by Tracee Sioux
I was watching a PBS documentary, Secret History of the Credit Card, when Andrew Kahr appeared on my screen and my first impression was, "Huh, that's not at all how I pictured Satan". I thought he would be a sexy and dangerous "bad boy." This little weasel was short and scrawny and a total dork.
Kahr, a credit card industry consultant, makes the Mafia look like Girl Scouts. He was touting some of his achievements: convincing credit card companies to drop the minimum payment to two percent, thus enslaving borrowers with more interest for much, much longer. He's also the evil genius who started the zero percent mass mailings that nearly everyone has fallen for at least once (you know where if you don't pay in full by the due date the interest goes up to 30% and is retroactive). Also one of his favorites is raising your interest rate arbitrarily on money you have already borrowed because of some obscure information they have received about other of your credit accounts, without having to justify themselves. He's also the little demon who kept thinking up great "fees" to appear on your bill and then gather still more interest.
Now, this bit of information doesn't directly affect me because I don't have and never will have another credit card as long as I live. Mind you, that's not because I'm exceptionally wealthy or particularly financially savvy. Mostly it's because I've tasted first-hand the bitter-bitter fruit of credit card debt and come out the other end of a bankruptcy. I've paid all the stupid tax to those loan sharks I ever intend to pay.
Before you go thinking, well, of course you don't have credit cards they won't give you anymore after a bankruptcy - think again. We weren't two months out of our bankruptcy before we began receiving the same avalanche of credit card offers in the mail. We are actually their preferred customers, contrary to their statements (read: big fat lies) in front of the current Senate Banking Committee investigation into credit card practices.
We're exactly who they look for in a customer. We, and probably you too, meet all the desirable credit card customer criteria:
1. We want more than we can afford to buy.
2. We don't make enough to buy what is considered basic stuff for the American middle-class lifestyle like a house and decent cars.
3. We are gainfully employed and therefore have an income to pay minimum payments with.
4. We graduated from high school and college without an understanding of how they calculate an APR or any other interest. Also without any understanding of how much money we could actually make in our careers.
5. We are forever hopeful and optimistic about our future earning potential, meaning since we expect to make more money in the future and work towards that goal, we believe we'll be able to make future payments with greater ease.
The Senate Banking Committee is Examining the Billing, Marketing, and Disclosure Practices of the Credit Card Industry, and Their Impact on Consumers, in their current hearings on Credit Card Practices. I would love to be more optimistic about any legislative bills that result from this, but mostly I heard a lot of qualifying about how credit cards are good for Americans, even though there are some disturbing trends.
The chairman of this committee is headed by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut. He makes a statement on his website supporting credit card companies even while he investigates their questionable practices.
"I support them. I strongly believe in the product and its potential to give consumers greater convenience and access to capital."
He goes on to warn:
"If you currently engage in any business practice that you would be ashamed to discuss before this Committee, I would strongly encourage you to cease and desist that practice. Irrespective of the current legality of such practices, you should take a long, hard look at how you treat your customers, both in the short term and the long term."
Wouldn't it be lovely if strong encouragement was all it took for amoral and emotionless credit card corporations to stop screwing the American family? Not to mention that Satan himself, Kahr, is a kajillionaire precisely because he could care less about the nightmare many families face every day at the mailbox.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where debt and credit card companies are the biggest reason couples get divorced. More than half the couples in this country are divorcing. Now, since I had to take College Algebra rather than anything useful like "how to manage your personal finances," I can't do the math of exactly how many actual families are destroyed by credit cards and their evil poster boy Kahr. But, I can tell you that if half the families are breaking up over debt and money problems then America is suffering from some pretty serious mental and emotional issues that center around money and we need to get a handle on it.
The average family living in the United States has over $9,300 of credit card debt. In comparison, the median household income was about $46,000 in 2005. So for all the people out there who find themselves in debt anxiety, otherwise known as hell - and statistically, that's most of you - don't hate your spouse, hate Andrew Kahr and the credit card companies that employ him.
