UPDATE: US Sen Dodd To Introduce Consumer Protection Bill (THIS IS NOT A JOKE!)

NASDAQ ^ | 10/14/08 | Patrick Yoest

[Libloather]

RATS ruin the economy - and want the taxpayers to pay for even more bailouts? With RATS, it'll never end.

[ken21]

charles schumer had his ideas in the wsj today.

si.

[hercuroc]

this turkey needs to be tarred and feathered

[denydenydeny]

Something about a barn door comes to mind here.

[Boucheau]

ALL YOUR PAYCHECKS ARE BELONG TO US.

[denydenydeny]

The package would include a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures

Not TAX foreclosures, though. Private lenders can be robbed at will, but government, like a Mafia family, must get its cut.

[FlingWingFlyer]

Dodd should be doing the perp walk. Not introducing Consumer Protection Bills. He’s a crook!

[Fred]

You want my signature, I got my signature right here.....

[feedback doctor]

Bet he’ll try to get that provision requiring credit card companies to turn report all transactions to the irs.

[Fred]

ALL RIGHT THE CONGRESSIONAL PERP WALK OF 2008!!!

[Aliska]

It may be an unpopular view [here], but I wish they would put a cap on credit card interest rates. Why can’t the Republicans be proactive about something like that?

[rawcatslyentist]

Is the Bwarney Fwank protection act in there also?

You know, the CYA act!

[tioga]

CYA? and barney frank? (snicker)

[dalereed]

The consumer has 1000% too much protection now!!!!

[supercat]

It may be an unpopular view [here], but I wish they would put a cap on credit card interest rates. Why can’t the Republicans be proactive about something like that?

While the libertarian in me would oppose rules that would restrict people's right to decide what contract terms they'll accept, and while there may be a reasonable basis for extremely high interest rates on speculative investments, I would think that someone whose default rate was so high as to require punitive interest rates shouldn't be getting non-collateralized consumer credit. To my mind, the biggest function of some of the massive interest rates is to maximize the lender's share of whatever gets recovered in bankruptcy. Consequently, the issue isn't just between lender and borrower, but between the lender and the borrower's other creditors.

[Dems_R_Losers]

Say goodbye to what’s left of the mortgage business. Any of you who are thinking about buying a new house or refinancing had better do it now.

[dalereed]

I only pay cash for property.

[Aliska]

Well, you went into it deeper than I would have. You have a point. Still, I think there should be some protection for unwary consumers. I can't think of any analogies offhand but think there must be.

I'm basing my opinion that I think it is criminal and immoral to charge such high usury on anything. You can get sick and somebody not take over your affairs for quite awhile. Then you've racked up all those horrible interest charges. Also, young people should have some protections.

The whole thing is set up like they want you to screw up so they make more money. Bankruptcy, and I know people who have abused it in the past, is not something most people would want to go through. Plus I think it costs money to do it, I don't know, never did it.

[supercat]

I'm basing my opinion that I think it is criminal and immoral to charge such high usury on anything. You can get sick and somebody not take over your affairs for quite awhile. Then you've racked up all those horrible interest charges. Also, young people should have some protections.

0	100.00		100.00	0.00
1	118.00		105.00	20.00
2	139.24		110.25	41.00
3	164.30		115.76	63.05
4	193.88		121.55	86.20
5	228.78		127.63	110.51
6	269.96		134.01	136.04
7	318.55		140.71	162.84
8	375.89		147.75	190.98
9	443.55		155.13	220.53
10	523.38		162.89	251.56
11	617.59		171.03	284.14
12	728.76		179.59	318.34
13	859.94		188.56	354.26
14	1014.72		197.99	391.97
15	1197.37		207.89	431.57
16	1412.90		218.29	473.15
17	1667.22		229.20	516.81
18	1967.32		240.66	562.65
19	2321.44		252.69	610.78
20	2739.30		265.33	661.32

I wonder whether a remedy might be to restrict the compounding of high interest rates? A credit card would have two balances: one for the stuff the person paid for with the card, and a separate balance for much of the interest. .

The table at the right shows the cost of $100 for 20 years, both at an 18% compounding interest and at 20%+5% split interest (add the right two columns together). Note that in the short term, the 25%+5% would cost more, but after 20 years the $100 would cost $927 rather than $2,739.

Such a split system would not only increase the likelihood that debts would get paid back, but it would also yield to more equitable asset divisions in bankruptcy.

How would that seem as an idea?

[Kickass Conservative]

Well, my Father must have had it wrong, Somebody DOES owe you a living. Who woulda thunk it?