There is no apparent way for the bankster's jackboot to be removed from the neck of the American population.
Republicans, we have known for decades, will always side with the banksters when legislation bubbles to the surface in Congress. Banksters are the most important constituents Republicans have.
Ever since the days of Bill Clinton, however, a good portion of the Democrats in Congress have been finding their core constituents on Wall Street, as well.
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) sponsored an amendment to the so-called credit card legislation working it's way through the system. The amendment would have capped credit card interest rates at 15%. The American people would have been the benefactors of that amendment….if it would have passed.
It didn't.
All Senate Republicans, except Charles Grassley (Iowa), plus TWENTY ONE DEMOCRATS, voted to kill the amendment that would have helped millions of Americans during a deep recession.
It's little consolation….but 32 Democrats did vote for the amendment. A little over half of the Democrats in the Senate see the Aerican people as their constituents. All Republicans, less Grassley, plus 21 Democrats regard banksters as their true constituents.
And that vote explains why we're in the economic fix we're in.
Here is the roll call vote…..
Roll-call vote on credit card limitations
____________
On the same topic….
I've been a customer of BankOne, now Chase, for over 25 years. I have excellent credit ratings all around and my current mortgage is owned by Chase, who bought it, round robin like, after two other companies owned it first.
Chase sent me a new offer for a business credit card. If I take the card, I'm told in the mailer, I'll get a bonus of $50 cash back, 3% cash back on purchases made in the top three categories where I spend the most, and 1% cash back on all other card purchases.
I'm told to….GET THE REWARDS THAT YOU WANT….in big block letters.
Now, get a load of what the mailer states in the "rate, fee and other cost information" addendum….
APR: 13.24% variable
Default APR: The Prime Rate plus up to 26.99%, but not more than 29.99%.
And the best….footnoted in even smaller print….
Rates, fees and terms may change: We reserve the right to change the account terms (including the APRs) at any time for any reason, in addition to APR increases that may occur for failure to comply with the terms of the account. The APRs for this offer are not guaranteed; APRs may change to higher APRs, fixed APRs may change to variable APRs, or variable APRs may change to fixed APRs. Any changes will be in accordance with your account agreement.
In other words, as I understand it…..Chase can do what-the-f*ck-ever they please with my account, when-the-f*ck-ever they are pleased to do it. What else could, "at any time for any reason" mean?
And mind you, I have been an excellent customer of BankOne/Chase for decades. How tricky and disingenuous would an offer to lower credit scoring , newer customers be?
But 21 Democratic Senators joined in with all but one Republican to protect credit card companies, like Chase, from having to cap their credit card interest rates at 15%.
In light of the Noah's flood of tax payer cash given to these big bankster institutions on account of they f*cked everything up, one would think that U.S. senators would think twice about refusing to defend the American workers who supplied that tax payer cash….but one would be mistaken.
21 Democratic senators and 40 Republican senators, putting their best Dick Cheney grimace-face on, told us bankster rescue dogs, after rescuing the banksters from the dangerous slopes of insolvency…..to go f*ck ourselves.
Thanks, you assh*les.
{ 14 comments… read them below or add one }
Rev, I haven't researched the legislation you refer to. I'll have to read up on it before I make a comment. My first gut instinct is that anything that makes D's and R's agree must have something pretty wrong with it, not just banking lobbyists, but I don't know that for sure.
I really wanted to comment because your story about your Chase card made me think of two things that I've been dealing with Chase on. First, I received a couple letters recently that my APR's would be increasing. The stated reason was that my account wasn't profitable enough. That shocked me, that they would admit so much in verbatim. Not that I was unprofitable, not that I had done anything wrong, simply that they wanted more profit.
I was able to avoid the increased APR by locking my rate and closing the card, a hit on my credit score to be sure, but I wasn't about to be bullied. Seemed to me that we'd entered into an agreement, a contract, but apparently not.
Second story is while I was in the Chase branch, I was pulled aside to be told of a new card offer with 0% for 1 year and 7.9% after that. I didn't have a need for a new card, but I could transfer some other balances on cards that were at a higher rate for a faster pay down. In light of the current economic climate, I've been slamming down my credit card debt, and this seemed to be a little helper. I'm pre-approved for $5k, so I go ahead with it. The card comes in the mail with a letter: Congradulations! Here's $5k! I call and activate the card and the lady congradulates me again on my new account with a $5k available balance. This all takes place over the course of 2 weeks, plenty of time to check my credit multiple times.
When I walk in the bank to transfer $4k of my balance, they tell me they're sorry, but my limit has dropped to $2500. Across the board, not just for transfers or cash or anything specific, the entire limit has been cut in half without me doing anything. They tell me over the phone that it's because my other balances are too high on my credit report. Nothing's changed in the past few weeks, just now they changed their minds. So now I sit here with a 2500 credit card with nothing on it, because I refuse to play their games.
Good personal story on this topic, 1420. It truly is unbelievable.
It seems as if, as far as banks are concerned, unilateral contracts and one sided deals are all that's available.
Banks are paying out 1%, or less, on CD's, passbook, checking, etc. And as my Chase mailer stated….they can charge 29.99% on any credit card, at any time, and for any reason….or no reason at all.
