"That's it!" the girl exclaimed. "That's what happened! That's what my family’s big secret was!" 

In Economics class, my seniors were learning about the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. We watched clips from the movie "The Big Short" illustrating how banks used teaser rates to lure people into buying homes lenders knew they probably couldn't afford. Surprised by my student’s reaction, I asked her to tell us her story. 

"When I was little, my parents bought a house. It had a yard, and I even had my own room. It was wonderful, but even then, I sensed something wasn't right. My immigrant parents didn't earn much money. They had never gone to college — my mom was a waitress, my dad was a cook.   

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"We lived in a crowded apartment. Then, all of a sudden, we moved into what felt like a palace, a mansion. It was a miracle.  

"Two years later, it was gone. We left in a hurry, packing up everything and moving into a garage, then eventually back into an apartment. 

"For years, I asked my parents why we had to leave that beautiful house. They wouldn't talk about it, so it was always a big mystery. Until now."  

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Like millions of Americans, when her parents were offered the chance to buy a home, they leaped at it. Banks were making suspect loans and putting them into mortgage bonds. The rating agencies gave the bonds good ratings, and banks sold them to unsuspecting investors.  

Her parents’ teaser rate expired a couple years later, and their monthly payment skyrocketed. They couldn’t afford the new payment and home prices had dropped, so they were upside down. They couldn't pay, they couldn't sell, so they walked away under threat of foreclosure. 

My students were amazed and kept asking how the government could’ve allowed banks to do this.  

Today, this is a very relevant question. In reaction to these widespread Wall Street abuses, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in 2010 with the passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The CFPB has oversight authority over banks, mortgage companies, payday lenders and private education lenders. Its first director, Richard Cordray, said the CFPB emphasizes mortgages, credit cards and student loans.  

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Trump has called the CFPB’s staff a "vicious group" that is "woke" and "weaponized" and under the new budget the CFPB will lose almost half its funding. It has also been targeted by the Department of Government Efficiency. 

The CFPB claims it has provided consumers almost $20 billion in relief via monetary compensation, principal reductions on loans, and canceled debts. It has also assessed $5 billion in civil penalties.  

At times, companies back down and resolve problems out of fear of CFPB action. No more — the Trump administration has cut back the CFPB’s enforcement actions.  

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The administration dismissed 22 enforcement cases against major banks and others — involving over $3 billion in alleged harm to consumers — that were pending in January. According to Reuters, two consumer organizations say Trump’s "rapid pullback … has cost Americans at least $18 billion in higher fees and lost compensation for consumers allegedly cheated by major companies."   

CFPB Enforcement Director Cara Petersen resigned in protest, explaining, "I have served under every [CFPB] Director … never before have I seen the ability to perform our core mission so under attack … the Bureau’s current leadership has no intention to enforce the law in any meaningful way." 

As I teach my economics students some of the basics of consumer finance, they are somewhat bewildered. Their confusion demonstrates the CFPB’s value.  

The CFPB claims it has provided consumers almost $20 billion in relief via monetary compensation, principal reductions on loans, and canceled debts. It has also assessed $5 billion in civil penalties.  

For example, the CFPB enforces the Credit CARD Act of 2009, which mandates credit card companies divulge to cardholders the ramifications of only making the minimum monthly payment. I show a credit card bill which has a $10,000 balance — they’re surprised that, as the box in the corner of the bill indicates, it will take 23 years and almost double the current balance to pay it off.   

For young people, junk fees hit hard — I get letters from former students shocked at how much they are charged, and at a time when they are financially vulnerable. Last year, the CFPB moved to close loopholes on overdraft fees and credit card late fees, and cap them at $5 and $8 respectively. The Trump administration is eliminating both caps.  

Between young people and the financial institutions they inevitably interact with, there exists a huge power imbalance. Young people need a vibrant, effective CFPB to help level it.