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Tuesday March 25, 2008
Credit Card Practices and Consumer Debt
Debt counselors around the region say they're seeing an increasing number of people with credit card interest rates exceeding 30 percent and balances they can't possibly pay. Congressman Peter Welch says he's been getting an earful from Vermont consumers and retailers who are fed up with what he calls "unfair bait-and-switch practices" by the credit card industry. Welch supports a Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, which seeks to protect consumers from predatory credit card practices. But some bankers warn that tampering with credit card pricing formulas could mean higher rates for people who do pay their bills on time.
We talk with Congressman Welch about his hopes for a legislative
solution, and with consumer finance expert Karen Gross, the president of Bennington's Southern
Vermont College, about how consumers can protect themselves and how the system
could become more balanced and transparent.(Listen)
Also on the program, Candace Page of the Burlington Free Press fills us in on spotted salamanders, vernal pools and the amphibious mating rites of spring. (Listen)
And Burlington comedienne Martha Tormey ruminates on confidentiality and what happens when the ethics of professional life and private life collide. (Listen)
- Congressman Peter Welch on Cardholders' Bill of Rights
- Comprehensive summary of bill
- Link to Martha Tormey’s April 16 performance
- Save the Salamanders website
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