Financial Tips | Money and Kids

Cashspeak! March 2008 - CASHSPEAK
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3/12/08

The truth is, there is no industry that does not have some sort of government control over it. The credit company is no exception. Granted, a large part of the sector does remained "unregulated," however, there is government regulation is some respects. For example, the law states that a credit card cannot be denied based upon discriminatory reasons, credit card companies have to pay taxes and abide by other state and federal financial laws, and if you have a grievance, you can sue a credit card company. All of those examples show that there exists some level of government control over the credit card industry. However, many people believe that the government should regulate who gets a credit card, how many credit cards one should have, the maximum amount of credit one can have, and the maximum interest rate a credit card company can charge. Doing so would effectively cause the government to take over, and not regulate, the credit card industry.

It is important to note that nobody is forced to obtain a credit card. A credit card can be a powerful financial tool, but this does not mean that it is mandatory for a person to get one. Additionally, each individual person makes the decision on how to use or abuse his/her credit card privileges. As such, the credit card company is not to blame when somebody defaults on a payment.

Some argue that the credit card companies raise your credit limit so that you will spend more money. This is absolutely true, but it does not change the fact that each human has free will. Therefore, just because your credit limit is raised does not mean that you have to use the additional amount of available credit.

Another argument pressed by proponents of government regulation is that the interest rate on credit cards is too high because there is no limit on the amount of interest a credit card company can charge. Theoretically, this is true (however, I find it hard to believe that if a credit card company charged a 60% interest rate that lawsuits would not rain down upon that particular credit card company), but once again this argument negates a person's ability to choose. A person does not have to apply for, or accept a credit card offer that charges a high interest rate. Therefore, it is again not the fault of the credit card company if the person applies for and obtains such a card.

The bottom line is that credit cards are a privilege and not a right. As such, there is no need for government regulation as to the practices of credit card companies. Every person has the right to choose the card he/she wants and whether or not he/she wants a credit card in the first place. The answer is to educate people about responsible credit card use. Credit cards, like all privileges, can be abused, and as such, sometimes a person needs to learn a tough lesson before they figure out the proper use of such a privilege. If the government intervenes and "bails out" these people every time they get into trouble, no lesson will have been learned and the irresponsible behavior will continue.