国家地理-2008-01-05 Secret History of the Credit Card (5)

Critics like Elizabeth Warren believes that there would be fewer complains if the credit card industry clearly disclosed how its business works, particularly when it comes to the minimum monthly payment.

If people knew that the cost of minimum monthly payment was that they would still be paying for yesterday's trip to the shopping mall for the next 35 years, some people might decide to pay a lot more than the minimum. And the industry knows that. That's why they don't want to tell.

You advertise in your bills what the minimum monthly payment is. But you don't tell people, "how much that might cost you if you stuck to the minimum payment." Why not?

The disclosure would be wrong 99 percent of the time because nobody, almost nobody, pays exactly the minimum, that minimum, every month for through the 20 years and never charges another thing. This can be a hyper technical extensive disclosure that nobody would understand. So we are against disclosures that nobody would understand and that are wrong. We are for disclosures that help people understand. That's simple.

This is a nonsense argument. In the line directly under the line, it says minimum monthly payment; there is a simple sentence that can be added: If you make minimum monthly payments, it will take you how many years, 35 years, and how many months to pay off this bill.

The man who takes credit for inventing the two percentage minimum payment thinks more disclosure is useless.

This is a fascination¹ that every now and then someone with an act to grade or someone who thinks he is going to help consumers has on his mind, but if we had a tape and we ran a computer on transcript² of 10, 000 customers service calls with questions. Ok, I don't think you'd ever heard that question. So I am kind of baffled at the artificiality of that. I don't think that's what consumers want to know because they are not expected to make minimum payments forever.

Do you know if you made the minimum payment, for instance, on your bill, how long it will take you to pay it off?

I am not nary to find out how long I'm gonna to pay it off.

Would like to know? Sure, yes, yeah, en.

That would inspire me to put down more. That would inspire me. And I think that's probably why they don't put it down; they wouldn't inspire more people to pay more than a minimum.

Virtually everyone who holds credit card one way or the another under existing laws today and provisions can be completely taken advantage of by the credit card industry. So there is a deception³ going on, to get you into the game, once you are in, and I've got you in, then if you / get out, I charge you, if you don't meet your obligations, I charge you, you move left, you move right, I've got you.

So what you are gonna to do about it? I got legislation as I get a bill. There is always a quick answer here and I don't know far ago because I've tried this in the past and I knew of the issue.

A good deal of the blame for the crisis of credit card debt/ was seen in America, lies in the how the practice is, are followed by credit card companies.

In the summer of 2004, Senator Dodd introduced a credit card reform bill that would among other things require credit card companies to disclose how long it would take consumers to pay off their balance. But it is not optimistic that the bill will pass, as many previous attempts to reform the credit card business have all failed.

Why haven't you and other lawmakers been able to put some regulations into place? Is it their political power?

Sure there is no question about it, I mean, every time we threat to offer legislation, this industry has become very powerful, and it is very successful in defeating every legislative⁴ attempt that were made over the last several years to inject some responsibility and a part of this credit card industry.

1 fascination   

n.令人着迷的事物，魅力，迷恋

参考例句：

• He had a deep fascination with all forms of transport.他对所有的运输工具都很着迷。
• His letters have been a source of fascination to a wide audience.广大观众一直迷恋于他的来信。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 deception   

n.欺骗，欺诈；骗局，诡计

参考例句：

• He admitted conspiring to obtain property by deception.他承认曾与人合谋骗取财产。
• He was jailed for two years for fraud and deception.他因为诈骗和欺诈入狱服刑两年。

4 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。