In 2008, the banks that had caused the financial crisis in the first place–and they bear literally 100% of the blame–did something that was spectacularly wrongheaded and stupid. But hey, they’re banks, right? Every major US bank jacked up interest on its credit card portfolio. Suddenly, in a time of such crisis, many banks abruptly doubled the interest rate on most or even all of their credit cards. This had exactly the same effect on the pocketbooks of consumers as a tax increase. But it was worse than a tax increase, because it also sent a message that credit cards are dangerous and should be used sparingly, if at all.
We are constantly hearing a grotesque mantra that there should be less government regulation. This is completely incorrect. What we need is effective government regulation, and we don’t have it. The reduction of regulatory authority that took place during the Bush administration was abused by the banks, who went out en masse to grant dubious mortgages to people who should not have gotten them–and worse, to convince those people that they actually could afford the loans, knowing perfectly well what would happen in the end.
If we want our enconomy to start moving again, the first thing we need to do is regulate credit card interest. Rates need to be rolled back across the board to a national cap, and if that means that the banks are afraid to extend credit to people who aren’t creditworthy, then good. They shouldn’t be doing that in the first place.
To accomplish this and the many other regulatory reforms we need, we also need moderates in Congress and the White House. Our government is much too divided ideologically to function, as can be seen with the appalling debt ceiling charade. That any politican would be willing to hold the full faith and credit of the United States of America hostage to his own ideology is spectaculary unpatriotic and, frankly, evil.
Such people should, quite simply, not be allowed by the voters to reach high office. The United States is the most powerful country on earth, and arguably the most wonderful national society that mankind has ever devised. It needs rule by wisdom and careful consultation, not the empty hysteria of rigid ideology.
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Well said.
Well said.
What is moderate? Seems to
What is moderate? Seems to me that this too has been redefined by corporations and banks (or rather, their lackeys in government and the media that they own) into something twisted that doesn’t mean what it once did.
Wow! Awesome post Whitley!
Wow! Awesome post Whitley! And well said!
It’s crazy, after all the
It’s crazy, after all the deregulation, the banks in their incompetence totally blew it and lost billions. To this day they are still losing billions, and are fighting like hell to keep from being re regulated, in any small way. Yet, they still hang on to the same ideological nonsense that created the crisis in the first place. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is what insanity is all about.
not moderates Whitley buy
not moderates Whitley buy conservatives with guts! Your on the right track because your a true texan and cosmic conciousness to boot!
Thanks again Whitley for
Thanks again Whitley for another great post.
I’m always amazed by the clearity in which you see our political and economic situations.
In my mind you are the model for the type of person we need to lead our great country into the future.
Whitley for President???
We need to be a society that
We need to be a society that encourages integrity, and not just pay lip service to the idea of integrity. Sadly, discernment is lacking in our country, and we have become ruled by high drama.
I was a professional banker for many years, and I butted heads with management more times than I care to remember, and it was always over matters of integrity. The last institution that I worked for here in Texas was an old, family-run institution out of San Antonio (Whitley, I’m sure that you know the one I am referring to). They were the ONLY bank that still valued integrity, and they had safeguards in place to ensure that wrong-doing could be reported in a way that weeded out the dishonesty, while also protecting the ‘whistleblower’. That bank is still open, and has been in Texas for over 100 years. I no longer work in financial services, but I continue to be amazed that this bank is still going strong and somehow keeping its head above the fray.
Excellent post, Whitley!