DailyCaller: Over a century ago, politician Simon Cameron famously quipped, “An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.” He could have been referring to congressional efforts to impose price controls on credit card transaction fees.
Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) is the author of the infamous amendment bearing his name to the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill. The stated purpose of the amendment to assist Fortune 500 retailers who complained about the costs of processing debit and credit cards. From the Senate floor, no less, Durbin recalled how the CEO of Walgreens convinced him to offer the amendment.
“I had the CEO of Walgreens contact me last week,” Durbin said. [H]e told me that …it turns out the fees that Walgreens pays to credit card companies is the fourth largest item of cost for their business.” Durbin offered an amendment designed to establish government price controls on those transaction fees. The amendment passed and there is now a mountain of evidence that the amendment harmed consumers. read more
We setup savings accounts for the kids several years ago, they each have a couple hundred bucks in them. The bank sent us their statements one month and $7 bucks was knocked off each balance to “maintain” the accounts. We raised hell and threatened to pull our mortgage, deposit box, and checking accounts. They caved and made the accounts “free.” Last month we got notice saying they are now going to charge the kids $5 for deposit slips. A charge to give the bank money? Time to bitch again.. WTF, WHYYYYYY
Durbin’s not a “Liberal Fool” but a sneaky, conniving thief.
It is probably safe to say that instead of credit card fees being the 4th largest expense for Walgreens, now Durbin and the DNC are their 4th largest expense.
Why this traitorous ape is not hanging from a tree is a mystery.
izlamo delenda est …
No, eternal cracker, it’s not time to bitch again. It’s time to teach your kids another way to save money that doesn’t involve the bank.
Durbin is yet another gift from Chicago to the nation, like Obama and Jan schacowsky and Rahm Emanuel.
Knock it off Chicago or we’ll give you to Canada.
Democrats are sleazy little creeps. Every last one of them.
Try a credit union. I have kept my money at one for nearly my entire life. No fees. Good loan rates. Great service.
All I need to know about Dodd-Frank are the names on the bill to know it is a big steaming pile. Repeal it!
To the Senate:
OFF WITH ITS DICK!
Price controls have not worked in the history of the world. Infinity is how long a bad government program lasts.