Consumer Financial Protection: Clear as Mud

The president last week sent a 152-page wish list to Congress for what he wants out of the proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The aim of the proposal is to make lending, investing and other disclosures easier to understand.

The cause is noble, but the irony rich. Any time the government goes to simplify anything it becomes a quagmire of even more incomprehensible drivel than it was to start. Just look at the language of the proposed legislation: The term “alternative consumer financial product or service” means a consumer financial product or service that is of the same type or class as a standard consumer financial product or service but that contains different or additional terms, fees or features.