Access to affordable credit, fairly priced insurance, safe investments, and protection from scams and predatory practices are essential building blocks of thriving communities. But policymakers often rely on data and “expertise” supplied by the financial industry and accept their narrative about what constitutes a fair and healthy marketplace, which prioritizes industry profits over community wellbeing. 

Our state regulators at the Department of Commerce and the Attorney General’s Office are responsible for enforcing existing legal protections, but they don’t always know what challenges our communities face or how different populations are targeted with extractive products or outright scams.