Why is the Keystone Pipeline the very first, #1 item on the Republicans' agenda? We know that this pipeline runs terrible environmental risks and it just won't do much for the American people. So why is this bill so urgent? Money and power.

The credit card companies have put the loan sharks out of business.

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.

I don't like credit cards. They make overspending very easy. They can make life a lot more complex and stressful.

I think the best way it happens is if parents say, this is important for educating my child.

A lot of people think that regulations bring higher costs, but regulation is also about making sure that someone doesn't get to beat out the competition because they're dumping filth in the river or spewing poisons in the air.

It's critical to level the playing field, to make prices and risks clear up front, so when someone signs on for a student loan or a mortgage or a credit card, they know the tricks and traps hidden in the fine print. That's why the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been working on a new financial aid shopping sheet. A shorter, two-page credit card agreement, a simpler mortgage disclosure form. All those are aimed toward helping people understand the basic bargain.