Obama picks credit card reform over housing

[The Hope Mobile]

Obama picks credit card reform over housing
Posted: Tuesday, May 19 2009 at 08:00 am CT by Bob Sullivan

When President Barack Obama signs credit card reform legislation -- which should happen any day now -- that will be a great day for consumers. The legislation represents the first significant upgrade to American consumer rights in a long time. The bill has some real teeth -- it's much stronger than the original bill that's been floating around the House of Representatives for more than a year. Clearly, the president threw all his political power behind the effort to rein in abusive credit card practices, delivering speech after speech imploring changes and even calling issuers to the White House for a stern reality check.

Too bad the president is backing the wrong horse.

While $39 over-limit fees are hideously unfair and deserving of legislative attention, the number that really needs attention is 649,917 -- the number of U.S. homes that entered foreclosure last quarter.

Credit card debt is not the most serious problem facing America today. Empty houses are. Sneaky late fees and arbitrary interest rate hikes are terrible -- but foreclosures and homeowners who are severely under water carry exponentially higher consequences. For now, however, the Obama administration has decided to take the road more traveled. It has taken up the populist cause of credit card reform while abandoning dramatic mortgage market reform that Obama promised in October and again in February.

I cheer the credit card bill, and frequent readers of this column know I have been urging those changes for many years. I don't lightly surrender credit card issues as a top priority. But last week, Obama quietly watched as efforts to give struggling homeowners help in bankruptcy court died a legislative death. That was a mistake.

How did it happen? Ask Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the Democrat who first introduced Obama to the United States at the 2004 Democratic convention.

“And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place," he told a Chicago radio station recently.

http://redtape.msnbc.com/2009/05/obama-picks-credit-card-reform-over-housing.html

Is he going to pursue housing??

[able1]

1. CC reform "lite"

The reform most people want is to make usurious interest rates illegal, once again.

[ClarkUSA]

4. No recent President has even come close to taking on creditors like Obama has.

Mr. Obama put his weight behind some of the toughest language possible: Restrictions on rate increases and late fees, simpler language on credit-card rules in mandatory disclosure documents, limits on the availability of credit cards for college students and stronger monitoring and penalties for abusers.

"We have been complicit in these problems," he conceded. "But these practices, they have only grown worst in this recession, when hardworking Americans could afford them least."

As for usurious rates, that's in the eye of the beholder. People need to stop carrying such large debt, too. If folks don't want to pay high interest, then they need to stop using their credit card and get one with a better rate. At some point, consumers need to take responsibility. I pay off my credit card every month and I don't want to pay for people who don't because they can't or won't manage their finances.

[DJ13]

7. Sorry, but without rate caps the "tough" legislation is a hollow victory

[avaistheone1]

11. I agree. What would have been tough if Obama had taken them on regarding

the indecent rates they charge consumers. Instead Obama is ignoring this serious exploitation.

This is credit reform lite. No doubt about it. imo

[ClarkUSA]

14. Don't blame President Obama. DLC Senate Dems voted down the idea.

Link: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/who-voted-against-capping-credit-card-interest-rates/

[The Hope Mobile]

16. Yup! Obama wanted caps of 15% but congress didn't allow it.

That's the stuff that makes me nauseous.

[avaistheone1]

19. Did Obama pick up the phone to these Senators who I am sure he knew would vote down the idea?

There were only twenty calls to make. Presidents have regularly made these calls in the past to encourage votes for legislation they favor.

I would really like to know the answer to this question.

[dflprincess]

22. It's hardly reform at all

but is probably more than we'll get for the health care payment system.

[ClarkUSA]

12. I disagree. President Obama's credit card reform legislation is welcome to this credit-card user.

It's not President Obama's fault that capping rates was voted down by DLC Democratic Senators: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/who-voted-against-capping-credit-card-interest-rates/

BTW, I am not so focused on rates because I pay off my balance every month. Maybe if Americans stopped carrying so much
damned debt, they could take some responsibility for the mess they created out of their inability to manage their finances.

[DJ13]

20. It's not President Obama's fault that capping rates was voted down

I fault him for refusing to get out in front on the issue, for making it widely known he wanted rate caps.

His popularity with the public does no good if he's not using it to get real reforms passed.

One other thing, the administration could have used the second round of TARP to negotiate consumer protections, that they didnt tells me they had no real intentions of pushing hard for rate caps.

[ClarkUSA]

15. Tell it to DLC Senators. Read NYT: "Who Voted Against Capping Credit Card Interest Rates?"

Link: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/who-voted-against-capping-credit-card-interest-rates/

[The Hope Mobile]

17. Agreed and that is what Obama wanted but all the Repubs and many of

the dems didn't allow it last week. The proposed cap was 15%. There can only be one reason why they would stop it and it was most definitely not for the sake of their constituents.

[ClarkUSA]

2. Obviously the MSNBC reporter trying to stir up shit hasn't ever gone to recovery.gov

Housing is one of the first issues he took on. Go to whitehouse.gov and recovery.gov and check out the speeches that precluded popular housing initiatives like HOPE.

[Buzz Clik]

3. Thank you.

A little truth injected into the conversation.

[JohnnyBoots]

5. The bill also allows for guns in National Parks now too. A last minute GOP addendum.

[seabeckind]

8. Huh?

Don't they have any rules on context? Do you have a link? I can take it, still have some nitro tablets left.

