Comments on: GOP Gags Witnesses on Credit Card Woes

By: creditcard

creditcard — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

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By: mclaren

mclaren — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Ah yes. So here we are in America in 2008. Contracts mean nothing, unless they mean something. And the individual has no responsibility, until congress wants them to testify and then they have righteous anger. And congress wants to "do something" wich invariably means doing something bad. And them it comes to "health care" which some Americans in 2008 believe is a right, not a choice. With the level of economic illiteracy in this country, I’m almost surprised I haven’t heard that "housing" or "food" or "cars" are rights.

By: grosquist

grosquist — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This is also why we need universal health care. 50 million do not have health care at all and also everyone else is underinsured with insurance company loopholes that get them out of paying claim at all or refuses to cover people because of preexisting conditions or as risks for things like being overweight. As a result people are left in catastrophic debt when struck with catastrophic illness and huge medical bills they could never pay. The American people are also unemployed or underemployed because of job outsourcing too. This country is in an economic crisis and Bush wants to continue spending billion upon billions of taxpayer money on an immoral and unnecessary war in Iraq. Have we all gone mad!

By: grosquist

grosquist — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Why not ask this panel

By: leeruss

leeruss — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Two questions:

1. How can the Republican minority impose this waiver requirement over the objection of the Democratic majority?

2. Did the Repubs also insist that the credit card issuers sign similar waivers, making the details of their financial condition and interest rate decisions public for all to see and comment on.

I’m pretty sure the answer to 2 is a resounding "no." What the hell is the answer to 1?

By: gfjonsson

gfjonsson — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Everyone that has credit cards knows very well that you are constantly getting new cc offers and transfer offers. The sad part is that the cc holders never enjoy interest rate cuts. The soon to come credit card bubble is going to be much larger than the housing bubble.

By: lkmcgann

lkmcgann — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

mmtrask — I see you found Mike’s followup post over at The Independent Streak (our staff blog). For anyone else interested, here it is:

http://www.washingtonindependent.com/view/questions-of-waivers

By: mmtrask

mmtrask — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Can someone please explain to me how the minority party is allowed to require waivers before witnesses are allowed to testify before a committee? It would seem to me that the chair of that committee could have easily overruled such a blatant attempt to stifle the testimony.

Unfortunately, it appears the Democrats on this committee are just as complicit in this as the Republicans. Either that or they are just completely spineless.

You know, like with the impeachment thing…..

By: tedhensley

tedhensley — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

This is so expected of the Republicans: Take care of big business and their constituents be damned.

By: shoreline_md

shoreline_md — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

http://hsgac.senate.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Detail&HearingID=421

Title: Credit Card Practices: Fees, Interest Rates, and Grace Periods

Date: 3/7/07

Time (EST): 10:00 AM

Place: Dirksen Senate Office Building, Rm. 342

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has scheduled a hearing entitled, "Credit Card Practices: Fees, Interest Rates, and Grace Periods." It is the first of several Subcommittee hearings that will examine a variety of credit card practices that raise concerns. This hearing will focus on how credit card issuers apply interest rates and fees to consumer accounts. It will examine, for example, how credit card issuers select and apply interest rates and, for consumers carrying a balance forward, eliminate grace periods for repaid debts. It will also analyze high fees charged for late payments, over-the-limit charges, and other matters, including how those fees are assessed, how they add to interest costs, and how they contribute to consumer debt. In addition, the hearing will examine an industry practice requiring consumer payments to be applied first to balances with the lowest interest rates instead of to balances with the highest interest rates. The hearing will draw, in part, from a September 2006 GAO report detailing the finance charges, fees, and disclosure practices associated with 28 popular credit cards.