Credit Card Bubble is next wave of pain for U.S.

It started with the dot.com bubble.... next was the housing bubble which introduced the mortgage crisis. Now America prepares for the next cirisis which is the Credit Card Bubble.

Credit card companies are already preparing for the next financial crisis to hit America. They are reducing credit card limits and increasing interest on even the most prudent and responsible of buyers.

Granted, I would not be an advocate of credit card debt as the most sensible of financial decisions, however, for the millions who have lost their homes, their jobs, and who have had to pay for groceries and gas (all those frivilous purchases ) I don't see how these companies can come in and force these people to spend additional money on already insane interest rates.

Granted, times are tough... but does that mean taking advantage of people in already tough circumstances????

What a messed up world.

www.nytimes.com...


www.reuters.com...

www.reuters.com...

www.reuters.com...

www.reuters.com...

I wonder if anyone in the federal government has researched the level of pain the citizenry will endure. . . at what point will they throw up their hands and say, "I give up, take the house, take the car, we'll go camping permanently."

. . . Or, where 4 out of five members of the same family default on all their obligations, and move in with the remaining member with the least debt, just so everyone can eat.

It can't go on. People will start to get desperate. Man, the level of anxiety alone is enough to send us over the edge.

Did they not understand that we were angry about bailing out the bankers?

What happens when the banks own half the houses, and they are empty? What is going to happen when there are no more consumers. . . no one to buy the houses, no one selling stuff for people to buy on credit, or when the only people left are those who don't need credit?

Does the PTB and the elite understand that when the rest of America is broke and broken down, there will be no one to buy their gold? When your house is gone, when you don't have enough to eat, when you don't have a job, and you have no hope, are you really going to worry about taxes?

Don't they get it that they are plotting their own demise as well?

Credit card companies are already preparing for the next financial crisis to hit America. They are reducing credit card limits and increasing interest on even the most prudent and responsible of buyers.

This is how the banks will have to make there profits next unless the congress passes laws against it.

One thing i did 30 years ago was to cut up my cards.
I own my house and owe no one.

The easiest way out of debt is not to have credit cards.

If you need money take out a loan.
The interest is fixed for the life if the loan.

If they get you hooked on card debt they are the boss and can jack it anyplace they want.

With me now that i am on disability they by law can not garnish it.
my house is protected under a trust.
and i have two Nevada corporations accounts (not in my name)that they can not find without a federal court order. and i am listed as a signer for the accounts not the owner of the accounts.
that if they even supposed they existed.

One friend that is a lawyer told me that if someone tried to sue me they would have trouble finding a lawyer to take the case because i have nothing they could get in assets. (lawyers check the worth of people they are going to sue to see if its worth taking a case)

the only people that can come after my money is the tax man and i make sure the taxes are payed.

Howard Hughes payed no personal income tax the last 10 years he was alive. at the time he was one of the richest people alive.
everything he needed was payed for by his Nevada corporations.

If he needed a loan he got it from himself through his corporation accounts.
then he could write off the interest on his loans payment to his corporation with the IRS.

The rich got rich by gaming the system.
not with credit cards.

The rich own the company that backs there credit cards so they pay themselves the interest.


[edit on 19-11-2008 by ANNED]

[edit on 19-11-2008 by ANNED]

Originally posted by VelmaLu
Don't they get it that they are plotting their own demise as well?

America is imploding.

Divided we fall.

Matthew 12:26
And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?

bibleresources.bible.com...

[edit on 19-11-2008 by In nothing we trust]

I never would get a credit card just for this reason ,I knew allthis crap would happen and that if I had a credit card I'd really be screwed that and the whole idea of paying all that interest to use my money just p***ed me off just thinking about it

after years of making only minimum payments on $20,000.00 of credit card debt, many of my creditors decided to go ahead and raise my interest rates to between 21% and 27%. an outrage!

and as timing would have it, i was soon after fired.

a year later now, and i have just submitted a legal response to the law suit that is being brought against me by Discover Card.

it was all i could do to not be a complete smartass...but i was sure to mention in so many words my hatred for their business practices. i consider creditors no less than pure evil. how is it that a number (credit score) has come to rule our lives?!?!

my only consolation to the fact that i have the worst credit score in history is that i expect to have plenty of company in the near future.

credit card bubble is the LAST bubble. nothing left to pop! after that.

reply to post by tgidkp

What about the student loan bubble?
What about another mortgage bubble?
What about the ultimate bubble, the fiat money (dollar) bubble?

Which one will go first, I predict the credit card bubble is no 3 or 2. Dollar bubble is the very last one.

Perhaps the credit card bubble needs to burst.

People who borrow on cards without a plan to repay the debt are highly irresponsible.

Let's see how the left wingers pin this one on the greedy corporations and bankers...

reply to post by tgidkp


That was one of the most despicable posts I've ever seen on ATS.

You made the choice to take up credit and therefore indebt yourself to creditors, who clearly have the right to up rates (they all do it).

You then continuously rack up debt at an exponential rate via compound interest without ever paying back the principal amount for years, without a sustainable repayment plan.

Then after all that you call the creditors "pure evil"?!

Highly nonsensical. You borrowed a shovel from them to dig yourself into the hole you're in. Nobody forced credit upon you.

Come on man, stop deflecting and transferring the blame. The buck stops with you.

