Posted on 01/05/2026 1:42:19 PM PST by Mariner
Late last year, Americans hit another milestone: total credit card debt reached a record $1.23 trillion, with the average household in hock for $9,326.
Increasingly Americans facing an affordability crisis are using their plastic to pay for basics like food and housing.
And the cost of such credit is skyrocketing — only making the affordability problem worse.
As of August 2025, the Federal Reserve reported the average interest rate on credit card accounts was 22.83%. Some consumers with low credit scores pay nearly 30%.
During his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump announced he would cap credit card rates at 10%.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
I think this is a cognition issue.
But I have been fortunate. I pay my balance every month and my interest charges are 0%.
They are using the cards to survive and are not paying attention to the interest rates. The rates ARE outrageous.
If the interest rate were capped at 10%, very few people would quality for credit cards.
The rates are high because many people don’t pay. The banks are willing to extend credit to just about anyone if they can charge a high enough rate.
I’m with you. Youth is somewhat of an excuse for those buying crap they don’t need and being in debt. It’s the older folks still doing it that amaze me. My wife has no acccess to my $. She can’t handle it. Women plus Amazon is a horrible combination.
Capping fees will just eliminate many millions of Americans from being given credit cards at all - although in some ways, that’s probably a good thing.
I’ve often wondered how they were allowed to charge rates akin to those charged by loan sharks.
“They are using the cards to survive”
You mean that’s how they’re able to pay $1500/month for that 2025 Tahoe...fully loaded?
No. Not a “Tahoe.” I mean paying regular bills and eating.
Well I for one used to pay my cards off every month. An expensive hospital stay, stagnant or retracting economy for the previous 3 years and overall cost of goods made us buckle down and only buy necessities. Even then with what goes out it’s never enough. Insurance is ridiculous, property taxes are insane.
We are not on any governmental assistance so there’s that.
I am sure that somewhere in the constitution it gives the federal government the right to cap interest rates.
I don't see what purpose that accomplishes. If rates are capped, credit card companies are only going to issue credit cards to extremely low risk customers. An average person is not going to get a credit card with an interest rate capped at 10% so in essence, this policy will take credit cards away from a lot of people. Besides, the reason we have a credit card crisis in America is because people are using them way too much. That has nothing to do with the rate.
Yep, used properly, a credit card is a way to get short term interest free loans. But short term, as in until the next card payment is due.
Borrowing money should be competitive, like anything else in a 'free market', so I am not sure I agree with the govt restricting the borrowing rate of the card companies. The higher interest rates should discourage people from borrowing, but a lot dont seem to have the discipline needed.
Thankfully we have vehicles that are paid off. I’m hopeful this year will be great.
” I mean paying regular bills and eating.”
Because they don’t have the brains and character to live within their means?
I’ve been poor. I lost a house once.
But I’ve never had a card with more than $5k on it, and then only for a very short time.
One of the joys of contemporary technology is that I can pay off my credit cards every day, turning them into semiautomatic debit cards with benefits. If everyone did this, of course the perk would vanish, but in effect the indebted are paying for my luxury of a free card with cash back, miles, and other benefits.
A President shouldn’t be telling banks what they can charge for fees or interest.
Liz Warren does things like that.
I do the same and get 100’s of thousands of points every year, and they get nothing.
Commerce Clause
There’s no hoe like a Tahoe.
Enough of that. Caps would never work.
First, the cap would be instituted.
Second, institutions would raise the necessary credit score to obtain or retain credit cards.
Those losing their access would be disproportionately single womyn and/or people of color, whether ghetto or illegal.
President Jeffries would sign an EO requiring all institutions to hand out cards based on social credit scores.
Institutions would get out of the credit card busines.
That wouldn’t matter, because by then all items would be controlled by government rationing, due to the lack of productivity in a socialist economy.
The other way credit card companies could manage risk is with very low credit limits to “average” customers.
Many “starter” credit cards use that approach.
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