Picking battles
I nearly choked on my lunch reading the comments on a Yahoo story from Huffington Post about Visa cutting debit card swipe fees in Europe while raising them in the US. First the story;
Despite a recent study that found swipe fees are stalling the creation of nearly a quarter million U.S. jobs, Visa raised its debit card interchange rate for American retailers to .95 percent plus $.20 per transaction in April, according to the Retail Industry Leaders Association. In contrast, Visa Europe announced Monday that it would be capping transaction fees at 0.2 percent for the next four years.
A spokesperson for Visa, Inc. said the average Visa Debit transaction fee rose by less than 4 percent.
“Most of Visa’s U.S. debit rates have not changed,” she said. “Visa, Inc., did recently make a variety of program and interchange modifications to make digital currency even more convenient for consumers and merchants and to facilitate continued growth for Visa and its clients.”
A 4% increase. Terrible right? OK, so why aren’t Americans getting upset that low income earners are going to pay 50%-100% more in income taxes next year just by the President and Democrats doing nothing to extend the Bush tax cuts? If a 4% increase in the fee they pay at ATMs that don’t belong to their bank gets their panties wadded up, why aren’t more of them marching in the streets to extend the Bush tax cuts?
Well, here are some of the first comments on the article;
That’s because we have capitalism in America and socialism in Europe 😉
Yes, we should all move to Europe so we can have lower debit card fees.
killing jobs, thanks VISA
If a 4% increase in debit card fees are killing jobs, how many jobs will get “killed” next year due to the tax hike?
Good, maybe this will break our addiction to credit cards. If you can’t pay it off in 30 days you can’t afford it!
There you go, don’t pay off your debit card, blivet head.
we are all going broke anyway maybe its time to send a signal and really hurt the banks by only paying minum payments for 6 months if we could be a united states and unite in 6 months the banks would be on their knees.
A new challenger for the title of blivet head emerges.
VISA needs money!!! Screw them…that’s why I have NO credit cards!!! Start the campaign for no credit cards, period!!!!!
Yeah, THAT’s why you don’t have a credit card.
They just pay the republicans under the table to block any legislation, why do you think they want no regulation on anything.
Hey, I’m a republican…where’s my check from VISA?
Category: Economy, Liberals suck, Society
Who knew mommy’s basements were so FULL!
What is your source for those figues Jonn? Most of the Bush Tax cuts were on the wealthiest Americans
HM2 FMF-SW Ret: The Bush tax cuts in 2001 lowered the marginal tax rate on the lowest wage earners to 10% from 15%. Some were removed completely from tax rolls. So next year when the tax cuts expire, the 10% marginal rate goes back to 15% – a 50% increase. Those who didn’t pay taxes, will experience a 100% tax increase. See how that works?
Am I rich? Nope but the Bush tax cuts helped me save enough money to pay cash for my very first house last year.
Why don’t you give me a source for your claim that the Bush tax cuts were for the wealthiest Americans.
The left doesn’t object to taking money from the poor, they object to money being freely exchanged as part of a commercial transaction. Heaven forbid that corporate shareholders profit instead of some gov’t officials.
It is not the ATM fee that was raised, that is set by the machine owner. This fee is what a merchant has to pay when a customer pays by debit card. That is why Visa and MC and some of the others were pushing people to use the debit cards like credit cards i.e. sign the slip rather than use a pin. The payment card industry makes more money on the “credit” transactions.
Sponge,
Well said…. as with so much hitting the news by similar retards, the true shame is the general public believes these people.
HM2 FMF-SW Ret, wake up. The GWB tax cuts were across the board. Libeals scream because the rich got a larger tax cut (dollar wise), because they pay more taxes. I’ve yet to work for a poor man. First actual tax cut I had got in 50 years of paying taxes. Increases are quite common and O’Dumbo’s will be a doozy.
The Huffington post has nothing to say about how the health bill will put an unneeded burdon on resturaunts to post the health facts of their entire menu on the menu.
Or placing a burdon on young individuals just entering the work force to buy insurance. Thats right the health bill doesn’t give you insurance it just forces you to buy it.
Or how democrats bailed out all these companies rather than letting them fail solly for the reason of gaining control over them.
Notice how they deamonise each sector of our economy just before they try to pass legislation on it. And once they control it…. Its all fine and dandy. Anyone heard about GM or Crystler problems on the news recently?
Jonn-
HM will not be able to give you a source that the tax cuts were for the wealthy. They were across the board, just like when Reagan did it. It resulted in the highest revenues for income taxes in 2005. It also gave nice little welfare checks to those who *did not* pay taxes. Why is it those left-minded thinkers are always leaving that fact out?
And Jonn, you are correct that when the Bush tax cuts expire, that many middle income families will have a 50% increase. Although people like HM claim the Bush cuts caused the ruin we are in, they fail to understand simple economics. Obama *is* raising taxes, not only by letting the tax cuts expire, but in a myriad of ways.
The media wants to play games and say the recession is over…it’s not. By definition and souping up the numbers, but, hyperinflation is coming.
“Swipe fees are stalling the creation of a quarter of a million jobs”? Say what? Would that be a quarter of a millon saved, or created?
Did these people hyperventilate the same way when their Universities raised tuition 6, 10, and 15% a year? Evil universities paying off Republicans for no regulations no doubt…..