George Rosquist — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:07:26 GMT

Why not ask this panel’s Republicans to disclose how much they got from the credit card industry and their lobbies in campaign contributions. Like the sub prime scam that has not only victimized many in America to lose their homes by unconscionable mortgages (and causing a much larger financial crisis for the nation as a whole by causing further lose of thousands upon thousands of jobs and of billions in investments in a plummeting stock market, etc.), the credit card industry (a monopoly on top of all else) has had the White House, Congress, government agencies like the Office of the Controller of the Currency and even the Supreme Court rig the game for them to fleece the American consumer. They did this by wiping out usury laws of the several states in a single Supreme Court decision legislating from the bench; undermined the bankruptcy laws by predatory laws to defeat them to prevent people from getting out of crushing debit (even Hillary Clinton as first lady got Bill to veto the bill but she voted for it a Senator because she needed the campaign contributions from the industry); under the guise and pretext of Executive Branch jurisdiction of the OCC have prohibited and blocked suits by the Attorneys General of some 48 states for numerous and systemic abuses and frauds in the credit industry within their respective states without any meaningful action by the OCC (Their token case was Providian in California); and deregulation of the predatory banking industry to set lose a hungry monster to pray upon the public at its own will.

Frontline, a PBS program aired a recent episode (on channel 13 here in NYC) called The Secret of The Credit Card. If it was not aired in your area, or you missed it, you can log onto the web at PBS.org and to be sure to find it type in a NYC zip code when asked for your zip. There you will find a computer rebroadcast, and the transcript of the program along with other related information.

America has become too reliant on credit cards just to make ends meet. That is the absolute last reason to use credit at all. If you can’t make ends meet, as it is, you most definitely will not be able to with added interest and penalties that build and compound fast. You will pay far more for your purchase than you thought you would on the sticker price. Our government and the Federal Reserve through monetary and fiscal policy regulate the printing of new money and the availability of money to curb inflation which in general is too much money competing for too few goods which makes the price of all goods go up. When they publish the Consumer Price Index it does not include the estimated 70% added on by credit card interest and penalties. Credit cards defeat that purpose because they create money that does not exist but on paper (not paper money itself). It is spending now money one does not have yet, and might not even get if jobs are lost or catastrophic events like a divorce, a medical crisis or some other unforeseen event obstructs one’s income and/or finances. The best thing that the people can do for themselves is to cut up those credit cards and deal on a much safer cash and carry basis. Our government has obviously refused to help us so we need to help ourselves. We might also rethink our voting habits too. If they hadn’t backed to outsourcing of millions of jobs from America it would not be so hard to make ends meet in the first place.

George Rosquist — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:07:33 GMT

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!

The Washington Independent - U.S. news and politics - washingtonindependent.com: Comments by George Rosquist