Fair Interest Rates Bill (Law'd)

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I find that hiking interest rates into infinity is a rather disturbing practice. Rather, credit card companies should be encouraged to just pull the cards from the deadwood & make them pay back whatever they owe before they can get the cards back.

[Associate Justice PiT]

This doesn't seem all that controversial: save people from incredibly detrimental cartel-esque tactics.

     A better way than forcibly denying credit to those who do not make proper use of it?

[Associate Justice PiT]

This doesn't seem all that controversial: save people from incredibly detrimental cartel-esque tactics.

     A better way than forcibly denying credit to those who do not make proper use of it?

I would support an amendment, albeit a bit more moderate than that, to ensure that those that you mentioned cannot receive credit.

Draft one up, I'm interested in seeing it.

     I think both that & an interest rate cap would be redundant, as the sorts of people who would be denied use of credit are also the ones who would be charged 30%+ interest.

     I'll draft one up if you both think that it is an acceptable alternative to an interest rate cap.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     The problem though is that people have the sense that they are entitled to a middle-class existence, & furthermore that a credit card is a license to spend, which causes them to end up in that sort of situation. If we revoke their credit cards as a penalty for racking up huge expenditures that they cannot easily pay back, it helps teach them that credit is not a tool to spend as much as you want whenever you want.

[Associate Justice PiT]

The cap would likely be more efficient than any other type of correction we could concoct. It sets the ceiling and allows the companies to adjust appropriately, rather than the government simply saying who can or cannot receive credit.

I do agree with you. It would seem a bit complicated, and honestly pointless, to try and weed out those who just don't deserve credit cards in the first place.

Isn't that what credit cards are for, anyway? To spend credit because we can't always have thousands of dollars on hand so we can repay it later? Perhaps we should revoke someone's ability to have a credit card if they use several of them and rack up a ton of expenditures, but it would seem to me to be more efficient if we capped interest rates. We're not just talking about these people, anyway, everyone can get slammed with huge interest rates.

     Sure, if you don't mind people not learning the lesson that credit is not an infinte reserve of cash for them to dip into whenever they want something. As I said, people today have the terrible impression of being entitled to all sorts of nice things, & of being able to obtain whatever they want through credit.

     Maybe you just want to protect people from credit card companies, but I want people to learn fiscal responsibility, or how to manage money just using credit cards to pretend that they can live the lives of the rich & famous.

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     Any language dealing with that could be retained along with any amendment made to the bill.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I'm much more comfortable with setting a maximum interest rate than letting the state determine who is allowed to get credit at all, fwiw.

     Seriously, I am as well, but there is a severe attitude problem in society that the former would do nothing to rectify.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I'm much more comfortable with setting a maximum interest rate than letting the state determine who is allowed to get credit at all, fwiw.

     Seriously, I am as well, but there is a severe attitude problem in society that the former would do nothing to rectify.

We'd have to ban credit cards to rectify that problem

     We probably would, but I was hoping that if we took their cards away when they racked up huge expenditures that maybe they'd get the idea.

Perhaps to assuage your worry of underlying societal problems, the government could administer or promote a course, sort of like driver's ed, that will lower your interest rate if you take it. That way those who never need to make interest payments won't bother to take the taste, while others who could be getting screwed would take the test to help them out and also learn how to better use their cards.

Thoughts? If there is general agreement I can work up an amendment.

     That would be nice. People badly need to learn fiscal responsibility, & that's probably the best way of doing so.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I'm much more comfortable with setting a maximum interest rate than letting the state determine who is allowed to get credit at all, fwiw.

     Seriously, I am as well, but there is a severe attitude problem in society that the former would do nothing to rectify.

We'd have to ban credit cards to rectify that problem

     We probably would, but I was hoping that if we took their cards away when they racked up huge expenditures that maybe they'd get the idea.

Not a very libertarian idea

     Hey, anything that stops further economically leftist policies, eh?

[Associate Justice PiT]

Looks good to me, I have no objections to the amendment.

     Me neither.

[Associate Justice PiT]

I object to the amendment being accepted as friendly and request a vote.

Seems crazy to me to subsidize half of someone's interest simply if they're willing to attend a short course.

     Maybe make the course longer & simply require the company to reduce the interest rate rather than subsidize it?

[Associate Justice PiT]

I object to the amendment being accepted as friendly and request a vote.

Seems crazy to me to subsidize half of someone's interest simply if they're willing to attend a short course.

     Maybe make the course longer & simply require the company to reduce the interest rate rather than subsidize it?

We aren't subsidizing half of the person's interest. That would be insane. We are providing subsidies that would induce the credit card company to reduce the rate by half for that person. I hardly find it acceptable to mandate that these companies reduce their rates without incentive. That is detrimental manipulation and would likely harm those seeking credit.

     Isn't that what this bill already does in regards to people who are currently getting charged over 20% interest?

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Aye

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Nay

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Aye

[Associate Justice PiT]

     Abstain