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3 Views • Jun 20, 2017

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But which businesses are dismantling their regulations the quickest?

The airline industry has been pushing hard to chip away at pro-consumer federal regulations. A few weeks ago, it looked as if it had scored a victory when a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking — a precursor to creating a new federal regulation — was suspended.

The proposed rule, ordered in the waning days of the Obama administration, would have required airlines and ticket agents to clearly disclose to consumers all customer-specific fee information, including charges for a first and second checked bag and a carry-on bag, wherever fare and schedule information is provided to consumers. It also would have mandated that the baggage fee information be disclosed, adjacent to the fare, at the first point in a search process where a fare is listed in connection with a specific flight itinerary.

But the airline industry also has become its own worst enemy with a string of high-profile passenger confrontations, including the shocking expulsion of David Dao from a United Airlines flight in Chicago. They’ve slowed the momentum of deregulation and could, oddly enough, create more regulation in the long term.

Still, some frequent air travelers feel a sense of hopelessness.

“We have lost our rights as citizens,” says Jeni Farque, who often flies as a government contractor. She points to recent abuses not only by airlines but also by the Transportation Security Administration, which has taken a more vigilant approach to full-body searches.

Other industries are rapidly dismantling regulations, too. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) faces a dramatic overhaul that could render it impotent. And the Obama-era financial reforms, which protected consumers on many levels, face serious overhauls under the Trump administration.

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“Almost anyone who has dealt with a bank, credit card company or other financial institution understands the power these groups have over the average person,” says Geisinger. “The average person doesn’t have the time, money or expertise to fight the banks.”

Geisinger notes that the CFPB is empowered to protect consumers against “unfair, deceptive and abusive” practices, serving as an important counterbalance to the financial industry. Weakening it would eliminate an important safeguard.

Unfortunately, the only real way to protect yourself from this reckless deregulation is to remain vigilant — and to vote the right way in the next election. Candidates who want to eliminate consumer protections are not on your side.

Another problem area: privacy.

The president recently signed a bill that would effectively allow your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to track your every move online and sell that information to the highest bidder.

Until now, says Eva Velasquez, president of the Identity Theft Resource Center, consumers have taken their privacy for granted. They

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