(Interesting. I know nothing about this issue, but I do know how i feel about credit card companies… – promoted by odum)

Expanding the field of progressive ideas is never easy.  As a resident of Vermont for 16 years, I learned from watching primary races on both the state and local level that the issues favored by Democrats around the state don’t always converge. We progressives are a mixed bunch with many causes and sometimes it can be tough to figure out which ones are worth going for.  The issue I’m about to talk about is one that Senator Leahy is well aware of, as he has taken a strong position in the past against the business practices of credit card companies.  However, for many of you, this may be your first time learning about this issue.

I am currently working with a group called the Merchants Payments Coalition, a collection of retailers from restaurants, convenience stores, grocery stores. They don’t have a lot in common — their markets are diverse and sometimes competitive, but one thing they agree on happens to be something U.S. PIRG and other progressive groups have been talking about.

The issue is Interchange Fees, a very complex (this is on purpose) fee imposed by the banks that issue credit cards for MasterCard and Visa. The fee is charged directly to merchants — so their interest should come as no surprise — but it is important to remember that ultimately this fee gets passed along to consumers in the form of higher prices on all products.

So what’s the big deal about that? Fees are a part of life, just part of doing business, right? Not in a market that is essentially a duopoly. Visa and MasterCard together control 80% of the U.S. credit card market, and the banks that issue their cards are usually the same banks (JP Morgan Chase) so they wield monopolistic control of the market.

There is also no way to avoid this fee. You can pretty much avoid any credit card fee if you don’t use credit cards — but not this one. One of their tricks is that any merchant who accepts credit cards cannot offer consumers a cash discount. Studies show that only 14% of the money collected from interchange fees is needed to cover the cost of processing credit card transactions. This means that a whopping 86% of the fee is extra profit for the card companies, or even worse, helps fund reward programs for high-income credit card owners.

Every time a low-income consumer purchases something with cash at a store that accepts credit cards, they are subsidizing plush reward programs for wealthy credit card users. It is essentially a reverse Robin Hood wealth transfer, from the poorest members of society to the wealthiest, and it is being encouraged by the card companies, who continue to offer even greater reward programs. A low-income consumer with a poor credit history is not allowed to enjoy the benefits of these reward programs, yet their hard-earned money helps fund them.

Now that we have a Democratic Congress, the use of committees is very important, and one we should put our stamp on is the Banking Committee. Chris Dodd has already started hearings on hidden credit card fees and predatory lending. Warren Reports at TPM Café followed that on the week it happened, and there is another diary on this subject at My Left Nutmeg.

What we need are more hearings to put further pressure on the credit card industry. Dodd is off to a good start, but we need more action. A major problem is that the interchange fee schedules and agreements are kept secret by Visa and MasterCard. First and foremost this is a matter of transparency — and the lack of it is hurting people’s pocketbooks. It doesn’t cost you much with each purchase you make, but it adds up fast. In fact, it’s the single biggest fee the card issuing banks collect, costing consumers $30 Billion dollars last year alone.

If the idea of indirect wealth transfer occurring between the poor and the rich every single day bothers you, then let Senator’s Leahy and Sanders know that you want interchange fees to be looked into.  I encourage members of this community to help us put pressure on the credit card companies in order to convince them the time has come to provide more transparency and lower these inflationary fees. 

Note of disclosure: I am writing this with input from others who are working with me to help raise awareness of this issue, so you may find a similar version of this diary on other progressive blogs. This is an important issue, so we will be around to follow up.

(Yay Rep Fisher! Now don’t forget to go sign that impeachment bill again – promoted by odum)

Vermont and Michael Fisher win Buzz flash’s Wings of Justice Award

Don’t know how to paste in the page, but check it out.  If someone can paste it in, please do so. (All set – o)

