sabotage it," she wrote on Twitter.

Murphy has received at least $46,000 from the payday lending industry, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Wasserman Schultz, who has been hammered with TV ads and billboards, has gotten $63,000.

Murphy said the lenders help people.

“That’s one of the biggest things holding back the middle class right now, lack of access to capital,” he said.

Despite a campaign being orchestrated by Wall Street and Schumer to smear Grayson and destroy his career, Florida voters are aware exactly which people Murphy's payday lender bill seeks to help: the payday lenders themselves-- who bribe him with campaign contributions-- not the people being trapped in usurious interest rates. Grayson's statement celebrating the Department of Labor's new rules to prevent Muphy's contributors from ripping off their clients, included a statement pointing out that "Murphy has consistently been an obstacle to preventing the harmful conflicts of interests that have hurt Florida’s businesses, consumers, and retirees and their families. This new rule hopefully ends the industry assault that Murphy has waged on his donor’s behalf. Democrats know we can’t risk sending someone to the Senate who puts donor priorities over those of Florida’s retirees and the families who are saving for that day when they can retire."

Floridians will go to the polls at the very end of August and Democrats will pick their nominee for the open Senate seat, as well as their congressional nominees. We strongly recommend Alan Grayson for Senate and Tim Canova, who's opposing Wasserman Schultz for the FL-23 House seat. You can help both progressive candidates by tapping the thermometer below. Please do. Murphy and Wasserman Schultz are being backed by a fully corrupted, Wall Street-financed establishment that goes well beyond just payday lenders and both plan to swamp their opponents in deceitful, persistent advertising. Grayson and Canova have something to at least partially negate their financial advantages: brains. Both know how to run a modern grassroots campaign. Murphy is clueless and dependent on the antiquated, dysfunctional models Schumer and Wasserman Schultz use.