Is Obama Against Predatory Lending or Not?

CREDIT CARD INTEREST RATES:

Obama has a way of ducking hard votes or explaining away his bad votes by trying to blame poorly-written statutes. Case in point: an amendment he voted on as part of a recent bankruptcy bill before the US Senate would have capped credit card interest rates at 30 percent. Inexplicably, Obama voted against it, although it would have been the beginning of setting these predatory lending rates under federal control. Even Senator Hillary Clinton supported it.

Now Obama explains his vote by saying the amendment was poorly written or set the ceiling too high. His explanation isn’t credible as Obama offered no lower number as an alternative, and didn’t put forward his own amendment clarifying whatever language he found objectionable.

Why wouldn’t Obama have voted to create the first federal ceiling on predatory credit card interest rates, particularly as he calls himself a champion of the poor and middle classes? Perhaps he was signaling to the corporate establishment that they need not fear him. For all of his dynamic rhetoric about lifting up the masses, it seems Obama has little intention of doing anything concrete to reverse the cycle of poverty many struggle to overcome.

http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/The_Obama_Craze_Count_Me_Out_5413.html

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17 comments:

  1. Sliding Into Oblivion:

    to be fair..he voted on fewer things than he didnt vote on

  2. F P:

    He has already spoke out against predatory lending. I agree with his stand.

  3. candlewicke v1.02:

    The ceiling is set WAY too high. I wouldn’t have voted for it either.

  4. Emily Dew:

    You are 100% right. You can call yourself Superman, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound … but that doesn’t mean you are. People don’t look at Obama’s record or the types of people he’s been associating with for decades (e.g. Pastor Wright, Tony Rezko, Louis Farrakhan) and put all those pieces together. They just listen to his halcyon speeches and believe every word he says. If you look at the man’s actions versus listening to what he says, you will get a completely different picture of who this guy is. He’s the biggest con man since P.T. Barnum.

    EDIT: To Politico: Obama DID throw Rev. Wright under the bus! How did you manage to miss that? It was in all the newspapers and talked about on all the political commentary shows, both radio and TV.

  5. Ronald G:

    Probably he is. I wish Republicans were against it but they seem to feel that personal responsibility takes priority over stopping predetors.

  6. Michael R-2:

    No, he’s for predatory taxes on the middle classes to feed and increase welfare for the lower classes, his black brothers. He will "borrow" off of our labor to transfer wealth to those who don’t labor.

    To those who say 30% is too high–you should know that at least it WAS a cap! Instead, he voted for NO CAP. Do you have no idea how anything works? No wonder you support Obama. A vast re-education program is needed before democracy can work.

  7. jmaximus9:

    30% is too high, thats why he didn’t vote for it.

  8. wolfgame30:

    30% …think about that number for a minute (as you obviously have not)

    That is way to high and is very much still a interest rate that people can not afford.

  9. Jack Sparrow:

    Could this be why he is for it??

    To raise taxes. Proposed changes in taxes after 2008 General election:

    CAPITAL GAINS TAX

    MCCAIN
    15% (no change)

    OBAMA
    28%

    CLINTON
    24%

    How does this affect you? If you sell your home and make a profit,
    you will pay 28% of your gain on taxes. If you are heading toward
    retirement and would like to down-size your home or move into a retirement
    community, 28% of the money you make from your home will go to taxes.
    This proposal will adversely affect the elderly who are counting on the
    income from their homes! as part of their retirement income.

    DIVIDEND TAX

    MCCAIN

    15% (no change)

    OBAMA
    39.6%

    CLINTON
    39.6%

    How will this affect you? If you have any money invested in stock
    market, IRA, mutual funds, college funds, life insurance, reti! rement a
    ccounts, or anything that pays or reinvests dividends, you will now be
    paying nearly 40% of the money earned on taxes if Obama or Clinton
    become president. The experts predict that "Higher tax rates on dividends
    and capital gains would crash the stock market yet do absolutely nothing
    to cut the deficit."

