Kathy Brenneman hears plenty of taxpayer horror stories in her receptionist’s job at a tax preparation service in Waldorf, Maryland. But this past year, the spiraling crisis at the Internal Revenue Service collided with her personal life as well. Brenneman had filed an amendment to her 2018 taxes via snail mail, along with a $108 … Read more
By Eric Olsen, Executive Director, attorney, HELPS Nonprofit Law Firm In 1996 a federal law was passed governing the collection of debts owed to federal agencies. It is called the “Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996.” This law authorized a 15% garnishment of social security for various debts owed to federal agencies. Each agency is … Read more
An outside contractor was hired at the Department of Education to try to get to the bottom of the happiness problem. – “I feel encouraged to come up with new and better ways of doing things.” About 20 percent of employees at the Department of Education (ED) agree in 2018 compared to 26 percent in … Read more
The Acting Director of the CFPB, Mick Mulvaney (Bio coming soon), has indicated he wants the entity name changed to Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection. Recently I received a press release from the organization that still identifies itself as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the press release is from the Bureau of Consumer Financial … Read more
by Annie Waldman ProPublica, April 14, 2017, 11:17 a.m. The new acting head of the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights once complained that she experienced discrimination because she is white. As an undergraduate studying calculus at Stanford University in the mid-1990s, Candice Jackson “gravitated” toward a section of the class that provided … Read more
Today, the Federal Trade Commission will host the third in a series of roundtables around the country to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the leasing of motor vehicles at dealerships. The roundtable also will address what has been learned about auto sales, financing and leasing at all of the roundtables; what consumer and business … Read more
Yesterday, President Obama and representatives from other Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies met to discuss consumer cross-border data privacy protection at a meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. The meeting focused on the APEC Cross-Border Privacy Rules, a new initiative to harmonize safe data sharing across country borders and enhance the protection of consumer data that moves … Read more
The state of South Carolina and Bank of America have teamed up together to administer unemployment benefits to South Carolina residents. Unemployment benefits used to come in the form of a check but are now being issued in the form of a Bank of America prepaid debit card. Bank of America claims that it’s good … Read more
For those of you that may know Mark Guimond, the guy from the old AADMO days, you’d know he’s one person that knows his way around Washington. Guimond has just released a new book titled “Billion Dollar Chump Change” in an effort to easily identify budget cuts that could be made for common-sense fiscal reductions … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has released a report of data pertaining to the 2011 fiscal year which showed that pharmaceutical companies continued an anticompetitive trend of paying potential generic rivals to delay the introduction of low-cost prescription drug alternatives for American consumers. If you’re like me, generic pharmaceutical drugs save my life, not only … Read more
The Federal Reserve has recently proposed new rules in credit card lending to only consider one’s personal income and not the household’s income. Essentially, this sounds smart. They are trying to prohibit those without a steady income from taking on credit, especially those unable to repay their debt. However, Margaret Ryznar points out an outstanding … Read more
In doing my ongoing research for pitches that are aimed at people with money issues I recorded and watched the Kevin Trudeau infomercial on “Free Money “They” Don’t Want You to Know About.” He is introduced as a consumer advocate and best selling author. Consumer advocate? We are welcomed back to QSN Direct and it … Read more
The Honorable Dennis McKinney, Treasurer, State of Kansas U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Representative Moore, Chairman August 24, 2010 Testimony by Kansas State Treasurer Dennis McKinney Good morning Chairman. As Kansas State Treasurer, I believe financial literacy is a national priority. As a result, my office provides … Read more
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) comprised a report, Homeownership Preservation: Federal Efforts to Combat Foreclosure Rescue Schemes Are Under Way, but Improved Planning Elements Could Enhance Progress, based on “information available to federal and state agencies and nonprofit organizations, such as consumer complaints and the number of enforcement actions.” The report revealed two predominant schemes … Read more
For all the fans of Elizabeth Warren for the role as the director of the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.