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'He let the gas out of her bloated, unruly lawsuit machine': Comments of the week

Readers react to Sen. Elizabeth Warren's investigation into former acting Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Mick Mulvaney's job talks, weigh Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's potential impact on the Financial Services Committee, consider the future of cryptocurrency and more.

Acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney
Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), listens during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, Jan. 19, 2018. Federal government funding runs out at midnight Friday. Legislation to extend the deadline passed the House on Thursday and is set for a showdown in the Senate Friday, in which Democrats are poised to block the bill. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On Warren seeking details about whether former acting CFPB Director Mick Mulvaney violated federal law when speaking with the University of South Carolina about a potential job while serving in the administration:

"She is attacking him because he let the gas out of her bloated unruly lawsuit machine."

Related: Warren probes ethics officials over Mulvaney's job discussions
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Representative-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, center, arrives for the opening of the 116th Congress in the House Chamber in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. Nancy Pelosi is all but certain to become House speaker on Thursday as the new Congress is sworn in and Democrats claim control of the chamber, setting up two years of confrontation and possible compromise with President Donald Trump. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On progressive star Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., joining the Financial Services Committee, following in the footsteps of Warren, who was appointed to the Senate Banking Committee during her freshman term:

"Let's not confuse AOC with Warren. AOC can't hold a candle to Warren and once AOC has to convert her soundbites into actions, there'll be no doubt she's out of her league."

Related: Ocasio-Cortez’s disruptive spotlight could soon be turned on bankers
Congress2.jpeg
American Capital Building in Washington DC at Dusk.
On the American Bankers Association urging the White House to end the government shutdown:

"The greatest fear of this incredibly bloated and inefficient government is that citizens actually realize life goes on without it. Both Dems and Repubs have done everything they can through the decades to make government integral to our economy. They don't improve it or make it more efficient... but they sure can hold it hostage when their never-ending, ever-increasing funding gets challenged."

Related: Banks are feeling effects of shutdown: ABA
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Drawing of a status bar titled "equality loading."
On a report by Citigroup on the gender pay gap across its global workforce, as measured by median total compensation:

"The real story is in the methodology. A mean across all levels is hardly going to paint a useful picture of the situation. Better to do a mean across all positions/ranks, while controlling for location and unpaid time off (if applicable)."

Related: Citi says female employees earn 29% less than men
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, listens to a question during a discussion at American University in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018. Warren said she opposes Nafta 2.0 in a foreign policy speech and will vote against it unless President Donald Trump reopens the agreement and produces a better deal for Americas working families. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
On Warren sending a letter to the five largest retail banks asking them what they are doing for furloughed workers during the shutdown:

"Congress (including Senator Warren) and the Administration - not financial institutions - are responsible for the government shutdown. Warren seems to suggest that financial institutions are obligated to provide relief to furloughed federal workers."

Related: Warren asks big banks for details on their shutdown response
A collection of bitcoin, litecoin and ethereum tokens.
On a look at how distributed ledger technology could displace correspondent banks:

"Cryptocurrency are here to stay and will not be changing the way we use money soon but give it another ten years and we can see a big difference."

Related: Could Ripple's XRP replace correspondent banks? This bank says yes
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