Also, get some help. My husband and I took an invaluable course called Financial Peace University that educated us about personal finances and it's changed the way we manage our own money. Dave Ramsey teaches the course in little satellite classes on DVD that are offered in community centers and churches all over the country. The class costs about $100 depending on how many students enroll and I promise you will make up that $100 in your first year of Zero Based Budgeting.
To Dodd and his Senate Banking Committee, I think I'd like to see less strong encouragement and more actual LAWS to govern the corrupt credit card industry. I'd also like to see Andrew Kahr given a life-sentence to solitary confinement for the horrible crimes against humanity he has committed - the committee should at least fine him a kajillion dollars.
And for Heaven's sake don't click on all the Google ads that will pop up on this blog as a result of my writing about a credit card problem. You don't want any more cards, credit is not your friend, and I don't need the income from clicks to credit card ads.
To find the Financial Peace University course nearest you just enter your zip code at this link:
http://www.daveramsey.com/
To find out more about the terrible trauma Andrew Kahr has directly caused in your life:
www.answers.com/topic/andrew-kahr
To find out more about the Senate Banking Commitee Hearing on Credit Card Practices, maybe even shoot him an email:
http://dodd.senate.gov/
Showing posts with label credit card debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit card debt. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
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Showing posts with label credit card debt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit card debt. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I saw Satan on TV (and he's a little dork)
by Tracee Sioux
I was watching a PBS documentary, Secret History of the Credit Card, when Andrew Kahr appeared on my screen and my first impression was, "Huh, that's not at all how I pictured Satan". I thought he would be a sexy and dangerous "bad boy." This little weasel was short and scrawny and a total dork.
Kahr, a credit card industry consultant, makes the Mafia look like Girl Scouts. He was touting some of his achievements: convincing credit card companies to drop the minimum payment to two percent, thus enslaving borrowers with more interest for much, much longer. He's also the evil genius who started the zero percent mass mailings that nearly everyone has fallen for at least once (you know where if you don't pay in full by the due date the interest goes up to 30% and is retroactive). Also one of his favorites is raising your interest rate arbitrarily on money you have already borrowed because of some obscure information they have received about other of your credit accounts, without having to justify themselves. He's also the little demon who kept thinking up great "fees" to appear on your bill and then gather still more interest.
Now, this bit of information doesn't directly affect me because I don't have and never will have another credit card as long as I live. Mind you, that's not because I'm exceptionally wealthy or particularly financially savvy. Mostly it's because I've tasted first-hand the bitter-bitter fruit of credit card debt and come out the other end of a bankruptcy. I've paid all the stupid tax to those loan sharks I ever intend to pay.
Before you go thinking, well, of course you don't have credit cards they won't give you anymore after a bankruptcy - think again. We weren't two months out of our bankruptcy before we began receiving the same avalanche of credit card offers in the mail. We are actually their preferred customers, contrary to their statements (read: big fat lies) in front of the current Senate Banking Committee investigation into credit card practices.
We're exactly who they look for in a customer. We, and probably you too, meet all the desirable credit card customer criteria:
1. We want more than we can afford to buy.
2. We don't make enough to buy what is considered basic stuff for the American middle-class lifestyle like a house and decent cars.
3. We are gainfully employed and therefore have an income to pay minimum payments with.
4. We graduated from high school and college without an understanding of how they calculate an APR or any other interest. Also without any understanding of how much money we could actually make in our careers.
5. We are forever hopeful and optimistic about our future earning potential, meaning since we expect to make more money in the future and work towards that goal, we believe we'll be able to make future payments with greater ease.
The Senate Banking Committee is Examining the Billing, Marketing, and Disclosure Practices of the Credit Card Industry, and Their Impact on Consumers, in their current hearings on Credit Card Practices. I would love to be more optimistic about any legislative bills that result from this, but mostly I heard a lot of qualifying about how credit cards are good for Americans, even though there are some disturbing trends.
