IF LIZ WARREN THINKS OF HERSELF AS “THE COP ON THE BEAT,” SHE OUGHT TO BE FUNDED THE WAY REAL COPS ARE

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Elizabeth Warren defends the notion that the CFPB be funded directly via Federal Reserve revenues, rather than annual appropriation by Congress.

“Without independent funding, every time an examiner goes in to look at the books and records of a trillion dollar company they’ll be facing the possibility that that company will come back in the next budget cycle and lobby to have the bureau’s budget cut,” Warren said.

“Any significant reduction in funding takes cops off the beat,” Warren said. “You don’t want the people being examined to have the power to fire the cops that do the examination, even in an indirect way.” [Emph. added]

Am hugely not persuaded by Warren’s “don’t give people the power to fire the cops” argument. As regards actual cops, for instance, in my town (and yours, too) we fund the police department out of general tax revenue, and do indeed have the power fire policemen who are incompetent or abusive. Even so, the police still apparently have no reluctance to write us tickets when we drive too fast or show up at our houses when our parties get too loud. It’s a sensible balance; order is maintained. By contrast a police force not accountable to the voters would be a somewhat scary proposition, wouldn’t it? Which is why Republicans are howling that the CFPB should be accountable to Congress via annual appropriation. Somebody needs to oversee the overseers. It works in Fairfield County! . . . . You could of course make the argument that a do-gooder like Elizabeth Warren is the last person in the world who would abuse her regulatory authority. I wouldn’t believe you, however. . .