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Donkees

(31,074 posts)
Thu May 9, 2019, 09:40 AM May 2019

In March 2009 Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would cap most interest rates at 15 percent

In March 2009, one senator we spoke to -- Bernie Sanders, an Independent from Vermont -- introduced legislation that would cap most interest rates at 15 percent. He was able to bring it to the floor for a roll call vote two months later, when debate on the credit card bill was in full swing. It was shot down 33-60.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/creditcards/themes/caprates.html



For much of human history usury laws have been in place -- rules that prohibit charging unreasonably high rates of interest on loans. Christianity, Islam and Judaism all prohibit the practice because usury takes advantage of others and is unfair. For many years the United States had state usury laws which kept interest rates low.

Then came the 1978 Supreme Court decision Marquette v. First of Omaha Service Corp., which blew the lid off interest rate ceilings. The court ruled that rates could be decided based not on where the borrower lived, but where the credit decision was made -- essentially, banks could "export" their interest rates by setting up operations elsewhere. In states like South Dakota and Delaware, which eliminated interest rate caps, banks set up credit card operations, loaned out billions and credit card usage soared.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/creditcards/themes/caprates.html


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In March 2009 Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would cap most interest rates at 15 percent (Original Post) Donkees May 2019 OP
Bernie is consistently on the right side of history and that's what I want in a leader. Not Nanjeanne May 2019 #1
Kicked and recommended. Uncle Joe May 2019 #2

Nanjeanne

(4,877 posts)
1. Bernie is consistently on the right side of history and that's what I want in a leader. Not
Thu May 9, 2019, 10:17 AM
May 2019

one who has to “evolve” to match where the country is — but one that sets the goal of where the country should be.

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