25th
Frontline Story - The Card Game
It was difficult to watch the story about the credit card industry’s (mal)practices. Special interest lobbyists and unscrupulous businessmen come onto the air to defend their predatory and deceptive practices, their 490% APR usurious payday loans, their $35 overdraft fees for a $2 cup of coffee.
One lobbyist for the financial services roundtable (representing the largest banks), Scott Talbot, says the government should not be able to set a maximum of credit card interest rates, because that is intervening in the markets. Yet, with fed funds at 0 to 25 bps, what is the rationale of allowing banks to charge 29% APR and higher. Seriously? So it’s okay to have our government intervene in markets to bail out banks, but not to protect the working poor, who most need protection from these types of dishonorable, gouging practices?
Watch it.
