Comments on: Your Take: CARD Act Credit Card Legislation

By: Clair Schwan of Libertarian Logic

Clair Schwan of Libertarian Logic — Sun, 31 May 2009 17:25:49 +0000

The free market needs to be free. We don’t need government trying to protect us from ourselves or those we do business with, whether we’re 18, 21 or 51. What we need is free choice for consumers and providers of goods and services.

Regulating credit card companies offers a few near term benefits, but we really end up suffering because it eliminate opportunities in the marketplace for enterprising credit card companies to emerge and differentiate themselves from the “big bad wolf” competitors out there.

Many of us have moved to no annual fees, zero interest balance transfers, patronage rewards, and low interest rate cards. With government encouraged to be involved in taming the marketplace and leveling the playing field, it only hurts us in the long run because entrepreneurs in the world of credit cards won’t be allowed to offer these type of incentives. They’ll eventually be seen by Washington do-gooders as unfairly manipulating credit card consumers who need government help and protection.

The camel has been allowed to get his nose under the edge of the tent. It won’t be long until it’s running amok inside. Don’t worry though, the regulation is from the government and they’re always here to help.

Clair

By: Vicki@collegeparentcentral

Vicki@collegeparentcentral — Sat, 30 May 2009 01:29:09 +0000

There are lots of responsible 18 year olds and lots of irresponsible 40 year olds, so the age thing is a bit suspect. However, college student use of credit cards is a cause for concern. Balances are high, students aren’t paying them off, many students have multiple cards, and they are incurring serious debt. (Sound like the rest of American society?) Sallie Mae just released an interesting report on college students and credit cards. College students also say that they wish they had gotten more financial information and they would like to get more info from their parents. So maybe the requirement to have parents sign will open some needed dialogue. It might even cause some of the parents to think about how they use credit cards.

By: ramavich

ramavich — Mon, 25 May 2009 20:37:36 +0000

I always pay my cc bills in full. I refuse to pay either an annual fee or immediate interest (ie, no grace period). What debit cards offer rewards Jim?

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:34:10 +0000

I agree too. If you keep bubble-wrapping the world to “protect” young adults instead of actually teaching them about money, debt, how credit cards work, etc, then at age 21 those people will be just uneducated about those things as they were at age 18, which does nothing to solve the actual problem.

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Mon, 25 May 2009 18:31:10 +0000

“Evil” ways?
What about teaching the irresponsible users to mend their ways?

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 25 May 2009 07:29:04 +0000

Even if Obama signs it into law, I think the Congress is giving the Credit Card Companies a year to change their evil ways.

By: thomas

thomas — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:24:01 +0000

Why?

By: Rebecca De Santis

Rebecca De Santis — Sun, 24 May 2009 18:54:11 +0000

It is great, only if it can start this year, not next year in 2010.

By: Splendor

Splendor — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:57:50 +0000

I agree. If you’re old enough to vote and volunteer for the Army, you’re old enough to get a credit card.

By: Splendor

Splendor — Sun, 24 May 2009 01:36:38 +0000

I’m happy with the bill, with two exceptions. First, I think the 21 year age limit is unfair to responsible young adults. Second, I wish it capped interest rates.

By: Bri

Bri — Sat, 23 May 2009 23:25:24 +0000

As a very responsible 20 year old I also agree the age requirement is ridiculous. How do we ever expect kids to grow up and take responsibility for themselves if they keep making it harder and harder for us to be independent with age restrictions. Despite the fact that I have my life much more together than most people twice my age, I still can’t book a cruise, rent a car, stay at some hotels, or make fantastic meals that require wine reduction sauces. This will just further the “age=responsibility” mentality, which has no merit. Hopefully, the credit card companies will quickly figure out that charging the credit responsible annual fees and stripping benefits will hurt them. I will take my business where the best deal is, and I think everyone else that takes advantage of rewards programs will do the same.

In short, this bill further caters to helping out the irresponsible people that can’t manage their money. It’s thanks to all of these people that the economy has tanked, and now the government steps up to save them from their own stupidity with this bill.

By: Mariette

Mariette — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:53:02 +0000

This was what I had heard – that pay in full customers would be charged in some method, either higher yearly fees, rescinded rewards or the no grace period interest, in order to make up for bad credit risks. I think merchant credit cards (Macy’s, TJ Maxx, etc.) will become more popular and benefit if they don’t penalize the full balance payers the way the majors may do. Major cc cos will lose out on the merchant fees by our not using them – downside for me – alot of plastic to carry around but it will definitely put a cork in my “buy/return” practices -

By: Diana

Diana — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:22:20 +0000

I don’t understand the difference in 18 or 21, I wasn’t any smarter at either age!

At 18 I can live alone, legally get married, have children, serve in the military, incure thousands in debt for student loans; but I can’t have a drink to drown out all those choices or a credit card to purchase said drink (not that you should)?

How did things get so silly?

By: Sonny

Sonny — Sat, 23 May 2009 17:10:42 +0000

When is it going to be enough for the “hardworking, concientous” middle class American to stop footing the bill for everyone that is irresponsible. I am tired of paying my credit card balance off each month, only to find now it looks like I am either going to have to pay an annual fee or instant interest. I am sick of having to bail out lenders that made loans to people who could not afford them and now we have to take care of them! I am sick of working and paying my insurance premiums only to find hospitals write off bad debt from people that either have no insurance or simply can’t pay. Why do we, the American taxpayer, have to bail out the auto industry that for years has done nothing to better position itself, either by manufacturing better automobiles or building cars that did more to reduce our dependancy on forrign oil. Why do we have to continually get jerked arouind by the oil industry when reserves are at a twenty year high and consumption is at a ten year low? It sometimes makes you want to just “chuck” it all and get bailed out by somebody else!

By: Shirley

Shirley — Sat, 23 May 2009 09:47:55 +0000

We use our Discover card for everything we can, including the monthly household bills, specifically for the cashback reward which we have credited back to our account. We pay in full every month.

Twenty dollars a months may seem small, but it’s twenty dollars times twelve that makes this practical for us. When a local grocery store began accepting Discover Novus, we switched our shopping to them. When a local restaurant dropped Discover, we went to another restauant instead.

I don’t think we are alone in this practice, so I don’t think CCs will drop rewards entirely.