The chairman of this committee is headed by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut. He makes a statement on his website supporting credit card companies even while he investigates their questionable practices.
"I support them. I strongly believe in the product and its potential to give consumers greater convenience and access to capital."
He goes on to warn:
"If you currently engage in any business practice that you would be ashamed to discuss before this Committee, I would strongly encourage you to cease and desist that practice. Irrespective of the current legality of such practices, you should take a long, hard look at how you treat your customers, both in the short term and the long term."
Wouldn't it be lovely if strong encouragement was all it took for amoral and emotionless credit card corporations to stop screwing the American family? Not to mention that Satan himself, Kahr, is a kajillionaire precisely because he could care less about the nightmare many families face every day at the mailbox.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where debt and credit card companies are the biggest reason couples get divorced. More than half the couples in this country are divorcing. Now, since I had to take College Algebra rather than anything useful like "how to manage your personal finances," I can't do the math of exactly how many actual families are destroyed by credit cards and their evil poster boy Kahr. But, I can tell you that if half the families are breaking up over debt and money problems then America is suffering from some pretty serious mental and emotional issues that center around money and we need to get a handle on it.
The average family living in the United States has over $9,300 of credit card debt. In comparison, the median household income was about $46,000 in 2005. So for all the people out there who find themselves in debt anxiety, otherwise known as hell - and statistically, that's most of you - don't hate your spouse, hate Andrew Kahr and the credit card companies that employ him.
Also, get some help. My husband and I took an invaluable course called Financial Peace University that educated us about personal finances and it's changed the way we manage our own money. Dave Ramsey teaches the course in little satellite classes on DVD that are offered in community centers and churches all over the country. The class costs about $100 depending on how many students enroll and I promise you will make up that $100 in your first year of Zero Based Budgeting.
To Dodd and his Senate Banking Committee, I think I'd like to see less strong encouragement and more actual LAWS to govern the corrupt credit card industry. I'd also like to see Andrew Kahr given a life-sentence to solitary confinement for the horrible crimes against humanity he has committed - the committee should at least fine him a kajillion dollars.
And for Heaven's sake don't click on all the Google ads that will pop up on this blog as a result of my writing about a credit card problem. You don't want any more cards, credit is not your friend, and I don't need the income from clicks to credit card ads.
To find the Financial Peace University course nearest you just enter your zip code at this link:
http://www.daveramsey.com/
To find out more about the terrible trauma Andrew Kahr has directly caused in your life:
www.answers.com/topic/andrew-kahr
To find out more about the Senate Banking Commitee Hearing on Credit Card Practices, maybe even shoot him an email:
http://dodd.senate.gov/
I was watching a PBS documentary, Secret History of the Credit Card, when Andrew Kahr appeared on my screen and my first impression was, "Huh, that's not at all how I pictured Satan". I thought he would be a sexy and dangerous "bad boy." This little weasel was short and scrawny and a total dork.
Kahr, a credit card industry consultant, makes the Mafia look like Girl Scouts. He was touting some of his achievements: convincing credit card companies to drop the minimum payment to two percent, thus enslaving borrowers with more interest for much, much longer. He's also the evil genius who started the zero percent mass mailings that nearly everyone has fallen for at least once (you know where if you don't pay in full by the due date the interest goes up to 30% and is retroactive). Also one of his favorites is raising your interest rate arbitrarily on money you have already borrowed because of some obscure information they have received about other of your credit accounts, without having to justify themselves. He's also the little demon who kept thinking up great "fees" to appear on your bill and then gather still more interest.
Now, this bit of information doesn't directly affect me because I don't have and never will have another credit card as long as I live. Mind you, that's not because I'm exceptionally wealthy or particularly financially savvy. Mostly it's because I've tasted first-hand the bitter-bitter fruit of credit card debt and come out the other end of a bankruptcy. I've paid all the stupid tax to those loan sharks I ever intend to pay.
