Robert Manning: Credit Card Nation: The Consequences of Americas Addiction to Credit

New federal credit card rules that took effect Monday promise to outlaw the most egregious practices of the credit card industry that have plunged customers into insurmountable debt. The Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure, or CARD, Act includes new protections for customers under twenty-one and makes it illegal for credit card companies to retroactively increase rates and charge certain types of misleading fees. But many credit card companies have already been trying to find ways to bypass these new rules by reinstating annual fees, cutting credit limits and hiking interest rates. Credit card issuers established or expanded the use of at least eight hidden charges to circumvent the rules, according to a report from the Center for Responsible Lending.

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News & Politics

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• Democracy Now!
• amy goodman
• robert manning

[TigerRocket]

@07braves Ethics simply cannot be legislated.

[TigerRocket]

@07braves Saving is admirable, but hardly "simple" given the complexity of financing a future. 5 digits worth of college b e f o r e one earns the level of money to pay the entire bill. No. "SAVE for it" is not that simple at a l l. Try to distribute major goods and commodities without a line of credit. International trade would come to a halt as we are currently seeing because any large economy requires s o m e credit for growth. Credit was not the problem. Abuse of the principle was.

[TigerRocket]

@07braves How does this "simple" solution work when costs rise while, in fact, income remains below the level to meet the bills? Rising costs have been steady during the same 2 decades that income has remained relatively flat in comparison. Credit is not about new luxury items but about financing homes and businesses. How does one "save" the cash on a lifetime investment? How many do y o u know that are able to "save" and pay cash for a home, college, or business? Not so simple friend.

[07braves]

DONT GET CREDIT CARDS...SIMPLE...if you dont have the money to get something...SAVE for it..till you can afford to pay cash for it.