On November 26th, 2008 at 11:41 pm, robert537 said:

#20: Corkie – I think a case can be made to freeze or cap interest rates and service charges on accounts that are current (especially when the banks are lining up to pick our pockets).

When someone is on the edge (like more and more people), the last thing one needs is to have the banks piling on to make your situation worse. It doesn’t make business sense to me to hinder a debtor’s ability to repay a debt.

A socialist can make such a case rather well.

My new gov’t travel card is with JPMorgan Chase. My old card (that expires on the 29th) was from Citibank. Maybe the system allows for the use of different vendors by different agencies.

I suspect the Dunn & Bradstreet study was more affected by people making more purchases if they were using credit than cash or check.

That was my understanding. When you use a credit card, it is easy to come home with more “stuff” than you would if you used a debit card or cash — even if you pay the cc off every month. Putting $80 on a cc wouldn’t make most people think twice. Opening your wallet and pulling out 4 twenties just feels like you are spending more.

We pay off the cc every month. And my solution to the putting-more-stuff-on-the-cc effect is to avoid stores whenever possible, and shop with a list whenever not possible. Also avoid TV (it exists to make you dissatisfied so you will be susceptible to advertisers) and magazines (same purpose).

As for the interest rate jumps, ironic since interest rates are so low right now. (As evidenced by the pitiful amount I’m getting on my savings account.)

On November 26th, 2008 at 5:01 pm, xler8bmw said:
# 60 I doubt highly you bought cars with a low credit score without a higher rate attached!

I have personally seen 100% financed at 3.95% for 60 months for a person with a low 600 score.

From the Forum: “leverage their balance sheets to disastrous proportions and loosening regulations” … just a reminder that all deregulation is not a good thing because money is like a pretty girl and greedy boys will do stupid things to for a short-term gain at the expense of a long-term relationship (the girl/boy thing could be reversed…this is not a sexist statement).

GAWD NO! DO NOT have anything to do with USeless Bank under any circumstances! I finally paid off the cards I had with them and closed all my US Bank accounts last year. They are about as screwed-up an outfit as there is!!!

Oh yeahhhh!

A few years ago, I was having a discussion about this and my position was that if people are frugal and save then business wouldn’t have any need to expand and grow if consumption remained flat.

The economy depends on consumption – the more, the better. I said that if people stopped spending with credit, the malls and what-not would dry up. That may or may not be a good thing (not here to debate that) but it’s the way things are.

I didn’t think I’d actually see it happen… still hoping I don’t.

#20: Corkie – I think a case can be made to freeze or cap interest rates and service charges on accounts that are current (especially when the banks are lining up to pick our pockets).

When someone is on the edge (like more and more people), the last thing one needs is to have the banks piling on to make your situation worse. It doesn’t make business sense to me to hinder a debtor’s ability to repay a debt.