All my snooze is talking about is Sec Clinton and dem fundraiser -- oh, and giving a gazillion dollars to buy off another Paki politician.

[JohnnyBoots]

10. I got this from the National Parks Conservation Assoc. Read below

Email I got:

UPDATE: Last Friday we sent you a very important alert about the
Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights Act (H.R.627), which holds a
dangerous rider that will allow loaded guns in our national
parks. Tuesday, May 19th, is our last chance to strike this
rider allowing loaded guns in national parks!

Tomorrow, the National Parks Conservation Association is
co-hosting a press event with Congressman Raul Grijalva,
Chairman of the National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands
Subcommittee, requesting that President Obama work to withdraw
this rider allowing loaded shotguns and rifles in our parks. You
can support our event on the hill by taking action NOW.
http://act.npca.org/campaign/guns_rider/xw6uux7rl7w7b8t8?

This is our final chance to stop the guns rider. Tell your
Senators and Representative to oppose this effort to allow
loaded guns in our national parks.
http://act.npca.org/campaign/guns_rider/xw6uux7rl7w7b8t8?

Please take action TODAY to help put a stop to this dangerous
rider from becoming law!
http://act.npca.org/campaign/guns_rider/xw6uux7rl7w7b8t8?

*********************************



What does credit card reform legislation have to do with
national parks? We asked ourselves that same question. But the
rules of the U.S. Senate being what they are, Sen. Tom Coburn
(R-OK) attached a rider to the Credit Cardholders' Bill of
Rights Act (H.R.627) that would allow individuals to carry
loaded rifles, shotguns, and semi-automatic weapons in national
parks if the firearm is in compliance with state law.

The Coburn rider overturns the existing, reasonable Reagan-era
regulation that allows guns to be transported through national
parks as long as they are unloaded and stowed away. Seven former
Directors of the Park Service and current and former park
rangers oppose the rider because they believe it will increase
the risk of poaching and vandalism of historic resources, and
put visitors at risk.

So in this difficult economy, when American citizens are looking
to their Congress for economic reforms and relief, we see a bill
hijacked by special interest groups like the NRA who are
reckless in their determination to get loaded guns into our
national parks.

Within the next week, the U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives could be voting on this bill. Please tell your
Senators and Representative that you're fed up with political
gamesmanship, and ask them to stop this dangerous rider from
becoming law. Take action now!
http://act.npca.org/campaign/guns_rider/xw6uux7rl7w7b8t8?

Thank you!

Thomas C. Kiernan
President

----------

This message was sent to you by the National Parks Conservation
Association.

E-mail us at [e-mail], write to us at 1300 19th Street, NW,
Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036, or call us at 800.NAT.PARK
(800.628.7275).
--------------------------------------------------

Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.

http://act.npca.org/join-forward.html?domain=npca&r=OpXl_EYqvhL3

If you received this message from a friend, you can sign up for
NPCA at:

http://act.npca.org/npca/join.html?r=OpXl_EYqvhL3E

--------------------------------------------------

[seabeckind]

21. Thanks.

So what this means is that the repubs have added a rider that will accomplish one of two things. If the bill has some good things in it for the consumer but which goes against the credit card companies they have hedged their bet by forcing the dems to vote against the bill to kill this abomination. That gives them a talking point in the future where they can say "but the dems voted against CC reform -- see that proves they hate the people".

And if the dems vote for the bill they get some drunk firing off his 9 at bottles in Crater Lake.

And on top of all that they f--ked up the bill so bad the only left for the consumer is the title of the bill. Cause from what I see of the bill it's worse than what we have.

Kinda like that Medicare D. So explain to me again how Harry is good for us? The repubs would have killed this sort of nonsense in 2003. Are they smarter than Harry -- no wait, dumb question.

[seabeckind]

6. I'll look into Mr Sullivan's cv later

For now, I'll take your word (and snippets) for what he says. This article is wrong on so many points I'd be very hard pressed to find any truth in it. In actuality it sounds like it was written by a guy who talks only to bankers and corporate media reps.

Oh, except for the quote from Sen Durbin that he throws in to try to gain some credibility. Give me a break.

Anyone who thinks that this credit card bill is a boon to consumers hasn't been paying attention or has way more money than I do. It was written by and for the credit card and banking companies...the same ones who got the credit regs repealed in 1979.

The next point is the mortgage business. Most of the foreclosures are caused because expenses exceeded the funds available to pay the mortgage. We can argue all day about the causes of that but it's a distraction. 30% and higher credit card interest is a very big chunk of increased expenses. There are a lot of people who can't plunk down $1500 for a root canal and very few have medical insurance that would cover it. They also don't have the time or ability to walk across the street and get a signature loan. So they slap it on the card. And then they pay forever. That $1500 becomes $3000.

Now I'll go see who this Mr Sullivan really represents.

[shraby]

9. Credit card debt is a huge contributor to mortgage defaults.

When people are in financial trouble, they tend to keep up their credit card payments so they can continue to charge necessities on them and let the mortgage payment slide and make partial payments on their mortgage which won't keep it valid for very long. It's too bad both problems can't be addressed in simultaneous separate bills and passed at the same time.

[avaistheone1]

13. Allowing credit card companies to charge these ridiculous rates is not serious reform no matter how

much our administration and Democrats want to pat themselves on the back.

I believe this will toss millions of people more out of their homes and apartments and on to the streets. It will drive more people into poverty. Nice work Democrats.

[Individualist]

18. ...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5680450&mesg_id=5680450