Heh Dodd You TWIT!

The Market Ticker ^ | 10/26/09 | Karl Denninger

[FromLori]

WT is wrong with this clown?

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd on Monday introduced legislation that would immediately freeze credit card interest rates on existing balances after he complained that financial institutions weren't supporting a new credit card act that is scheduled to take effect in February. "And no sooner had it been signed into law, but credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded," said the Connecticut Democrat. "This bill would end those abuses and further protect customers today."

Dodd has been giving Dirty Sanchez's to the banking lobby for a very long time and this is just more BS "hue and cry".

Freeze balances NOW? This after Citibank has jacked huge numbers of people to 29.9% for both default and non-defaulted balances without regard to whether they're late? You know, this notice that I have received a flood of copies of?

If Dodd wanted to actually help consumers what he would propose and insist be pased is a federal usury law that provided for a hard cap on interest rates.

Cap all rates at Fed Funds + 10% - period.

Dodd .et.al. would also force an immediate and permanent mark-to-market system upon the banks, ending immediately and permanently the 20, 30, 40, even 50% losses the FDIC is taking as a direct consequence of BS "aggressive" accounting that has led these institutions to outrageously overvalue their so-called "assets."

If you can't make money as a bank on a ten percent spread between "borrow short, lend long" in a market-priced world for your assets you're either (1) an idiot and deserve to fail due to stupidity or (2) trying to force those who are responsible users of credit to pay for those who are deadbeats - that is, those NON-CREDIT WORTHY customers who you gave credit to ANYWAY, smug in the knowledge that you could rip SOMEONE off, whether it be the taxpayer or your other customers, to paper over your "decision."

Which do you think it is folks?

A real solution is not on the table as "Dodd's Legislation" because Chris Doddering and Bwarney Frank continue to kneel before Jamie Dimon .et.al. and perform obscene acts, selling you, I, and the rest of America down the river at every opportunity in exchange for another bribe, er, campaign "donation", directly or via some lobbying interest.

[diefree]

My credit score is 800 and they all raised me to 23 percent. I am making sure I don’t pay any of them one cent in interest.

[mmichaels1970]

Freeze balances NOW? This after Citibank has jacked huge numbers of people to 29.9% for both default and non-defaulted balances without regard to whether they're late?

Happened to me. Just got my Citi 29.9% notice last Tuesday. Never late, low balance. Oh well. I'm just going to chop the card up.

[Redleg Duke]

The Lockheed Federal Credit Union did the same to me. I am not only chopping my card, I am closing all of my accounts with that institution after 15 years.

[b4its2late]

"And no sooner had it been signed into law, but credit card companies were looking for ways to get around the protections this Congress and the American people demanded,"

Duh, Dodd, you dip$hit. When Congress passes laws that affects their business, what does this doof think is going to happen? When Congress closes loopholes or raises taxes, many try to find away not to pay. This guy, along with his partners in crime on capital hill, are total idiots.

[Uncle Ike]

” This guy, along with his partners in crime on capital hill, are total idiots. “

Even worse - they think *we* are....

(And since they keep getting re-elected time after time, they might be right....)

[Man50D]

What is the bill number or title?

[Man50D]

http://www.dumpchrisdodd.com

[FromLori]

I don’t know it’s supposed to be brand new and it doesn’t say in the article?

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/1543-Heh-Dodd-You-TWIT!.html

[Graybeard58]

Oh well. I'm just going to chop the card up.

Which does not close the account and later they will add an annual fee that you owe.

If you want to close the account, notify the company in writing that you want it closed and demand that they notify you via U.S. Mail, that they have done so (it's the law).

[mmichaels1970]

Which does not close the account and later they will add an annual fee that you owe.

That's a good point. They've never charged me an annual fee, and I didn't see one mentioned in the new "agreement". However, I'll take a close look at whether they're trying to sneak something like that in.

I've debated whether to close the account entirely or cut the card but leave the line of credit open.

[GUNGAGALUNGA]

They did this to me back in Dec 08/Jan 2009. They gave me the option to opt out and not use the card again. I opted out obviously.

[CharlesWayneCT]

Well, it seems Karl isn’t much for free markets.

[CharlesWayneCT]

They had to raise it, because of the new law, which will prevent them from raising it later.

Whenever you set some “limit” to what people can do, but make it based on how things are at the time of the limit, this is what happens.

It’s a free market. If you get rid of all the regulation, and the CC companies start charging 29% for perfect scores, SOMEONE (like me) will form a company that charges 8% for the best customers, because I’d love to have a good locked-in 8% return on my money, and so would hundreds of thousands of other people with money to invest.

Of course, the regulators make it near impossible for me to get together with others to do this, because regulations protect existing businesses who have paid millions in bribes to the legislators.