Additionally, I've had an Ohio Savings charge card for 30 years. They changed to AmTrust recently. I had a $23,000 limit with no balance. Not only did they arbitrarily raise the interest rate by 4 points, but they also began charging a monthly fee on any and all balances, regardless of whether I paid the balance off within the billing cycle.
And Congress decides to sit on their hands.
Don't like Chase's lending practices? Stop borrowing money from Chase.
It's quite simple, really…
It's better to save, no matter what Obama tells you Reverend.
Mr. Clueless…I have no intention of borrowing money from Chase.
The post was not about borrowing money from Chase. The post was about the limp-dickness of Democrats in kissing the ass of tax payer bailed out banks….like Chase.
Clueless, I tend to agree that there are ton's of lending opportunities out there. I think my second story, however, shows that even had I searched for a better deal, and then leveraged Chase into the same deal, they could cut my balance in half, or raise rates at completely their discretion.
What's to stop some other bank that I chose instead of Chase from doing the same thing.
It seems to me that when you enter into a contract with a lender, you're agreeing to two main things: principle available and terms of interest/repayment. If the bank can change both of those whenever they want, what exactly are you contracting with them?
Nothing. It's all a total fraud.
The feds have accepted, you know, on our behalf, the casino credit card industry just as it is.
Look at what the banks have done. Mortgage meltdown caused by binge gambling on toilet paper products that had no value. All leveraged, naturally.
Foreclosures all around and as far as the budget eye can see.
Student loans. These shark f*ckers parasite their asses into federal student loan program monies and strip hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fees out of a system designed to educate our children.
Credit Cards. Tony Soprano style. Can't trust anything Credit Card Co. Tony says, either his word or his signature. That's the point I was trying to make. Yes, there are competitors….but it's simply a matter of which gang boss you make a deal with, really. The problems are systemic.
Once again….considering the above scorecard….21 Democrats voted with all but one Republican in the Senate to protect the banks from being forced to cap their credit card interst rates at 15%. You would think that the media would think that vote was important to it's audiences, but I guess not.
Credit cards are a ripoff. Don't use them. I don't have one, and I don't want one.
Here's what would happen if Bernie Sanders 15% rate ceiling was implemented:
The credit card companies would immediately charge everyone a large flat annual fee to use a credit card, then they would begin charging interest from the day of a credit card transaction. No more grace period. In addition, everybody's credit card would be changed to the highest 15% rate. Credit card access would also be restricted, with the lower income folks being squeezed out.
Well then, I guess we're all basically helpless. According to you, banks who issue credit cards cannot be controlled….ever. It's the same argument you use about corporate competitiveness and taxes. If we raise taxes on corporations, they'll simply raise prices.
I don't think you believe in true capitalism, where competitiors go head to head. I think you have caved to the corporations-should-be-entitled-monopolies…way of thinking.
You sound like a lobbyist for the banking industry.
Yes, the banks can do what they want when you take money from them. It's because you took money from them. So don't take money from them.
Obama's goofy law will have the effect of making less money available for those who wish to borrow money.
Plus, you are a BLOGGER.
Rev,
I'm always amazed at your quantum leaps of logic. It must be that you feel you have to find something to disagree with when I post. I just told you what the credit card companies would do. That's all. They are probably going to do those things anyway in response to Obama's credit card changes.
Nowhere did I say banks cannot be controlled, and how you ran off into saying that I don't believe in capitalism is a complete mystery. Those credit cards ARE capitalism. You don't have to use one. It's the consumer's choice. Nobody is forcing you. It's a free market decision.
Yep, I'm a blogger…..and you are Clueless. All Hail, Bank of America.
King…I thought money was government secured notes. Banks sell money. Money issued by the government. The government has every right, then, to regulate the terms of those who sell their notes.
This discussion isn't over free market decisions. This discussion is about fidelity of contracts…..something you were enraged about when it was suggested that creditors of Big Banks should take a hit.
Yes, Rev. The discussion IS about the fidelity of contracts. When it's in the contract that the agreement can change as circumstances change, the fidelity of the contract has been honored when this happens.
But you're wrong in your assertion that this discussion isn't over "free market" decisions (whatever point you were trying to make in this incoherent mashing of words). Of course it is. You're talking about a government mandate on (formerly) private lending institutions. One that carries with it a price tag in the form of costs. Good idea? Bad idea? Time will tell. But there's no such thing as a free lunch, and last I checked the economy was worsening.
You should acknowledge this in your rambling, nonsensical outbursts as the discussion moves forward.
Horsesh*t.
"You're talking about a government mandate on (formerly) private lending institutions. One that carries with it a price tag in the form of costs."
"Private lending institutions"…..are regulated by the federal goverment, how in the hell are they, then, "private lending institutions?"
The f*cking banking industry came, on their knees, with their hands out, begging for tax dollars. When they did this, they voluntarily gave up their claim to the "free market". What the hell is "free market" about a bailout?
Perhaps you should reread the Chase fine print I supplied. When a business relationship is only one-sided, when one participant makes all the rules and can change them at any time, for any reason…..there is no contract at all.
Finally, the banking industry, that you deem sacrosanct, nullifies your belief that there is no free lunch. That industry always gets a free lunch.