    INCOME TAX

    MCCAIN
    (no changes)
    Single making 30K – tax $4,500
    Single making 50K – tax $12,500
    Single making 75K – tax $18,750
    Married making 60K- tax $9,000
    Married making 75K – tax $18,750
    Married making 125K – tax $31,250

    OBAMA
    (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
    Single making 30K – tax $8,400
    Single making 50K – tax $14,000
    Single making 75K – tax $23,250
    Married making 60K – tax $16,800
    Married making 75K – tax $21,000
    Married making 125K – tax $38,750

    CLINTON
    (reversion to pre-Bush tax cuts)
    Single making 30K – tax $8,400
    Single making 50K – tax $14,000
    Single making 75K – tax $23,250
    Married making 60K – tax $16,800
    Married making 75K – tax $21,000
    Married making 125K – tax $38,750

    How does this affect you? No explanation needed. This is pretty
    straight forward.

    INHERITANCE TAX

    MCCAIN
    0%
    (No change, Bush repealed this tax)

    OBAMA
    keep the inheritance tax

    CLINTON
    keep the inheritance tax

    How does this affect you? Many families have lost businesses, farms
    and ranches, and homes that have been in their families for generations
    because they could not afford the inheritance tax. Those willing their
    assets to loved ones will not only lose them to these taxes.
    NEW TAXES BEING PROPOSED BY BOTH CLINTON AND OBAMA

    * New government taxes proposed on homes that are more than 2400
    square feet
    * New gasoline taxes (as if gas weren’t high enough already)
    * New taxes on natural resources consumption (heating gas, water,
    electricity)
    * New taxes on retirement accounts

    and last but not least….

    * New taxes to pay for socialized medicine so we can receive the same
    level of medical care as other third-world countries!!!

    Can you afford Clinton or Obama? I can’t!!!!!

    (in case you want more information on Obama’s tax and spend agenda:

    If Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) Could Enact All Of His Campaign
    Proposals, Taxpayers Would Be Faced With Financing $874.35 Billion In New
    Spending Over One White House Term:
    Updated February 14, 2008: Obama’s National Infrastructure
    Reinvestment Bank Will Cost $60 Billion Over Ten Years; Equal To $6 Billion A
    Year And $24 Billion Over Four Years. Obama: “I’m proposing a National
    Infrastructure Reinvestment Bank that will invest $60 billion over ten
    years.” (Sen. Barack Obama, Remarks On Economic Policy, Janesville, WI,
    2/13/08)

    Obama’s Health Care Plan Will Cost Up To $65 Billion A Year; Equal To
    $260 Billion Over Four Years. “[Obama] campaign officials estimated
    that the net cost of the plan to the federal government would be $50
    billion to $65 billion a year, when fully phased in, and said the revenues
    from rolling back the tax cuts were enough to cover it.” (Robin Toner
    and Patrick Healy, “Obama Calls For Wider And Less Costly Health Care
    Coverage,” The New York Times, 5/30/07)

    Obama’s Energy Plan Will Cost $150 Billion Over 10 Years, Equal To
    $15 Billion Annually And $60 Billion Over Four Years. “Obama will invest
    $150 billion over 10 years to advance the next generation of biofuels
    and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of plug-in
    hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable energy, invest
    in low-emissions coal plants, and begin the transition to a new digital
    electricity grid.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint For Change,”
    http://www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 25)

    Obama’s Tax Plan Will Cost Approximately $85 Billion A Year; Equal To
    $340 Billion Over Four Years. “[Obama’s] proposed tax cuts and
    credits, aimed at workers earning $50,000 or less per year, would cost the
    Treasury an estimated $85 billion annually.” (Margaret Talev, “Obama
    Proposes Tax Code Overhaul To Help The Poor,” McClatchy Newspapers, 9/19/07)

    Obama’s Plan Would Raise Taxes On Capital Gains And
    Dividends, And On Carried Interest. Obama’s tax plan includes: “[i]ncreasing
    the highest bracket for capital gains and dividends and closing the
    carried interest loophole.” (Obama For America, “Barack Obama: Tax
    Fairness For The Middle Class,” Fact Sheet, http://www.barackobama.com, Accessed
    1/8/08)

    Obama’s Economic Stimulus Package Will Cost $75 Billion. “Barack
    Obama’s economic plan will inject $75 billion of stimulus into the economy
    by getting money in the form of tax cuts and direct spending directly
    to the people who need it most.” (Obama For America, “Barack Obama’s
    Plan To Stimulate The Economy,” Fact Sheet, http://www.barackobama.com, 1/13/08)

