Popular vote loser Donald Trump's economic advisers think Americans are too stupid to care that they're allowing financial advisers to rip us off again. They're counting out Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who is going to make it very clear just what's going on here. In an emailed statement, she blasts Trump:
"Donald Trump talked a big game about Wall Street during his campaign--but as President, we're finding out whose side he's really on. Today, after literally standing alongside big bank and hedge fund CEOs, he announced two new orders—one that will make it easier for investment advisors to cheat you out of your retirement savings, and another that will put two former Goldman Sachs executives in charge of gutting the rules that protect you from financial fraud and another economic meltdown. The Wall Street bankers and lobbyists whose greed and recklessness nearly destroyed this country may be toasting each other with champagne, but the American people have not forgotten the 2008 financial crisis—and they will not forget what happened today."
And Warren is very effective when it comes to getting this message out. Here's a reminder, from when she roasted Primerica President Peter Schneider for ripping off public employees—fire fighters, teachers—near retirement age who were suing his company for bad investment advice.
“Mr. Schneider, I just want to understand your company’s advice in these cases,” Warren began. “Do you believe that people like these firefighters from Florida who are near retirement and have secure pensions with guaranteed monthly payments should move their money into riskier assets with no guarantees, just before they retire?”
Almost no one who understands personal finance would give such advice in good faith. And Schneider never really answered the question, after being pressed by Warren three separate times. He said that regulators had signed off on the activity, that “each situation is very different,” and that it could make sense for someone on the verge of death.
“I’m sorry, are you suggesting that these 238 people were weeks away from dying, and that’s why they all got this advice?” Warren asked.
You can watch the exchange below the fold. Schneider had no answer to that, and Trump's going to have no answer to Warren, who spearheaded the rule to protect retirees with President Obama. We're talking about retirees and near-retirees being ripped off to the tune of $17 billion annually here. The American people are smart enough to get that. Warren is going to make sure of it.