The Biden-Harris administration’s new “time is money” policy employs “corporate tricks and scams like excessive paperwork, long wait times, and more to empower big business at the expense of ordinary Americans’ time and money of profits. Even better, because it can be done administratively, it doesn’t require a do-nothing Republican-led Congress, and will begin rolling out on Monday and in the coming months.
If you’re like most people, you’ve probably spent hours trying to unsubscribe from a service that you can sign up for with just a few clicks. Not only is this annoying, but for working-class people, unsubscribing is nearly impossible because, as the Biden-Harris administration says, “time is money” — hence the name of the program.
The initiative was announced by White House domestic policy adviser Neera Tanden during a conference call with reporters that also featured PoliticusUSA.
Initial actions will begin rolling out on Monday 12 August and will be implemented over the coming weeks and months. But take note: What the FCC does Let consumers chat with a real person at the touch of a button Will launch today. Late this summer or early fall, we can expect the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to work on bypassing bank chatbots.
This administration has done a lot of important policy work for this country, but I have to say, this could be a game changer for our daily lives.
Think about the different sectors this will impact (some of which are pending rules):
• Subscription services and memberships – such as gym memberships, beauty salons, and newspaper subscriptions (FTC proposed rule)
• Cable, Internet and telephone companies (regulated by the Federal Communications Commission)
• Banking and Financial Services (part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau)
• Health insurance companies and the healthcare industry
• Airlines and travel industry (new Department of Transportation rules on automatic refunds)
Goals of these actions include making it easier to cancel subscriptions and memberships. They say canceling should be as easy as signing up, knowing that onerous cancellation policies can cause people to lose money by subscribing longer than they want.
A senior administration official explained that the goal is to instill a practice that ensures companies are fundamentally Reposition Make the consumer experience front and center. Yes, they start with themselves: One example is making it easier for people to get direct services through the Social Security Administration, which is different from (and I would say better than) chatbots.
They also seek to improve customer service. It’s enough to make your head spin – the time you spend talking to people each week could be spent doing something important, like taking a walk. This provision will end phone trees that you cannot browse. they will ask Contact a real person with just one button.
It also seeks to streamline claims and paperwork processes, such as for health insurance. No more printing and mailing claim forms.
The Transportation Department’s new rules will require airlines to offer automatic refunds when flights are canceled rather than forcing consumers to jump through hoops.
Overall, the main goal is to reduce the “common annoyances” and “headaches” consumers face when dealing with companies and make it easier for people to manage their finances, subscribe and access services without unnecessary obstacles .
The new measure coincides with the Biden-Harris trash fee initiative. In fact, it was so aggressive with PEOPLE that a reporter asked on a conference call attended by PoliticusUSA what their reaction was to being seen as hostile to business, saying, “Business people feel like they’re being targeted. Libel… what is this about?
While the government explains that they seek to level the playing field between businesses so that those who don’t regularly take advantage of consumers are not harmed by those who do, it’s worth noting that this issue hits the losers squarely. core.
Reader, this is not the case.
As they continue to show us, too many corporations need a strong federal government to avoid eating the corpses of vulnerable publics for their own benefit. The fact that some businesses think they are being asked to behave but are actually being maligned begs the question: if they are not taking advantage of people through trickery and deception, what do they think they are doing to consumers?
Perhaps we should ask why some companies routinely take advantage of consumers and only stop when governments step in to force them to stop. They did not self-regulate; contrary to their promise, they would self-regulate as long as the federal government stayed out of their way. This concept is one of the fundamental failures of conservative economic theory, which has dominated America for decades to the detriment of working people.
This is another reason why it matters who is in the White House and why people need to fulfill their minimum civic duty of voting, because voting is when the people have a say in how corporations treat them.
Sarah has been granted coverage of President Barack Obama, then-Vice President Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and has had multiple exclusive interviews and exclusive reporting with Speaker Nancy Pelosi She made her first home appearance since then-President Donald Trump’s first impeachment.
Sarah is a two-time Telly Award-winning filmmaker and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Contact Sarah at Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & twitter.
