The problem with trying to legislate a free market

[Maverickz]

Quote from Free Thinker:

the banks were screwing the retailers who have no choice about taking credit cards in oder to subsidise debit card holders as a marketing scheme. once again regulations had to be instigated to stop the abuse. regulations almost always are a result of some abuse.
its still going on in the credit card arena where banks are screwing retailers and forcing them to subsidise credit card marketing through cash back schemes.

As I already said the consumer is the one ALWAYS paying the price.

OLD WAY:
Banks charged retailers 44 cents per debit card transaction.
Retailers did NOT absorb this cost they passed it on to consumers. Although that 44 cents averaged into many different products probably made the cost invisible to consumers.

NEW WAY:
Banks can now only charge 21 cents per debit card transaction.
Retailers did NOT lower their prices to reflect the lower cost, they are just pocketing the difference.
Banks are now increasing other fees to replace the lost revenue.
The consumer is now still paying the increased cost to the retailers AND the new fees all thanks to Obama, Dodd and Frank trying to "help".

No thanks. We don't need this kind of help.

 

[piezoe]

Quote from Maverickz:

That is not the point. The point is the government steps in and forces banks to cut a source of revenue in half, the banks just raise prices somewhere else to compensate. If they would have raised taxes on the banks instead, then the banks would have just raised fees somewhere else to compensate for that too.

Every time the government does something that hurts business such as cap income streams, raise taxes, add new regulations....ALL costs get passed down to consumers and it's the consumer that gets screwed.

You don't suppose. do you, that BAC is desperate for money after they made very bad decisions that cost them dearly? That this new charge has nothing to do with the Dodd Frank Bill, but that is just a smoke screen. No of course not, corporations, especially banks, would NEVER lie.

 

[piezoe]

Quote from Stok:

+1

That is what makes the FTT so dangerous. Populous movement and at the end it is the little guys paying for the taxes/fees...but is sold as going after the big bad bankers..the masses are too dumb to understand that guberments always fuck things up and the little guy pays.

Indeed. corporations are always right and always for the little guy, and government always fucks things up and can't do anything right. It's pretty simple really!

 

[Free Thinker]

Quote from Maverickz:

As I already said the consumer is the one ALWAYS paying the price.

OLD WAY:
Banks charged retailers 44 cents per debit card transaction.
Retailers did NOT absorb this cost they passed it on to consumers. Although that 44 cents averaged into many different products probably made the cost invisible to consumers.

NEW WAY:
Banks can now only charge 21 cents per debit card transaction.
Retailers did NOT lower their prices to reflect the lower cost, they are just pocketing the difference.
Banks are now increasing other fees to replace the lost revenue.
The consumer is now still paying the increased cost to the retailers AND the new fees all thanks to Obama, Dodd and Frank trying to "help".

No thanks. We don't need this kind of help.

OLD WAY Banks charged retailers 44 cents per debit card transaction.
Retailers did NOT absorb this cost they passed it on to consumers MOST OF WHICH DID NOT USE DEBIT CARDS. is that fair. why shouldnt the users of the debit cards carry the cost?

 

[Maverickz]

Quote from piezoe:

You don't suppose. do you, that BAC is desperate for money after they made very bad decisions that cost them dearly? That this new charge has nothing to do with the Dodd Frank Bill, but that is just a smoke screen. No of course not, corporations, especially banks, would NEVER lie.

They probably are desperate for money. First they have a major income stream cut in half by Dodd-Frank then the US government filed a lawsuit against them and 16 other banks over the whole toxic mortgage fiasco which was pushed on them by Bill Clinton. Oddly left out of the suit are Fannie and Freddy who were probably more culpable in this fiasco than any other lending institutions.

 

[piezoe]

Quote from dandxg:

How do we explain China artificially pegging their currency to ours? How do explain China. Not by any means are they entirely free market and they are eating our lunch.

What about the Fed? They trash the dollar to spur exports?

Why do you want an explanation. Isn't it obvious? (Oh, forgive me. You're not a rocket scientist)

 

[Maverickz]

Quote from Free Thinker:

OLD WAY Banks charged retailers 44 cents per debit card transaction.
Retailers did NOT absorb this cost they passed it on to consumers MOST OF WHICH DID NOT USE DEBIT CARDS. is that fair. why shouldnt the users of the debit cards carry the cost?

The problem is retailers did not change their prices after Dodd-Frank! This means EVERYONE is still paying for the old transaction costs AND debit card users are now paying even more. You think THAT is fair?

 

[piezoe]

Quote from Maverickz:

They probably are desperate for money. First they have a major income stream cut in half by Dodd-Frank then the US government filed a lawsuit against them and 16 other banks over the whole toxic mortgage fiasco which was pushed on them by Bill Clinton. Oddly left out of the suit are Fannie and Freddy who were probably more culpable in this fiasco than any other lending institutions.

Indeed, can we sue Fanny and Freddie? Opps, that would be like suing ourselves.

 

[Free Thinker]

Quote from Maverickz:

The problem is retailers did not change their prices after Dodd-Frank! This means EVERYONE is still paying for the old transaction costs AND debit card users are now paying even more. You think THAT is fair?

how can you know that? did you question every retailer?

 

[piezoe]

Quote from Maverickz:

China is violating free trade practices with currency manipulation. There is a bill in Congress now to try and address that (although not the way I would do it).

The Fed is part of the problem not part of the solution. The best thing Government can do to help business is get out of the way. I don't mean all regulation should be trashed, it needs to be streamlined to protect consumers with the least impact to business as possible, not the most impact as it seems they are doing today.

I don't suppose that it has ever occurred to you that you might have everything exactly backwards.

I'll admit that I don't know that that is the case. But could it be possible that America, the first country to perfect capitalism, is now suffering from "capitalism gone wild"? (I can't just can't wait for the video. )