TaxPayer's Credit Card Bill of Rights
by Jim Soviero
With federal dollars being referenced in billions and trillions even knowledgeable taypayers could be forgiven for "losing count" of their personal share of some abstract, multi-zero, number. Try this. Every time someone says one trillion dollars think of it as $3,000 for every man, woman, and child living in America.
Keeping that in mind it's interesting to review a letter from Congressman Tim Bishop telling us of a federal law protecting consumers from credit card companies. The Credit Card Bill of Rights is designed to keep card holders informed of any changes that could negatively impact their ability to make proper payments. Special protection is given to those under the age of 21. The idea of shielding people, especially young people, from unwittingly accumulating too much debt is an admirable one. It is, however a noble principle Mr. Bishop has failed to apply in any meaningful way on behalf of his constituents.
Two weeks before the appearance of his letter Bishop voted to raise the national debt ceiling from 12.39 to 14.29 trillion dollars. He said "yea" to dropping America 1.9 trillion bucks deeper into the fiscal abyss and hiking your individual share of the red ink some $6,000. Multiply 14 times 3 and you're looking at over $42,000 of personal indebtedness for each person in the country, including newborns. They enter the world buried in debt, but, as teenagers, will, mericfully be kept safe from credit card scams.
There is no provision in the law prohibiting employees of unscrupulous credit card companies from charging thousands of dollars to an account without your specific knowledge or consent because that's clearly, already, unlawful. Is that really so different from politicians, ignoring the people's will, and charging massive amounts of money to our shared, national credit card?
Unmentioned by Congressman Bishop is a stipulation in the law requiring consumers to receive a statement that, assuming current interest rates and payment amounts, projects how long it will take to fully satisfy the loan. Why shouldn't taxpayers be treated to the same kind of transparency from the federal government? Because if we all saw, in black and white, personalized projections of unsustainable deficits for ourselves and families there would be hundreds of fiscally irresponsible politicians looking for new careers....in the real world.