S.C.R.E.W.U. or the Safe Credit Revision Everyone Wins Undertaking

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  1

  Milton F.

  11/11/09 | Report as spam

  RE: S.C.R.E.W.U. or the Safe Credit Revision Everyone Wins Undertaking

  Sadly, completely forseeable.
  I've come up with two better analogies for the current period in Credit Card Land than my "late in the junior prom." The flaw with that is that the girls may have wanted the hand to roam lower, where as no CC consumer wants to get taken to "third base."
  
  Analogy 1: The credit card companies are a Fraternity. Consumers are pledges. It's the last week before the pledges are initiated. I think they call it Hell Week. The highest level of abuse, before the brothers have to treat the pledges like brothers. The place where the analogy breaks down is after Feb 22nd. In the frat analogy, consumers would join the fraternity. In the real world, the hazing will continue, only at a lower intensity.
  
  Analogy 2: We are the citizens of a Central African kleptocracy. The Credit Card companies are the warlords. CCard is the UN monitors that will force the warlords to follow international law and abide by the results of the elections. Knowing that the UN is coming in on Feb 22nd, the kelptomania kicks into high gear, because the UN can't protect the possessions and rights of citizens who have already been looted and violated. So, it's a last orgy of cocaine, AIDS, rape, child soldiers, blood diamonds, tribal killings and all the other fun stuff.
  
  I like analogy 2 best, because, when we wake up on Feb 22nd with new regs in place, a lot of consumers will have that far away look on their faces, not entirely like every special guest on Law and Order Special Victims Unit.
  
  In defense of the delay to Feb 22nd, things will not change just because the law goes into effect. The regulations that lay out how the law is actually implemented and enforced will have to be drawn up in the agencies of the executive branch that will actually enforce it. The program offices, their legal service, and a whole lot of other lawyers will work on it (are probably working on it now) and will have to publish a draft in the big book of regs and leave it out for comment. At which point, every creditor will ask their employees to send in comments (and they will draft the letter). And every consumer advocacy group will do the same. And the comments may actually be considered (wasn't done much in the last administration, but it's early to tell on the new one). And then it goes through the program office, the legal staff, the several other steps of lawyers and published for good. And really, at that point, it takes effect. Assume the reg goes out on Feb 22. 30 day comment period gets you to March 25. Probably don't see actual enforcement of CCard until after Easter.

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  2

  kaloaina

  11/19/09 | Report as spam

  RE: S.C.R.E.W.U. or the Safe Credit Revision Everyone Wins Undertaking

  Poor people get poorer, the rich get poorer(subjective), our
  government gets poorer, so whos getting richer (sp) not
  included or is it too getting poorer?

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  3

  Milton F.

  11/24/09 | Report as spam

  RE: S.C.R.E.W.U. or the Safe Credit Revision Everyone Wins Undertaking

  Who gets richer:
  1- The Government of China
  2- The very rich continue to get richer. They always have and always will. Except maybe during the Bolshevik Revolution.