From the bailout bill to Cash for Clunkers, the current recession has spawned a huge push in new legislation, and it's not over. One bill now before congress would establish a watchdog agency to oversee everything from credit cards to mortgage loans.
"Overall I think this agency is a good idea," said Albert Williams, an economic professor. "But it has some pluses and minuses that we have to really look at carefully. But if you put the pluses and minuses, I believe in the long run it will be a good idea to help consumers."
Williams is one of many in support of a bill pending in Congress that would establish a new National Consumer Financial Protection Agency. This bill is also supported by a long list of consumer advocates from AARP to Consumers Union.
The idea is to have just one agency that regulates everything financial - from credit cards to mortgages, even pawn shops and payday loan places. There are dozens of agencies now that regulate these different companies, but many argue they have been asleep at the wheel. Some say if we had this agency years ago, we might not be in the mess we're in today.
"You would have kept some of the lenders and some of the people providing the service: perhaps they would have been a little bit clearer in their practices," said Williams.
But there's plenty of opposition to the new regulation, particularly from lenders. Their argument? More regulation is unnecessary and will make loans harder to get and more expensive.
