You have a new mission today.
Stop using credit cards.
Now.
Sure, you get perks from using them1. And, if you always pay in full each month, you can avoid the ghastly 18% interest and late fees. But face it: all you are doing is enabling an industry which owes a large portion of their profits to getting people into perpetual debt.
This industry, bumping along for years just being marginally evil, has now realized itself as fully evil as it has persuded a big portion of the US Senate2 to marching for their dubious cause, pushing S.256, a.k.a. The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 20053 ever closer to being made into law.
This bill will amend Chapter 11 to treat those who willingly abuse their credit (and yes, there are quite a few) the same as those who have fallen on hard times, usually due to a medical emergency. In fact, a recent study shows that even as the credit card industry whines about credit card abuse destroying their industry, only 1% of bankruptcy cases deal with credit card debt, while over HALF of bankruptcy cases are brought on by medical bills. Sure, a portion of the remaining 99% certainly have credit card bills tied up in the mess, but face it: credit cards and the urge to go get some retail therapy are not the problem. Plus, it’s hard to feel sympathy for an industry that makes a pretty nice profit on the front end of each and every transaction by charging the payee for the privilege to accept credit cards; costs which drive up prices for the consumer, all in the name of convenience.
Meanwhile, the proposed bill will do nothing to tighten up or close any loopholes for those with the means (i.e. those with connections, those who are wealthy) to hide their assets should they enter bankruptcy.
One thing is for sure: most of those senators who love “values” never asked Nehemiah about usury.
For more reading on why this bill is a terrible idea, you can go read the usual suspects
Write your congresscritters and, if you can stand it, stop using your credit cards, too. Each purchase you make enables the beast.
1 Full disclosure: Michelle and I get a $25 Amazon.com gift certificate for every $2,500 that we put on our card.
2 Yes, even the Democrats are coin-operated.
3 Like so many other bills, the title is a wonderful display of Orwell’s Newspeak, as the bill does little to protect the average consumer.