    Obama’s Early Education And K-12 Package Will Cost $18 Billion A
    Year; Equal To $72 Billion Over Four Years. “Barack Obama’s early education
    and K-12 plan package costs about $18 billion per year.” (Obama For
    America, “Barack Obama’s Plan For Lifetime Success Through Education,”
    Fact Sheet, http://www.barackobama.com, 11/20/07, p. 15)

    Obama’s National Service Plan Will Cost $3.5 Billion A Year; Equal To
    $14 Billion Over Four Years. “Barack Obama’s national service plan
    will cost about $3.5 billion per year when it is fully implemented.”
    (Obama For America, “Helping All Americans Serve Their Country: Barack
    Obama’s Plan For Universal Voluntary Citizen Service,” Fact Sheet,
    http://www.barackobama.com, 12/5/07)

    Obama Will Increase Our Foreign Assistance Funding By $25 Billion.
    “Obama will embrace the Millennium Development Goal of cutting extreme
    poverty around the world in half by 2015, and he will double our foreign
    assistance to $50 billion to achieve that goal.” (Obama For America,
    “The Blueprint For Change,” http://www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 53)
    Obama

    Obama Will Provide $2 Billion To Aid Iraqi Refugees. “He will provide
    at least $2 billion to expand services to Iraqi refugees in
    neighboring countries, and ensure that Iraqis inside their own country can find a
    safe-haven.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint For Change,”
    http://www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 51)

    Obama Will Provide $1.5 Billion To Help States Adopt Paid-Leave
    Systems. “As president, Obama will initiate a strategy to encourage all 50
    states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion
    fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the
    costs for employees and employers.” (Obama For America, “The Blueprint
    For Change,” http://www.barackobama.com, Accessed 1/14/08, p. 15)

    Obama Will Provide $1 Billion Over 5 Years For Transitional Jobs And
    Career Pathway Programs, Equal To $200 Million A Year And $800 Million
    Over Four Years. “Obama will invest $1 billion over five years in
    transitional jobs and career pathway programs that implement proven methods
    of helping low-income Americans succeed in the workforce.” (Obama For
    America, “The Blueprint For Change,” http://www.barackobama.com, Accessed
    1/14/08, p. 42)

    Obama Will Provide $50 Million To Jump-Start The Creation Of An
    IAEA-Controlled Nuclear Fuel Bank. Obama: “We must also stop the spread of
    nuclear weapons technology and ensure that countries cannot build — or
    come to the brink of building — a weapons program under the auspices
    of developing peaceful nuclear power. That is why my administration will
    immediately provide $50 million to jump-start the creation of an
    International Atomic Energy Agency-controlled nuclear fuel bank and work to
    update the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.” (Sen. Barack Obama,
    “Renewing American Leadership,” Foreign Affairs, 7-8/07)

    Keep in mind this does not include his "World poverty tax" Which gives the UN $846,000,000,000.00 ($846 Billion of our tax money. I guess the above plans is what he intends to pay for it with.) The tax will be handed over to the UN to distribute to poor nations, mostly in Africa.

    In other words, it will support dictators and corrupt governments instead of helping the people it was intend for.

    He voted to do away with ALL of Bush’s tax cuts. That means the middle class get a 8% increase and the 14 million Bush took off the tax rolls complaetely are back on.

    And a partridge in a pear tree…

    And a mule for the farmer, and 40 acres of land

  10. Don H:

    Yes.

  11. Joan Sandverysmart:

    All people suffer from preditory lending, so
    I think he will address that with serious
    action, as part of his promise to the American people.

  12. allen a:

    ya think ! obama is for obama,did you just figure that out.this is all about power to control the population.hope and change,haha! you better hope if this turkey gets elected and raises taxes,that he will leave some change in your pockets……smaller pay checks for all his adoring followers !

  13. truthsayer:

    It’s very unfortunate that the people that can least afford to pay high interest rates are most often the ones paying them… And in many cases they are blind sided… Totally ignorant of the fact that a late payment can turn a 10.9% interest rate into 30% or higher!

    It’s hard to say where personal responsibility should end and Government regulations should begin… Personally, I think education is the answer…

    People need to learn the value of good credit scores and how to get and maintain one… I believe that young couples especially should make a point of finding a financial mentor.. It could be one of the smartest decisions of their life..

