| Eric's Position on Credit |
Predatory lending, outrageous interest rates and unfair college loans are out of control. Today, if you so much as miss one credit card payment by a single day, your mandatory minimum interest rate could skyrocket to 30% on all of your credit cards. This is a result of the now infamous bankruptcy bill that was written for the lending industry by the lending industry without regard for the reality that half of the Americans who go into bankruptcy do so because they are overwhelmed by a terminal or acute care medical situation.
I will fight to make this type predatory lending illegal for any credit card that is used in more than one state. Using the power of the Interstate Commerce Laws crafted in Congress, I will propose real legislation that caps credit card interest rates at 16% -- the highest usury limit any private citizen in the State of New York can charge another private citizen in a lending situation. If that is the law of the land for working citizens, it darn well should be the law for international and often foreign owned finance companies. I will fight to punish those companies who target and sign citizens who are most vulnerable to the predatory lending practices. They are undermining the integrity of our entire lending system and I'll start with the college loan programs where one hand is currently washing the other in a classic you scratch my back I'll scratch yours.
Working families are being driven into debt and it's going to take leadership in Congress to help alleviate the situation.
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| Blogs |
The People have a right to fair credit practicesJuly 22 by Eric Massa
In May, I announced my New Bill of Rights. This Declaration is my way of expanding upon the Rights listed in FDR's 1944 State of the Union message to Congress, which I have touched upon in some of my more recent DailyKos Diaries. I know that the way forward for the Democratic Party is to stand with the people against President Bush and the Rubberstamp Republicans, who taken the side of Corporatists rather than the American family. Together, I know we can make this world a better place. This is the seventh in a ten part series where we will discuss some of the most important issues facing the American people today. I want to hear your opinions and thoughts on each and every one of these topics. Our campaign has now held over 50 house parties, and as a matter of fact, I'm liveblogging from a home where we will hold one today at 5pm. As such, I will need to sign off at that time, but I hope you will join me on this and every Sunday at 3 pm Eastern Time.
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