Dodging Rocks

I wrote the piece below these comments with the fervent hope that the abuse in the credit card business would gain a little more notoriety. But from the response I received from my readers, I might as well have danced on the grave of Jesus. So for all of you rock ribbed conservatives, this message is for you.

The first thing that I would tell you is to stand up for what is right. Forget about what you cannot change. Especially now that Specter has changed parties, stopping any legislation that we don't like is not going to happen. But if we want to earn the credibility of the voters, we have to at least stand against abuse such as is going on in the credit card industry.

Oppose the legislation that you deem to be bad for the country, but stand up and be counted for legislation that will actually help us.

Not only will you be doing your party a favor, but will not appear to just be anti-everything. People have to stand for something and not be against everything.

It is impossible for any party with the political power that the Democrats have to not over-step and make things worse for everybody. But I want to tell you to keep your powder dry until we get the results in from Obama's far-reaching policies. There is not the first thing we can do besides gripe and carp about his agenda. But griping and carping only makes you and we sound like a bunch of sore losers who are out of touch with the majority who supports Obama and his policies.

There is going to be plenty of time to remind the Democrats that they were wrong. Since Conservatives are in a weakened position at the present, there is no reason to keep our panties in a wad over what we cannot change. So when Obama does something good, do not be afraid to admit it. As stated above, you will only gain credibility because of it, and people will pay more attention when you say something is wrong.

It is a personal belief of mine that the Democrats will have to damage themselves. Paying for their agenda will put a terrible yoke of debt on the private sector and out of the ashes; the Republicans will have the opportunity to win public support again.

In case you don't remember my previous writing about where the Government gets its money, let me remind you. Federal employees pay no taxes; their total take is from the treasury. The military pays no taxes for the same reason. State employees do not help the state coffers for the same reason. There are approximately 2 million prisoners that pay no taxes and several million retirees that pay no taxes. (The Social Security bunch)

That only leaves the private sector to carry the load.

Illegal immigrants do not pay federal income taxes, and further, cripple us with debt out the whazoo for public support. (Health care, education etc.) The small amount of sales taxes they pay does not come anywhere near paying for the services they receive.

When the Government sells debt to foreign countries, they own us. We already have to kiss the ass of some of our foreign creditors to get them to buy more of our debt.

So cheer up, there is going to be a day of reckoning for the Liberal agenda. Let us just hope the damage isn't so severe that we are permanently crippled.

Cheers,

-Robert-

Credit Run Amok

Your credit standing today means the difference in being able to own a car, home, or other consumer items or not have them. Most wage earners do not have the cash on hand to make a major purchase, so by means of the credit card; we leverage our future earnings by borrowing from one of the credit card issuers.

So far so good, as long as your job holds out and you don't skip on your payments. I was one who understood the need for a higher interest rate if it meant that a wider segment of our population could have credit according to their income and ability to pay. But the evolution of the fee based credit card has literally stolen from our most vulnerable citizens.

This from nclc (National Consumer Law Center) describes the outrages by various banks.

"Millions of consumers are being victimized by “credit” card offers that charge hundreds of dollars in fees and extend minimal available credit – sometimes as little as $50. These cards, which we call “fee harvester” cards, share a common thread: high fees that eat up most of an already low credit limit, leaving the consumer with little real, useable credit and at a high price.

One card featured in the NCLC report comes with a credit limit of $250. However, the consumer who signs up for this card will automatically incur a $95 program fee, a $29 account set-up fee, a $6 monthly participation fee, and a $48 annual fee – an instant debt of $178 and buying power of only $72"

I encourage you to read the full report at the above link.

Even as a conservative, I appreciate the efforts of Obama to drain this swamp of charlatans. Not all credit card issuers are guilty but all have contrived fees above their already high interest rates. In the example above, provided by the NCLC, "fee harvesting" credit issuers use almost all-available credit with fees. Little is left for the consumer to buy anything. Fee harvesting is literally a license to steal from the vulnerable that can least afford such exorbitant fees.

Remember, it is not only the sub-prime market affected by these shady practices. The card issuers raise their interest rate without notification, charge exorbitant late fees, and even lower your credit line for reasons that only the card issuers understand.

Obama should be applauded for his efforts to correct a bad situation for all of us. I have heard that by his clamping down on these practices that commerce will suffer. What?? The only business that will be affected is bad business. Credit card issuers will no longer be able to give credit to unworthy borrowers (via the fee system), and by shrinking their risk, save us all some money. The status quo is not an acceptable option.

This issue has nothing to do with 'Socialism', but instead, has everything to do with leveling the playing field for millions of people.

Cheers,

-Robert-