Biden Plans Hit on Credit Unions, Banks and Us

While America’s national debt is a bigger problem than ever before, the country isn’t the only one in the red. Americans themselves are drowning in debt, owing $986 billion on credit cards, $11.92 trillion on mortgages, $1.55 trillion on vehicle loans, and $1.60 trillion for student loans. It’s staggering and unsustainable.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaand like everything that’s come out of Washington the last 2 ½ years … the Biden administration wants to make things worse.

Last week, the administration announced a plan to prohibit companies from "junk fees,” which get tacked on at the end of the payment process for concert tickets, hotel stays, car rentals and so on.

Biden dedicated an unusual amount of attention to the issue in his State of the Union Address earlier this year, claiming that:

“My administration is also taking on junk fees, those hidden surcharges too many companies use to make you pay more. … Look, junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most other folks in homes like the one I grew up in, like many of you did. They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for you to pay your bills or afford that family trip.”

These junk fees are why a flight that was only $99 when you clicked on it ends up as $257.34 once you’ve finally clicked through to the end. The example the Los Angeles Times used in an article on the subject was a Blink-182 show that was listed on Ticketmaster at $290 but ended up costing almost $340 after all the “service” fees were added.

Say it ain’t so!

Under this plan, the Federal Trade Commission would require all industries to show the full price up front to consumers. Violators would be hit with both stiff financial penalties and have to repay customers.

That sounds nice, but it’s really just window dressing on more excessive action he has planned to “help” the consumers he’s brutalized since taking office.

Part of Biden’s proposal includes measures to “curb excessive credit card late fees,” which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has been talking about since February, claiming such fees cost Americans about $12 billion annually.

Credit card interest rates are the highest in almost 40 years, at an average of 20.72% (!), as the Fed keeps monetary policy tight to fight Bidenflation. Late fees are something we’ve all had to deal with at some point.

The CFPB’s new policy includes the following measures:

• Lower the maximum dollar amount for late fees from $41 to $8
• End automatic adjustment on late-fee charges for inflation
• Cap late fees at 25% of the required minimum payment

This could save Americans up to $9 billion, the CFPB says. That’s good, right? Well. Probably not.

Credit card issuing banks and credit uinons provide a service that we all use every day without thinking about it. These companies enable us to effortlessly conduct our lives without cash, and late fees are how they make money providing the service. Essentially the people who don’t pay their bills on time subsidize this amazing convenience for those who do.

If creditors can’t get their money back in a timely fashion, they need to get it back in a profitable fashion. If they can’t do either of these, there’s no reason for them to loan to us. Lowering the penalty will cause even more late payments by disincentivizing people to pay on time — again hurting the people this is supposed to be helping.

Also note also how ending the inflation adjustment is a way of passing the cost of Bidenflation on to banks and credit unions and ultimately, back to the consumer. Biden’s twin sins of an unsustainable spending spree and sabotaging our domestic energy industry have hurt Americans far more than late fees.

(Late fees people didn’t have to pay when Trump was president.)

Since Biden took office, real disposable income is down 8.3%, housing affordability is down 35.5%, and monthly savings are down 81.7%, according to this awesome tracker from the Heritage Foundation. The only thing up is (drumroll) credit card debt: up 35.5%.

Sneaking this in there is a good way to conceal the damage of Bidenflation from the average consumer. Here’s hoping the plan goes nowhere, and that next November Biden goes away for good.