either in this country or elsewhere. In Islamic cultures, any interest at all was considered to be usury and unlawful. In the US back in the 70's, there was an 18% cap on credit card rates – even during the height of stagflation, when inflation was much higher than it is now (actually, if I recall correctly, even 18% cap was a maximum that could be charged only if T-Bill rates had risen to a rate above where they are now).
While I fear that a cap may be painful for some, the reality is that higher rates are strong evidence of just how desperately sick our economy and financial laws are – it's a symptom of the money-printing that's gone on to fund wars that were fruitless for all but the MIC & Big Oil, of the decades-long suppression of wages, of the dismantling of Wall St. regulation, etc., etc..
This is a complex subject, but basically, the lack of lower caps on interest charged to ordinary consumers is a safety valve that has allowed the 1% to plunder us harder and longer than should ever have been permitted. While many other reforms are also necessary, it was clearly a mistake to eliminate usury caps to begin with; and in the bigger, longer-term picture, caps should definitely be re-imposed.
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