George W. Bush has formally declared himself to be above the law. Using signing statements attached to legislation, in a way that they have never been used before, he has flatly stated that he is not bound by laws outlawing torture, that he can open the mail of Americans if he wants, and that being a “commander in chief in time of war”, he can damn well ignore any other law that pleases him as well. This will include any law passed by Congress that tries to limit his capacity to wage more war in Iraq or Iran.
  And Congress doesn’t have the nerve to do a thing about it.
  Apparently, their oath of office, swearing to uphold and defend the Constitution is, like so many other promises from Washington politicians, empty rhetoric.
  The American people know what action should be taken. A majority of us want to see the President impeached. We know what can happen in the next two years: a further downward spiral of the Iraq disaster, a new war with Iran, further erosion of our civil liberties, and tens of thousands of new terrorists created by the Bush wrong move recruitment machine.
  Vermonters are taking the bull by the horns. Citizens have warned impeachment resolutions in 23 Vermont towns, and in four other towns had legally valid petitions denied by their selectboards. An impeachment resolution, with over 20 co-sponsors, has been introduced in the Vermont House.
  Unfortunately, our Democratic leaders in Montpelier take their marching orders from our esteemed Senators Sanders and Leahy, and they have made it clear that they don’t want to deal with impeachment. Their sights are set on the next election and don’t want Constitutional responsibilities to get in their way. The fact that they are relying on old and discredited political wisdom to make their mistaken electoral calculations is beside the point.
  Vermont tradition has been to act when action is needed, and that is what is now happening across the state. Impeachment debates and forums have been organized in several towns, three alone during Presidents’ Day week.
  An eleven town “Town Meeting Democracy Tour” is covering the state on March 2, 3, and 4, when Vermont Iraq veterans, with the help of Cindy Sheehan , John Nichols and others will be speaking out about the need to take impeachment action now.
  The Democratic leadership in the statehouse hopes that this call will die of its own accord, but they are in for a rude awakening. Business as usual means being complicit in the looming deaths of more Americans and Iraqis. It means sharing responsibility for the utter destruction of a nation and, if we’re not lucky, an entire region.
  Vermonters have begun to call upon the legislature to act on impeachment. We know that it is within their rights, as outlined by Thomas Jefferson, and that it is their duty as evidenced by any cursory understanding of morality, justice and the Constitution to do so.
  For too long our political leaders have enjoyed the reputation of being small “d” democrats. They pat themselves on the back for being close to the people. They thank citizens for “doing good work” and then make sure that the fruits of that work never materialize.
  While many Vermonters have begun to call the legislature to task, it will take a deafening roar before it penetrates the barrier that they are nestled behind. The next few weeks will tell us if the people of this state are up to the challenge of making that roar heard.

( – promoted by odum)

George Bush has formally placed himself above the law with his signing statements, declaring himself not bound by laws prohibiting torture or opening the mail of Americans to name a couple. the Congress is not yet willing to act. We have a chance to jumpstart them into motion.
A Vermont House  resolution calling for the impeachment of George Bush is now waiting action in the Judiciary committee. It will take a flurry of calls and letters to get them to move on it. Unfortunately, Sanders and Leahy both have been putting pressure on the statehouse leadership to not take action. the will of the people only goes so far with these two, apparently.
Here is a list of phone numbers of the judiciary members. The numbers came from the legislature’s web site, so don’t be shy about calling. Please tell them to move on this resolution and let it go to the House floor for consideration.
Bill Lippert , chair – 482.3528
Maxine Grad – Moretown 496.7667
Margaret Flory – Pittsford 483.6854
Alison Clarkson – Woodstock 457.4627
Andrew Donaghy – Poultney 287.9693
Avis Gervais – Enosburg 933.4794
Willem Jewett – Ripton 388.0320
Patty Komline – Dorset 442.8613
Kathy Pellet  – Chester  875.1372
Dick Marek – Newfane has already signed on as a
co-sponsor.
Speaker Gaye Symington also requires some persuasion. You can call her at 899.3324.

A good editorial in the NYT today (entitled “Making Martial Law Easier”), highlighting Senator Leahy’s attempt to restore the provisions of law referred to as posse comitatus that restrict the President’s use of the military domestically. Of the many disturbing things this President and his GOP Congress did, this was one of the more chilling. Passed and signed into law in a very hush-hush manner, the law opens up the door for Bush to use the National Guard and other military forces domestically for almost any purpose he might deem appropriate. From the Tmes:

The newly enacted provisions upset this careful balance. They shift the focus from making sure that federal laws are enforced to restoring public order. Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any ”other condition.”

Changes of this magnitude should be made only after a thorough public airing. But these new presidential powers were slipped into the law without hearings or public debate. The president made no mention of the changes when he signed the measure, and neither the White House nor Congress consulted in advance with the nation’s governors.

There is a bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, and Christopher Bond, Republican of Missouri, and backed unanimously by the nation’s governors, that would repeal the stealthy revisions.

Leahy was very concerned about this at the time the changes were enacted and was firing off a lot of warnings to no avail. It’s likely due to a combination of outrage fatigue, and the simple matter of the issue being lost against the cacophanous din of regular, almost routine egregious power-grabs that it didn’t gain traction when it happened.

It’s good to see that he’s wasted no time in acting correctively. The Times editorial fully supports Leahy’s corrective remedy and rightly admonishes lawmakers never to embark on such a draconian change without a full and open debate.