    It’s amazing how much money people throw away on high interest rates, late fees, and interest only loans… If they only knew how much more spendable cash they would have if they handled their finances responsibly…

    Both Obama’s and Hillary’s economic policies would be bad for America.. We need to reduce spending and reduce taxes… Obama and Hillary would raise taxes and increase spending… Which is bad for the economy…

  14. politicoswizzlestick:

    wow. there is a whole bunch of crazy in this post and it’s responses.

    I would wager that you have not actually read the entire body of that bill. I agree the ceiling is too high and I suspect the bill did a lot more than just capped the interest rate.

    If you only had x number of votes of people wanting to cap max interest rates and if passing this law would exhaust momentum for this type of reform, it makes total sense not to support it. How many people have credit cards with 30+% interest rates? (I do acknowledge people do get 22 to 30% fairly frequently, but over 30%? I don’t think that is as common as you might think and I think most people default on those cards in short order — in a way, self-regulating. If cards over 30% default at a much higher rate then why do you want to prolong the gouging by capping the limit at 30%?)

    Suppose that any republican support for this bill that might make it viable came out of other provisions in the bill that Obama found objectionable?

    So what is the bill at that point? It is a pointless exercise with little positive yeild and potential negative yeild designed to get congressmen and women re-elected by creating the look of being beneficial. No wonder Hillary voted for it.

    The tax arguement is also very crazy talk obviously pulled from a republican smear tank (I mean think tank). Number 1 those tax numbers are off. Number two it doesn’t address the cost of the war, the interest on our debt, the cost of medicaid and medicare, and the concept of balanced budgeting to protect our children’s future.

    Is it possible taxes will go up for the middle class under Obama. Sure. When you add in job creation and health care benefits that would come from Obama in office vs. McCain though the middle class and poor would end up ahead.

    I have to laugh at the idea of Obama as a con man. Any con man worth their salt would have thrown Rev. Wright and Trinity under the bus to attempt to keep their marks. Clinton is all con. McCain is hard to evaluate (embracing Bush policies is just weird). Obama? Jeez. Crazy talk.

    Emily Dew – No, he did not. He did the same thing he did with Powers and everyone else affiliated with his campaign who overstepped — he removed them from his campaign and said there was no room for those types of word choices. Throwing Wright under the bus would have been condeming Wright and Trinity as racist and unpatriotic. He never condemned his church or the man as racist or unpatriotic as you and others would have had him do. Obama condemned Farrakan. That was a condemnation. He did nothing of the sort to Wright. Frankly, I appreciate his course of action in that regard. He is not someone given to knee jerk reactions, nor a political opportunist, but rather a person who judges everyone on their full body of work in determining their individual merits. Anyone who has bothered to read a full sermon from which the clips are taken is fully aware of what a character assasination the media has put on Wright. At worst, Wright is a religious blowhard the level of a Fallwell or Swaggart. Just like those two gentlemen of faith Wright is on record saying things that probably sound a lot stronger than he feels (an educated guess from the rest of the sermon text).

  15. LilbitFiery:):

    The only way I know how to answer this question is this: Barack Hussein Obama is a lying leftist politician that has been biding
    his time while hiding his true feelings and intentions about this
    great country! Obama is nothing more than a slick talker! I
    guarantee the Obamanians that if he becomes the next President, EVERYONE will regret it~
    Lack of experience, dances around questions without giving
    straight answers! 30%? He probable had his own personal
    "experience" to sway his vote on that one! It is always the same thing with him, lies, lies, and more lies! I am going to
    laugh so loud if he gets the DN and the Replicans tear him apart. B/C folks really aren’t researching the truth on him, they are hypnotized by his "preaching"!~!!!! Wait until the cookies crumble!

  16. Mich:

    Obama may be for predatory taxation of the viable working households of America. Increasing tax revenues is necessary to increase big government programs and the political powers inherent in them.

    Some federal regulations are obviously necessary, but Uncle Sam shouldn’t oversee too closely how Americans choose to spend their monies, not in our democracy, which is not a socialistic centralized political system.

    Where were the PSAs from Obama’s senator’s office explaining to the American public the risks and consequences of risky borrowing. Now Obama is claiming a know-all vision of domestic monetary policy. Where were his visions before so many Americans got into financial troubles?

    Oh yah, he was groovin’ in Jeremiah Wright’s church.

  17. Lela A:

    seems like he is not going to do anything about lending

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