CREDIT CARD REFORMS
Hurts good customers
In the July 27 editorial, "Credit card reforms are long overdue," the Star Tribune rightly points out that the ailing economy is reaching deep into the pockets of American consumers. But current proposals aimed at credit cards could bring a host of unintended consequences that will actually reach even further into consumers' pockets.
Innovation in the credit card industry has made it possible for more and more consumers to enjoy the unparalleled convenience, security and flexibility that credit cards offer. Risk-based pricing, finetuned over the past few decades, ensures that the most responsible cardholders receive the best rates. Just like the auto insurance industry, where safer drivers pay less for car insurance, the vast majority of credit card customers manages their credit responsibly and are rewarded with lower rates.
Legislative and regulatory proposals threaten to take many of these benefits away, returning us to a time when not everyone could get a credit card, everyone paid high rates and annual fees, and less risky borrowers were unfairly subsidizing riskier borrowers.
We support consumer protection, but some in Congress have introduced measures that could hurt the very consumers they hope to protect. Some aspects of the Federal Reserve's proposal are also troublesome, but we are hopeful that the Fed will strike the right balance between consumer protection and policies that result in higher prices for and less availability of credit.
EDWARD YINGLING, WASHINGTON;
PRESIDENT AND CEO,
AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION
INJUSTICE AT JUSTICE
Don't expect justice
Since conservatives promote the idea that vigorous prosecution and rigorous sentencing deter crime, perhaps Attorney General Michael Mukasey, who professes to be "disturbed by the findings" that "senior aides to former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales broke the law by using politics to guide their hiring decisions" (Star Tribune, July 29), will indict Monica Goodling and Kyle Sampson.
