Americans for Financial Reform and the Showdown in Chicago from Caveat Emptor

 by Sarah Byrnes http://caveatemptorblog.com/americans-for-financial-reform-and-the-showdown-in-chicago/

The movement for consumer justice has gotten bigger and stronger, and if you're in Chicago next week you can experience it firsthand.  Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), a big coalition of which AFFIL is a member, is organizing a series of demonstrations on October 25 – 27.  Over 5,000 people are expected to attend.

And that's not all Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) is up to.  This mega-coalition was formed a few months ago to take advantage of the current opportunity to reform the nation's financial regulatory system.   

AFR considers itself a "David" in colossal battle against the Goliath banking industry.  Indeed, today's Wall Street Journal has this headline:  "Wall Street Steps Up Political Donations, Lobbying."  The Chamber of Commerce is throwing its weight around too, running ads that suggest that somehow the CFPA would harm your local butcher's business.  Fortunately President Obama called their bluff, calling the ads "completely false."

But misinformation can be deadly even when the President counters it.  The consumer movement is bigger and stronger than ever, and in some ways the banks are weaker than ever, but it's still going to take a lot of hard work to get common sense reforms the like CFPA enacted.  To help, you can join AFFIL's mailing list and keep up on all the action.