Cars, toys, aspirin, meat, toasters, water - nearly every product sold has passed basic safety regulations well in advance of being marketed and sold. But consumer credit is a kind of buyer-beware, wild west. That is partly the result of history.

Student loan debt is crushing young people. And so they're not doing the things we would expect them to do. They're not moving out of their parents' homes in as big a numbers, they're not saving up money for down payments, they're not buying homes or cars or starting small businesses or doing any of the things that help move this economy forward.

It is not the job of the Department of Education to maximize profits for the government at the cost of squeezing students who are struggling to get an education.

I saw at a young age that one bad break can turn a family's financial life upside down. And it has affected everything in my life since then.

When conservatives talk about opportunity, they mean opportunities for the rich to get richer, for the powerful to get more powerful.

If there's any lesson I've learned in the last five years, it's don't be so sure about what lies ahead. There are amazing doors that could open.

Сount dollars, not pennies. Look at the big-ticket items, in your budget.