Stephen Moore writes at Real Clear Markets, “Lower income Americans often live paycheck to paycheck and lack access to quick cash or credit in an emergency.

That can mean not paying the rent or going without meals or waiting for the next paycheck with only a few dollars left in the wallet.  It’s a stressful and not that uncommon a predicament.

According to the Federal Reserve, more than one out of every ten American adults cannot cover even a $400 expense by cash or credit. Nearly 30% of Americans are unbanked or underbanked.

“#Dems further restricted access to financial services for working people and forced families to turn to more harmful options like bank overdraft fees, running up high-interest credit card debt, or borrowing against their car/home.” #ampFW https://t.co/87957PTiJQ

— FreedomWorks (@FreedomWorks) December 20, 2021

This means that millions of Americans can find themselves in a financial pinch and have to rely on unsecured personal loans to help them move forward. They run up their credit cards–if they have one–or in dire circumstances, rely on old-fashioned loan sharks. That’s rarely a good option.

To provide struggling Americans with more financial security to cover expenses, the Trump administration implemented the True Lender Rule. This rule sought to give small banks and credit unions the ability to partner with third parties to provide workers with loans and quick-cash liquidity when needed. The True Lender Rule gave regulatory certainty to minority and community banks seeking to provide safe and reliable credit to underserved communities.

Earlier this year, Biden signed a joint resolution repealing that rule. In doing so, Democrats further restricted access to financial services for working people and forced families to turn to more harmful options like bank overdraft fees, running up high-interest credit card debt, or borrowing against their car or home.”

Read the entire column.

The post New lending and credit restrictions will hurt the poor the most appeared first on Liberty Tree.

Fox Business reports, “American consumers are grappling with the highest inflation rate in more than three decades, and the surge in the price of everyday goods is disproportionately hurting low-income workers, according to a new analysis published Monday by the Joint Economic Committee Republicans.

My team’s new research shows that while inflation hurts everyone, it hurts the poorest Americans the most.#Bidenflation #Inflation #Economy @JECRepublicans https://t.co/aUVR6LXXcs

— Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) November 16, 2021

The research concluded that higher inflation – which erodes individual purchasing power – is especially harmful to low- and middle-income Americans. The GOP lawmakers cited research from both the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland and New York, which found that inflation reduces poor individuals’ lifetime consumption opportunities more than their wealthier counterparts – largely due to rising gasoline prices.

‘Inflation reduces poor Americans’ quality of life, and rising gas prices specifically increase the cost of living for poor Americans living in rural areas much more than for richer Americans,’ the JEC analysis said.”

Read the entire story.

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Reason’s Matt Welch writes, “House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–Calif.) snapped when asked Tuesday if the proposal to dramatically increase the surveillance capabilities of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) would remain in the trillion-dollar social spending bill currently being negotiated among Democrats on Capitol Hill.

“Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes,” the speaker said. Then she waved aside the questioner’s accurate comment that banks have reported customer concerns about the idea that the IRS would scrutinize accounts with inflows and outflows as low as $600…

How much is $10,000? Average annual rent in West Virginia. Four months of full-time minimum wage earnings in NYC; 8 months federal. Less than half the average price for a used car.

And oh yeah, the HIGH band being proposed right now for IRS bank-snoopage. https://t.co/0yaFq14EeD

— Matt Welch (@MattWelch) October 14, 2021

…the negotiators have already agreed to Biden’s basic setup of giving the IRS an extra $80 billion over the next decade to hire 87,000 new employees and build out a ‘comprehensive financial account reporting regime’ that would intrude into previously untrodden territory (such as Venmo accounts and cryptocurrency), so I’d take the over on regular Joes and Janes seeing a noticeable increase in scrutiny.

Republicans are doing their best to sound the alarm (while the news media are doing their best to stress the ‘Republicans pounce’ angle), but the fact is that without significant outcry about a complicated and hellaciously expensive must-pass monstrosity, some version of this vast new financial surveillance state is likely to get built. Those who value financial privacy are best off seeking it in another country.”

Read the entire column.

The post In going after ‘the rich,’ Democrats want to snoop on the poor appeared first on Liberty Tree.