FRONTLINE PROGRAMS COMING SOON The Card Game Nov. 24, 2009 (Check local listings)
FRONTLINE and The New York Times join forces to investigate the changing nature of the consumer credit business. With new regulations coming, what are the new terms and products banks will be offering customers
Some chicken and the egg in this program IMO. The fact the poor or uneducated are the hardest hit by fees and interest rates is not fair. However, the poor or uneducated continue to make poor choices.
Beyond that it is interesting to hear how card companies are preparing for the "tougher" regulations our "great" leaders passed. The fact they get to prepare is the interesting part. It may be illegal to sell a vote, but you can buy a vote with campaign contributions. These type of shows make me throw up a little in my mouth. Mainly because of the bad flavor our political process leaves.
kerstbrood
Broke Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2009 @ 12:42p
If anything this proves that they should legislate less.
aeiouy
Senior Member - 1K
posted: Nov. 28, 2009 @ 1:43p
kerstbrood said: If anything this proves that they should legislate less.
Wat?
Also as for given them all this time to prepare, I always thought it was ridiculous at the time. They essentially gave them 18 months to change things. Had it been some change to benefit the banks, they all would have been ready to go in 3 months. So the banks used this window to try and exploit things and squeeze more money out.
The last I heard though, they are talking about additional legislation that will force the banks to essentially rollback and changes they made to consumer credit cards back to January 1st, 2009.
Anyways, back to your point, the credit card industry is a prime example of a business that definitely would not be better off with less legislation and oversight.
KGZotU
Broke Member
posted: Nov. 28, 2009 @ 8:37p
It doesn't seem terribly sinister. Banks issued credit to consumers in a particular legal environment. Credit cards have a particular "sweet spot" of administrative charges that maximize profit under any given legislative environment. This, presumably, didn't shift that sweet spot too much, but it did make it much tougher to hide those costs. So while they still have flexibility, they're rearranging agreements to pull those costs out into the open.
Your agreements already had these costs. Either you were responsible and these costs were being subsidized for you by less responsible card holders, or the banks bet on your hubris and it paid off.
I guess I don't really understand the larger problem. It seems like the elite left is in bed with consumer credit as much as the right. Not the actual corporations, maybe, but the whole concept. Buy buy buy.
kerstbrood said: If anything this proves that they should legislate less.You must have watched the Fox News summary of the documentary because that's exactly what the highly moral owner of the check cashing stores said.
aeiouy said: the credit card industry is a prime example of a business that definitely would not be better off with less legislation and oversight.About the only reason I use credit cards is for the consumer protection against fraud and theft, for which we can thank the Fair Credit Billing Act. That's an example where legislation actually helps the industry.
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