"Expecting an educated populace is hopeless." Not hopeless, 40% of Millennials have a BS or higher degree, they would be able to know better regarding mortgages.

Most would be able to understand the complexities of modern society.

Almost everyone can distinguish between truth and lies but some better than others and everyone can be duped from time to time.

"At the very minimum we need trusted sources for news and reviews." No news sources should be trusted, always find corroborating or refuting sources for information to support financial decisions.

"I cannot afford $1000-$2000 a year to read a few stories from a variety of sources." I don't feel I need any subscriptions to be better informed than I was before the internet. I can get a few stories for free from them WAPO, WSJ and Bloomberg before I hit the pay wall. I do pay for membership here at Medium and that covers a lot of ground. Many other on-line sources are free and there is always print at the library for free.

"The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau, first director Elizabeth Warren, was a good step in this direction," Yes.

TEK