Tag: Elizabeth Warren

  • Elizabeth Warren & the Dow Corning Bankruptcy: Nothing to See

    Posted by

    Adam Levitin

    The Washington Post has a story about Senator Elizabeth Warren’s involvement in the Dow Corning bankruptcy that implies that Senator Warren was somehow working against the interests of personal injury victims. That’s rubbish, and it’s frankly irresponsible reporting that fundamentally fails to understand the bankruptcy process and leaves out a critical fact.

    Bankruptcies are complicated, so let me relate the Dow Corning story and then what we know of Senator Warren’s minimal involvement. Bottom line is that this is a complete nothing burger, much like the previous Washington Post story with the shocking headline (much mocked, and now amended) that then-Professor Warren had billed [a below-market] rate of $675/hr for her legal work. 

    Here's the properly related story in a nutshell: Senator Warren did some minimal work in support of a deal to ensure compensation for tort victims that was supported by the overwhelming majority (94%) of those tort victims and that was approved by a federal court. That’s a good thing that deserves praise, not some implicit shade.  Alas, the Post doesn't bother to mention the tort victim support for the plan. 

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  • The Empiricist Strikes Back

    Posted by

    Katie Porter

    The Washington Post had a story yesterday about the Department of Education's look at how student loan servicers deal with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and its protection to members of the Armed Forces. Senator Elizabeth Warren is drawing on her years of empirical research to question the methodology and the resulting conclusions of the study. (In a warning strike for the Empiricist, Senator Warren and some colleagues asked just why it was taking a large government agency well over a year to conduct a study–a credible claim from someone who conducted several large empirical studies, largely with the help of a few research assistants.)Shutterstock_184208507

    As a professor, Warren conducted several large empirical studies, each gathering hundreds of variables on a sample of  more than 1,000 families in bankruptcy. She is miffed that the Department of Education only conducted a detailed review of 55 cases (out of a universe of 20,000). A prior DOJ investigation concluded that 60,000 servicemembers paid too much interest on their student loans, resulting in a $97 million settlement with Sallie Mae and its former subsidiary Navient. Yet, the Department of Education apparently uses a very different legal standard for determining compliance with Servicemembers Civil Relief Act than the Department of Justice. Not surprisingly, with a tiny sample and a narrow analysis, the Department of Education concluded all was well and good.

    But as Senator Warren well understands as an empirical researcher, what you find depends on where your look–and if you have your eyes open! Her staff report details other concerns in a report , which reads more like something you'd find on SSRN or in a social science journal than the typical sound-bites of Washington press releases.  Senator Warren had to defend her research methodology and findings, and she always rose to the occasion. Having an Empiricist in Congress means you can expect someone reading your report, not accepting the conclusions. Senator Warren is bringing her research acumen to the government's work–where like in the scholarly world, there are not-so-good studies and good studies. Our servicemembers deserve a hard look at whether their legal rights are being protected, while they are protecting our rights.

     

     

  • Where’s the Beef? Elizabeth Warren Edition

    Posted by

    Adam Levitin

    Here's what's striking about all the criticism of Elizabeth Warren: there's no smoking gun. No one has been able to point to anything radical in Elizabeth Warren's extensive body of writing. Where's the beef?

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  • Elizabeth Warren and the CFPB

    Posted by

    Adam Levitin

    Some of our readers might have noticed that we at Credit Slips have remained remarkably silent about the question of who should head the CFPB. Other bloggers on consumer finance issues have not. Shahien Nasiripour and other HuffPo bloggers (here, e.g.) and Simon Johnson (and here) have declared the nomination of Elizabeth Warren to be a progressive litmus test for the administration. Andrew Leonard and Felix Salmon, among others, have particularly interesting discussions about Professor Warren and some of the other potential nominees. The silence has not been for lack of strongly held opinion, but out of a sense that our opinions would be completely discounted because of our various relationships with Professor Warren and inconsistent with the nature of the blog.

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