I want two laws passed when we take over the presidency and congress.

First, when you sign up for credit the interest rate you sign up for can never go up.

Second, when you sign up for insurance and pay your premiums, YOU GET FUCKING COVERAGE!

right?

What Id like passed is a law making corporations businesses and not persons.

:thumbsup:

at least hire PEOPLE to do the calling and junk the robo-callers.

If a service I pay for (my phone connection) is gonna be used to harass me in my home several times a day, I at least want to feel good about the fact that some people have jobs harassing me.

I'm not down with the *means* you advocate.

In particular, I have trouble getting excited about Congress limiting people's right to enter into contracts.

I agree something needs to be done by way of caveat emptor, but not allowing people to enter into contracts at the government's discretion doesn't seem to be a good way to go, imo.

The government creates artificial persons -- corporations -- and should be responsible for how they behave themselves. Just as you should be held accountable for what your dog does.

All I said was that I'm not excited about to government limiting my (and other Americans') right to enter into contracts.

If there's absolutely no other way to fix the borrower-getting-screwed problem, then I might be more on board. I'm not convinced in the least, however, that other avenues have been explored.

corporations should be restricted on what contracts they enter into.

If you want to agree to pay me 100% interest, you should be free to do it.

However, the government should be responsible for how corporations behave. They should restrict their ability to scam people.

I'm just saying that:

Limiting the right of corporations to enter into contacts with people

EQUALS

Limiting the right of people to enter into contracts with corporations


I'm not excited about the latter, so I'm not excited about the former. Unless, as I also said absolutely no other way of achieving the end-goal is possible.

Nobody is saying "limit the rights of corporations to enter into contracts." (that said, if they are not considered persons....)

What people above are saying is that they should not be able to alter the terms of the contract once it is signed. Raising the rates, to me, is altering the contract.

No person or entity should ever have the contractual power to alter the contract at will, with or without notification. In such a situation, what exactly is the point of the contract in the first place? Such an action should always be based at least upon the condition that the other parties to the contract accept and agree to the change. Furthermore, this should be a required, proactive measure on their part, not an "opt-out" form.

If it's really that important to alter the terms prior to the contract's termination, the company issuing the contract- for whatever purpose- can contact the other party or parties (in a credit card company's case, each of its customers, individually) and one-by-one, on a case-by-case basis, negotiate the new terms with the customer, personally (imagine that... negotiation). I would be ecstatic to see these companies be forced into dealing with such a legal requirement; that alone could end the ever-changing interest rates credit card holders almost always have to deal with.

We're talking about terms that change, not initial terms themselves.

You sign a contract saying the interest rate on you credit card is 10% you should only pay 10%. You sign a contract for insurance coverage, you pay the premiums, you should never get a letter saying you have a pre-existing condition and even though you are paying premiums you don't get coverage!

talking about.

My bad if I misunderstood.

Do you know that the credit card company you do buisiness with can raise your interest rates at any time for any reason?

Do you live in a cave?

control over what makes your credit score change. Basically you screw yourself by signing the contract yet you need the insurance. There should be laws saying those clauses can't be in the contract. Get it?

Your replies are as if there were no deregulation laws passed or something. Get honest will you?

I'm not asking you if you tried, mind- I'm asking if it was even possible.

Follow-up question:

Are there any other insurance companies which provide the insurance you were looking for that would not raise your rates due to a low credit score?

The credit industry is one of the few in America that arbitrarily-- and capriciously-- modifies contracts AFTER you've entered into them. Sure, they have the right to do that written into the contract, thus undermining the very nature of contracts. If contract protection is another term for "limiting people's right to enter into contracts" then the very notion of contractual agreement is suspect, IMO.

On the other hand, one could argue that only a fool would enter into such a contract, or someone so blinded by their own desires that they can't see the plainly advertised shafting they're agreeing to receive anytime the other party wants to give it to them. That's why I don't have ANY consumer credit debt. Credit cards are a sucker's bet that the issuing bank is serving your interests rather than their own.

Repeal the god damn "Patriot" Act so that the government's war on its own citizens is fucking over!

...

How we ever allowed them to allow 30% interest blows my mind.

Instead of giving direct marketers a postage break, they should have to pay more for the trees destroyed, energy used, and invasion of privacy.

Plus, the extra work recycling all that crap trying to wheedle folks in further debt.

That one single thing will correct this country's course and direct it away from fascism.