The Importance of Representation
CFPB recently announced the new board members of its Consumer Advisory board but the ARM industry did not have representation and I think it’s unfair. And it’s more unfair to the consumer than it is for our industry. Let’s explore why.
2 Party System
I know politics opens up a huge can of worms but let’s put that aside and just talk about the system that we currently use. I think that having a 2 party system that very much opposes each other is great in the long run because ideas always get challenged.
Ideas always have to be challenged. Ideas and proposals going unchallenged is like having a prescription from a doctor without doing any diagnostics. There is no way for you to determine if that will help your illness and it can even make your situation worse.
Challenging Ideas
I think all ideas should be challenged before it gets implemented. It’s the scientific way of doing things and it shows if the idea can withstand opposition. And it brings inclusivity. Opinions differ and there are always 2 sides to a coin. We have to look at both of them.
And this is where the essence of a debate gets lost on many people. It’s not about proving WHO is right or wrong, it’s about determining WHICH ideas are better. And I think we need to do it often. Not debating people, but challenging our own ideas.
Balance, Equality and Fairness
Not many people realize this but equality cannot exist without 2 sides. If we look at this simple equation “1 + 1 = 2”, there are 2 sides. Sure, we can say the statement “1 + 1” or “2” independently and it would make sense. But if we just say “1 +1 = ” it really does not mean anything or it becomes a question.
So to achieve fairness, we need to have both sides of the equation. Notice that I used fairness instead of balance. Because fairness is a state of balanced ideas. So if there is an argument, we have to hear both sides.
And if we even look at how justice is portrayed through art, weighing scales are often used through various types of media. Because justice is finding the balance between 2 opposing ideas. And it’s always portrayed with a lady in a blindfold because justice should not be favoring one side over the other.
CFPB and Consumer Advisory Board
If we want sound advice, we should have both sides of the table. I hope there’s still something that they can do about this. And I hope that the Advisory Board brings more voices at the table. Because the more perspectives we have, the more understanding we’ll have, and the better our advice will be.
This is the importance of inclusivity, diversity and inclusion. Awareness for these things is not enough nowadays. What we are lacking is action and implementation. But I know things will be better moving forward.