I am all for the credit card companies having to disclose their fees in an easy to read manner. I think full transparency is essential, and I believe they don’t do that now. Their contracts are harder to read than Beowulf.
But, the government is overstepping its bounds by mandating capped rates and disallowing card companies to raise its rates after the fact. This is creating unintended consequences as ALL government interaction into the markets do.
In this case, it will affect the 50 million credit card users who use their cards responsibly. To compensate for lost income on the negligent card holders, whom the government is now trying to assist, the credit card industry is going to start assessing annual fees, reduce airline miles/reward programs, and even begin charging interest immediately after a purchase (no grace period).
Much like the mortgage mess, the government is creating a situation where the responsible are subsidizing the fiscally incompetent. I really have a problem with this course of action. Those who cannot manage their money should have their credit limits reduced to the current balance, which would force these folks to pay down debt to access future debt. Those with poor credit scores should either get cards with an extremely low balance or not receive a card at all.
Having credit is not a constitutional right. It is not given to us by our Creator. It has to be earned and is a responsibility. I agree that the credit card companies have made billions by creating convoluted agreements and imposing tough penalties, but the credit card user is ultimately responsible. Being ignorant or unsophisticated is not an excuse and should not result in harming the responsible borrowers financial situation.