I recently conducted a study on the connection between rising interest rates and the credit card law that went into effect a year ago; it turns out there is none. Interest rates have risen over the past year simply because that’s what happens during a recession, interest rates rise and available credit falls. There is no law or political act that can accurately be blamed for these trends, yet people are doing so anyway because they need a scapegoat. That’s why I routinely see comments on my articles bemoaning the CARD Act and the White House as villains complicit in the rising cost of credit card debt. That’s why commenters often point to the fact that their credit card bills rose around the same time the CARD Act was passed and ask how I could contend that no correlation exists between the two events. I ask, why comment if you haven’t read the article?
What people fail to realize is that no one is debating the fact that interest rates have risen, because they have. I was out to determine not if this happened, but why. And I discovered it’s not the CARD Act’s fault. Instead, high credit card charge-off and delinquency rates, as well as the widespread unemployment can be blamed. Ultimately, I welcome intellectual challenges; I respect dissenting opinions. I just don’t have patience for people who turn non-political issues into political issues and form opinions before truly ascertaining the facts at hand.
Article comments
1 - Cannonshop
good, simple analysis, it's even short and clear enough for ME to understand (what with my inability to finish an AA degree and all...)