The cheese stands alone: Senator Tim Johnson is the only Democrat in the U.S. Senate to vote against the Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights. Senator John Thune was almost the only Republican Senator to do so: only three other senators could rustle up a reason to vote against making credit card companies deal honestly with customers.
Recall that three weeks ago, Representative Herseth Sandlin similarly played the cheese in the House on this bill. So South Dakota has the distinction of its entire Congressional delegation voting in favor of supporting deceptive, predatory lending as a basis for economic growth. How embarassing. Fortunately, the vast majority of our delegation's colleagues from other states are able to see the sensibility of requiring credit card lenders to play fair. President Obama will sign this bill, and we will have the pleasure of calling Premier BankCard's bluff: Are you guys really going to close down because of this law? Are we really going to see consumer credit dry up just because you won't issue cards to people who are bad risks any more? Go ahead, make my day. Even if Governor Rounds's worst-case scenarios come true, our state and our economy will still be better off getting rid of these near-criminal business practices.
But remember, by Rep. Herseth Sandlin's logic, if she's catching hell from conservative Republicans and liberal Democrats, then she must be doing a good job. Cool: then the liberal Democrat writing this blog will be happy to forward her cause and Senator Johnson's by heaping plenty of criticism on them for their bad, bad, bad votes on this credit card legislation.
Question for Rep. Herseth Sandlin and Sen. Johnson: where are all the moderates you so ably represent who are crying out for you to protect the usury industry from regulation?
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ReplyDeleteMan, and your credit is good, and they're still trying to take advantage of you. That stinks!
ReplyDeleteAs for other Big Brother stuff, I haven't heard that from any of our delegation. All I've heard them argue is that the bill will cut jobs and make credit less available. That's all I see in Johnson's statement. If someone can advance the "government intrusion" argument, fire away. But regulating an industry whose profits are based on taking advantage of consumers sounds like exactly the sort of situation that Adam Smith himself would say calls for government intrusion.
[Sorry: we appear to be having a surge of Anons who are reading neither Rod's comment above (this isn't just welfare for people whom you think you're better than; it's necessary regulation of an industry trying to take advantage of honest folks with good credit) nor the comment policy.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate Elizabeth Warren's research on the subject. Here is an older PBS interview on the subject:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/credit/interviews/warren.html
and a nice youtube video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6borpDebEHc
She also does research on the middle class in America which I find fascinating:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akVL7QY0S8A&feature=related
you ought to see my credit card bills and what my bank has done to me and my family...we get the bills paid...but eating is a serious problem right now...and keeping our home from the tax sale...welcome to America, land of the extremely rich and the extremely poor...nothing in-between.
ReplyDeleteBarry, I can't guarantee the new law will solve anyone's problems... but let's hope it helps keep some the predatory lenders from shrinking that middle class even further.
ReplyDelete