President Obama recently released his plan to pass legislation through Congress that would give him a tighter hold on the credit card industry. He is hoping to push Congress into passing the new bill by Memorial day claiming "There is no time to delay. We need a durable and successful flow of credit into our economy[.]" Obama's plan does not specifically mean direct control and/or regulation of these industries, just an attempt to rid of the all too familiar hidden fees and price hikes that are so commonly associated with contemporary credit industries.
Is this plan just outright wrong? With laissez-faire in mind, is this plan going a little too far into the boundaries of total government regulation? Is it not "American" for someone (CC company) to outsmart/fool someone (US public) out of some extra money if possible, especially if the ignorant someone agrees to these hidden terms. Of course laws come into play but as far as I know, majority of applicable fees and price hikes do not violate any of the United States current laws. Personally I would love to skip the fiasco that is associated with the whole credit system, rates, fees, and hidden costs, but it's the thought of free business that allows these to remain.
America needs a smarter consumer. Dumbing down everything is a problem that has been going on for years. I feel if one is not aware of the fees and costs associated with the credit industry, then the credit industry is not where they need to be. Although I do agree that what most CC companies do is unethical and wrong, it is smart. Hail to the smart. Why not instead of dumbing down the CC industry, lets try and educate our public so that the CC companies will have to ultimately change their way of working as they will no longer be able to pull the proverbial "fast ones" anymore. I still think it is ridiculous there is a mandate for keyboarding in high school but no mandatory basic economics/money management classes. Put a stop to the idiocracy.
Review of Obama's Plan.
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While I do agree that the average US citizen today fits the stereotype of being somewhat politically ignorant, I disagree with the argument being made here. The credit card industry is an elusive one, and consists of companies who thrive on the fact that careful wording and extremely fine print can fool almost any consumer, especially those who aren't on the offensive. I don't think the strategy here is to simply make American citizens smarter, and I can't imagine there being a practical solution to apply to the entire country that would solve the problems that credit card companies instigate. Are we supposed to take classes in high school that discuss the methods of credit card companies rather than keyboarding classes? I think rather than "dumbing down" the industry in a fashion that can be understood by the public, legislation can be passed, as is occurring under Obama right now, that spells out just exactly what these companies can and cannot do. By forcing these companies to abide by laws that protect American citizens from outrageous practices that only drive the public deeper and deeper into debt, our economy might feel some positive effects. I don't think what Obama is doing can be considered "dumbed down" at all, but rather should be seen as a proactive step taken in the direction that promotes growth and prosperity from the ground up.
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