Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Bank Interest Rates

Last night on the news I listened to a story about how the banks - the ones we bailed out - are raising their interest rates on credit cards, because they need to generate quicker income.
They do have a lot of nerve.

It ticked me off so i sent the following epistle off to our friends in D.C. (The President & my representatives.)

Please feel free to use any or all and write to the President and your representatives as well.


Dear Senator
Help me understand why the banks who took my tax money to bail them out of financial ruin are now being allowed to raise the interest rates on credit cards?

Worse, we are not talking about fixed rates, but variable rates which they control.
I have a card with Citi Bank and the interest rate is now 17+%. (I talked to them and got it down to 14+ whoop de do!)

From what I have seen, many of the banks are moving to the plus column. Why are they being allowed to take advantage of the consumer/taxpayer?

On last night's news I learned that the bill you passed to control credit card debt and interest rates does not go into effect until February 2010. By that time the banks will have fixed interest rates at 25+% and they will be able to remain.

To say the least, I am disappointed.

You borrow money from China to bail out the banks, which went into collapse due to greed and mismanagement, and now the taxpayer/consumer is suppose to pick up the pieces, bear the cost and accept all additional burdens.

Once again, middle class American workers have received a royal screwing.
When will the President and Congress consider us? We are not a fatted cow that continually gives. One day we will have nothing left.

The next time you decide to bail out the "big" boys, remember us in the trenches who have to pay for your decisions.

Yours
Michael Wolfe

1 comment:

Ajaz Haque said...

You raise excellent points. First the banks take people's money through TARP and then they take it again through higher interest rates, so they can pay themselves ridiculous bonuses.

Had the common man not bailed out these banks through their TARP funding, many of the bank executives will be on unemployment lines. It is time they acknowledged that public saved their asses and should lower interest rates to ease public's pain.