Senators Maria Cantwell and Patty Murray, both Washington state Democrats, make Firedoglake’s list of “Democrats for Loan Sharking” for voting against credit card rate caps.
In the old days charging absurdly high interest rates was called “usury” and it was a crime. Not so much any more. Wouldn’t want to spook the stock market or the bankster lobbyists. The vultures no longer need thugs and guns, they wear Armani suits and stalk elected officials.
Meanwhile, if you find yourself unable to pay off a credit card charging 21% or more interest, well, that’s just too damn bad for you. What are you going to do about it, ordinary American? Vote for someone else? Who would that be? The game is rigged, at least on the economic front.
Debt is slavery.
The powers that be will inculcate in future generations the conviction that the debts incurred by their ancestors obligate them in some way to continue giving free money (i.e. work)to the powers that be.
Remember what Adam Smith said on p. 401 of Wealth of Nations: All wealth is created through the labor of man. There is no other way to create real wealth.
If people are educated to the fact that the ‘stimulus package’ is in many ways a con job, they will be less likely to agree to the terms of this supposed debt that they were no party to incurring.
Ny guess is that our Sens would say they are siding with the property rights of the banks and borrowers.
It seems to my that rather than capping interest rates, the government could have a law requiring a more onerous mechanism for anyone wishing to take a loan at usurious rates. It is inane to allow folks to take or make loans at 20% by the simple act of swiping a credit card.
One way of doing this that does not intervene in private property would be to require documentation and signatures on any loan with an interest rate more than 1% of as person’s salary per month. TYe additional workload would deter both the credit card companies and the card holders form making or using such loans.
That’s good ole’ Twatshington for ya!
the ceo or owner of the money tree lives in a bigass mansion in bellevue.
Usury is usury – the rates used to be limited until one state (I think it was Delaware) raised the limits on what the credit cards and banks could charge and then they all “moved” their headquarters to Delaware so they could charge much higher rates.
Gee, let’s bring back debtors prisons and indentured servants while we are at it.
Anyone have phone numbers to call our senators ?
Let them know that we will support and contribute to their competitors in the next primary !
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/ne.....sp?caret=3
“1978: In Minneapolis v. First of Omaha Service Corp., the Supreme Court basically revolutionized the banking and credit card landscape by ruling that national banks actually could export interest rates across state lines. They came to this conclusion after examining Section 85, the clause that governs interest charges, of the National Bank Act, which established a national banking system in 1864. Shortly after the ruling, big banks began packing their bags for states such as Delaware and South Dakota, which have no ceiling on interest rates. “
Wingnuts will often blame Jimmy Carter for this Supreme Court decision. The ‘debate’ with the wingnut usually goes something like:
Wingnut – “Who was president when the decision was made?”
A- “Jimmy Carter.”
Wingnut – “Ah hah!! I rest my case!!”
……
I called the 202 number from callcongress.org:
Murray’s box was full, stuffed, as it were, with bankster cock.
Cuntwell’s box was open. So I advised I no longer support her as my senator. Buh-bye.
The credit card I use for almost all my purchases is about 18% or so…..I wouldn’t really know. It’s fantastic. I pay it off every month and I get a payday once a year of REI dividends.
Hey Goldie! Remember all the conventional wisdom BULLSHIT you pushed about how we gotta re-elect Cant-Do-Shit or we’ll have a fucking fascist?
I’m so glad I wrote my own name in for u.s. sentate that election. she sells us out, people don’t support her.
rmm.
@9 we do the same, BUT, I would bet that a lot of the folks who get into debt trouble have no idea about the 18%. I also understand that they are subsidizing you and I!
It seems to me that having it so easy to indebt oneself is just effin dumb. Even if it would hurt my REI (the other good card is Costco Amex), dividends, it seems to me that some barrier to having foks make 21% loans to themselves is called for. No?
There’s nothing wrong with 21% credit cards if you let stupid consumers go bankrupt so stupid banks get what they deserve.
See, one problem is that many subprime loans began with the idea that consumers deep and descending in credit card debt had to take them out to get out of credit card debt.
(Subprime loans? Remember those? To begin with they are not so hot. When bundled up and sold, they are really, really, bad. And stats say that over 60% of said consumers were qualified for better terms. But these loans make way more money on servicing these loans and on up front fees…)
This vote is a travesty. I could be led to give up on the Dems for mimicking GOPers on their slavish loaylty to the moneychangers who brought down the global economy. I hope they try again. To quote Bobbie Dylan, “When you gonna wake up?”
I was about equally disappointed to hear the news that the administration is proposing “better regulation of the derivatives market”
WTF and all the ships at sea???? there SHOULDN’T EVEN BE A “DERIVATIVES MARKET!
Maybe the Senators’ votes had something to do with the wingnut rider, attached by Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn, to allow firearms in National Parks and Wildlife Refuges.