So You Don’t want to nationalized Banks,
You may be better off getting a loan with the local loan shark. Oh…
Your credit card interest rate is now 26% (did you read the fine print)
I keep hearing “when confidence returns” or “when trust is restored”. That is not what will get us out of this.
What will, I am ashamed to admit, is what got us into it… GREED !
Yes greed is what got us into this mess any only greed will get us out. When the stingy bankers who keep a tight fist on our taxpayer bail-out dollars think they can safely make a buck, they will lend it. There is a bunch of capitol sitting there waiting for the dust to settle before investment. The quicker you get the dust to settle, the faster it is to see good investment opportunities. The uncertainty of the condition of the banks is holding many things up. It could be that the banks are really taking the taxpayer for a longer harder ride now they have a fresh horse.
.I do not think they will stop until they know there is no more money coming from the taxpayer.
Most of the public does not want to see the banks be nationalized and understanding the reason for the concern, I would not normally want to see this either but
the bailout for the banking industry is not nationalizing, at least yet. At this point the government is just a shareholder in the banks. but if things do not work-out, I have no problem with at least taking all of shareholder value (not bond holders) into public trust. Nobody can agree on what the proper solution is but if the government has a complete look at the books, I’m sure we will get a solution much quicker than not. If things do not work out, we will have no choice but to fully nationalize, and at that point will be wishing we had done it right from the start to get a clean house, or at least one we know where the dirt is.
Once they get these band-aid solutions in place, we will just have to wait and see how they work out.
But while we wait, I can only suggest a re-making of the entire credit standard from the ground up with plenty of rules and regs to follow.
A Wish List to include:
A government made standard (or limits) to credit score and items that affect score.
A interest range for scores in ranges.
A maximum interest rate for any loan and loans in default ( loans in default could only charge higher for amounts in default).
Variable interest rates that are not strictly tied to prime rate should be forbidden (no other variance shall be allowed).
Banks may not invest in non banking products inside or out of the U.S.
With the current crisis in the mend, I don’t think you will see any credit card reform coming from the federal government anytime soon but I think the people in each of the states should start lobbying their own proposals for law. State Ballot issues from the voters are the path to follow here.
The fact that we are not truly nationalizing the banks, at this point may, in the very near future, be very MOOT NEWS to us all !