This chapter discusses consumer laws that protect—but in practice may hurt—low-income people, involving such matters as debt collection, consumer reporting, and lending. People with low income, people of color, and women face many legal, practical, and structural inequalities in commercial markets. In particular, minimum wage jobs do not lift full-time workers out of poverty, and many low-income people, vulnerable to predatory practices that exploit their financial instability, become trapped by debt. The U.S. Constitution does not specifically address many of these problems. The Equal Protection Clause in part protects against companies that refuse to do business because of a person’s race or gender; the Due Process Clauses provide some protection against companies that deploy judicially-sanctioned procedures to deprive a person of property without notice or an opportunity to raise objections; and the Eighth Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishment—and jailing a person who is too poor to pay a debt, which can include an unpaid court fee, should certainly be seen as cruel and unusual punishment. Congress has enacted various laws to protect consumers from unfair and arbitrary treatment. Attention in this chapter is given to debt collection, consumer reporting, access to credit, and limits on garnishment. In addition, the chapter discusses the fringe economy, including the dangers that payday, auto title, and online lending present, as well as private loans used to finance higher education. The chapter also touches on tax collection by the federal government.
