Saturday, May 23, 2009

Credit Card Reform: Is it Addressing Just one Side of the Coin?

Sen. Chris Dodd must be a very happy man because he could finally get President Obama to make credit card reform a law. Mr. Dodd has fought bravely for this law and he had to be against lobby groups who are very active to preserve the interests of banks and credit card companies. In the new law, the credit card companies will have to maintain some restrictions and will surely not be able to charge like the past. Thus, it will save a lot of money for the ordinary people. Now, Mr. Dodd wants more and he will try to make life easier for the consumers.

What I feel is that this law is just addressing one side of the coin. Of course, the companies have to lower their rates and make less profit. Many people in USA get bankrupts every year because of spending too much money on credit cards. So, there should have been some kind of reforms over due long ago. Mr. Dodd should get a lot of applause for his heroic role in this regard. However, I think that we all are forgetting the other side of the coin. Millions of Americans take credit card for granted. They think that it is near to free and they do not need to pay it back. This kind of mentality leads to free spending and as a result, many families get broke and the companies in order to make up the loss charge more on the customers who pay regularly.

I wonder what Obama administration would do about the second side of the coin. Will they make some new rules that people who cannot afford to pay back money should not be issues new cards. Or even better, some people should not be given credit cars in the first place? I know that this is radical idea and it is not a popular idea. However, what I believe is that Obama should try to address both sides of the coin. Otherwise, it can lead to a new kind of economic disaster after a few years.

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