Before you go thinking, well, of course you don't have credit cards they won't give you anymore after a bankruptcy - think again. We weren't two months out of our bankruptcy before we began receiving the same avalanche of credit card offers in the mail. We are actually their preferred customers, contrary to their statements (read: big fat lies) in front of the current Senate Banking Committee investigation into credit card practices.
We're exactly who they look for in a customer. We, and probably you too, meet all the desirable credit card customer criteria:
1. We want more than we can afford to buy.
2. We don't make enough to buy what is considered basic stuff for the American middle-class lifestyle like a house and decent cars.
3. We are gainfully employed and therefore have an income to pay minimum payments with.
4. We graduated from high school and college without an understanding of how they calculate an APR or any other interest. Also without any understanding of how much money we could actually make in our careers.
5. We are forever hopeful and optimistic about our future earning potential, meaning since we expect to make more money in the future and work towards that goal, we believe we'll be able to make future payments with greater ease.
The Senate Banking Committee is Examining the Billing, Marketing, and Disclosure Practices of the Credit Card Industry, and Their Impact on Consumers, in their current hearings on Credit Card Practices. I would love to be more optimistic about any legislative bills that result from this, but mostly I heard a lot of qualifying about how credit cards are good for Americans, even though there are some disturbing trends.
The chairman of this committee is headed by Senator Christopher J. Dodd, a Democrat from Connecticut. He makes a statement on his website supporting credit card companies even while he investigates their questionable practices.
"I support them. I strongly believe in the product and its potential to give consumers greater convenience and access to capital."
He goes on to warn:
"If you currently engage in any business practice that you would be ashamed to discuss before this Committee, I would strongly encourage you to cease and desist that practice. Irrespective of the current legality of such practices, you should take a long, hard look at how you treat your customers, both in the short term and the long term."
Wouldn't it be lovely if strong encouragement was all it took for amoral and emotionless credit card corporations to stop screwing the American family? Not to mention that Satan himself, Kahr, is a kajillionaire precisely because he could care less about the nightmare many families face every day at the mailbox.
Unfortunately, we live in a world where debt and credit card companies are the biggest reason couples get divorced. More than half the couples in this country are divorcing. Now, since I had to take College Algebra rather than anything useful like "how to manage your personal finances," I can't do the math of exactly how many actual families are destroyed by credit cards and their evil poster boy Kahr. But, I can tell you that if half the families are breaking up over debt and money problems then America is suffering from some pretty serious mental and emotional issues that center around money and we need to get a handle on it.
The average family living in the United States has over $9,300 of credit card debt. In comparison, the median household income was about $46,000 in 2005. So for all the people out there who find themselves in debt anxiety, otherwise known as hell - and statistically, that's most of you - don't hate your spouse, hate Andrew Kahr and the credit card companies that employ him.
Also, get some help. My husband and I took an invaluable course called Financial Peace University that educated us about personal finances and it's changed the way we manage our own money. Dave Ramsey teaches the course in little satellite classes on DVD that are offered in community centers and churches all over the country. The class costs about $100 depending on how many students enroll and I promise you will make up that $100 in your first year of Zero Based Budgeting.
To Dodd and his Senate Banking Committee, I think I'd like to see less strong encouragement and more actual LAWS to govern the corrupt credit card industry. I'd also like to see Andrew Kahr given a life-sentence to solitary confinement for the horrible crimes against humanity he has committed - the committee should at least fine him a kajillion dollars.
And for Heaven's sake don't click on all the Google ads that will pop up on this blog as a result of my writing about a credit card problem. You don't want any more cards, credit is not your friend, and I don't need the income from clicks to credit card ads.
To find the Financial Peace University course nearest you just enter your zip code at this link:
http://www.daveramsey.com/
To find out more about the terrible trauma Andrew Kahr has directly caused in your life:
www.answers.com/topic/andrew-kahr
To find out more about the Senate Banking Commitee Hearing on Credit Card Practices, maybe even shoot him an email:
http://dodd.senate.gov/
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