PS: And on top of that you take joy in the fact that there will be others in your situation?!

[edit on 19-11-2008 by 44soulslayer]

reply to post by 44soulslayer


i maintain that creditors are filth. the whole basis of our money system is corrupt and is designed to keep EVERYONE in debt FOREVER.

risk factors, such as my failure to pay, are accounted for and in fact are built into the system. it is literally impossible to pay (principal + interest) when only (principal) is available as payment. a certain percentage of forclosure is inevitable.

because today's rate of increasing forclosures has been engineered (IMO), i very much look forward to the mass of other failures joining me in revolt against this horribly corrupt system.

i will not apologise for being 'despicable'. go find another soap box to stand on.

(edit to add)

p.s. circumstances in life are at least 50% chance. dont speak too quickly, the axe may fall on you next.

[edit on 19-11-2008 by tgidkp]

reply to post by Jazzyguy


very good point about the fiat currency bubble is the last to go. but i think that would only be several days beyond the death of credit. to me, they are directly linked to one another.

i would so much prefer to live in a world where money is a representation of actual value and people generate it not by shifting numbers on paper, but rather, by actually creating something of worth.

perhaps a little too optimistic for our sad little world, huh?

reply to post by tgidkp


Just answer one question for me.

Who forced you to take out a credit card and rack up 20k in debt?

The system is entirely voluntary, and has existed for millenia. The only other alternative is Islamic Banking, where interest cannot be charged as it is considered usury. Perhaps you should move to Saudi Arabia if you feel that the current system used in the free world is "evil".

Originally posted by tgidkp
after years of making only minimum payments on $20,000.00 of credit card debt...

Consumer greed is as much a cause of the current economic crisis as is corporate greed.

reply to post by 44soulslayer


answer: "the same people who forced me to come to this god-forsaken planet."

i dont know who they are (i am not even sure that makes any sense), but it sounds right. i never asked to come here toil the earth for a shiny trinket, and i didnt invent the concept of scarcity. this game was rigged long before i came around.

i suppose you are blameless?

(you might want to check your "millennia" statement. i am pretty sure paper money, banking, and fiat currency are fairly new inventions.)

reply to post by anachryon


oh happy trample down on me day! i will have you know the majority of that debt funded my college education. stuipid with money: yes. greedy: no.

you're right! i am guilty, guilty, mother-effing GUILTY!

SO ARE WE ALL!!!

now go find someone else to make feel bad.

reply to post by tgidkp


Thats a fairly inane ramble. What are you on about?!

I dont really understand what you're trying to say, but I'll say this much. You are here on this planet now, for better or worse. Play the game. You seem to be stuck in self pity. Think about how much better your situation is than about half the rest of the world population. Go whine about how evil the nasty creditors are to a starving child in Africa; you'll see how insignificant your problems are by comparison. Statistically speaking, if you had running water when you were born, you were born into a privileged family (globally speaking).

And what do you mean by insinuating that I am guilty? What am I guilty of? Did I force you to rack up debt on your cards?

And yet again, this has nothing to do with fiat currency or fractional reserve banking. Those are valid concerns, but you cannot possibly blame your situation on them. Your situation is solely the result of your decisions. Im sure that there have been a lot of people in a worse situation than you who stuck to honest principles and didn't spend beyond their means...

I know what Im saying is incredibly abrasive, but I cant stand seeing people misattributing blame to "the system" and "the man" when in reality its entirely their fault. Quit bitching and pay your dues.

reply to post by 44soulslayer

The system is entirely voluntary, and has existed for millenia. The only other alternative is Islamic Banking, where interest cannot be charged as it is considered usury. Perhaps you should move to Saudi Arabia if you feel that the current system used in the free world is "evil".

WOW...No interest lending. I wonder why that pisses off European Bankers?

I seem to still be living in another world. I have several credit cards that I've had at least 20 years and they all have been given an increase and a drop in interest.

Of course, that might be because I pay my balances in full each month. I never have to pay interest.

I find t easier to carry credit cards rather than a wad of cash. I Can also keep my money in my interest bearing checking account longer.

I will never understand why some people get angry with lenders when they try to collect what was borrowed and a promise to pay back was made.

People that over spend and refuse to honor their obligations are part of our economical problem.

Just like the young couple that think they need a $500,000.00 home and two new automobiles the credit card junkies are irresponsible.

That old devil Greed has brought many of our countrymen to their knees.

There are a few rules in life that make it more tolerable. They are:
1. Drink in moderation
2. practice safe sex
3. drive safe and defensively
4. don't overspend
5. treat others as you want them to treat you

It's very simple. Have control of yourself and your habits.

We generally dig our own graves through irresponsible decisions. Overspending is one of those decisions.

reply to post by whiteraven


Ah well, its a roundabout method of doing business.

While Islamic banks don't charge interest for any money loaned, they take a stake in your business/ house/ whatever until you can repay the full amount.

Western System: You take a 1,000 dollar loan from a western bank, then paying back 1,100 dollars a year later (10% APR). Say during the business year, you made 2,000 dollars then you keep that 2,000 dollars and return the principal + interest. Overall you make 1900 dollars profit, bank makes 100 dollars profit.

Islamic: You take a 1,000 dollar loan for your business, at no interest rate. The bank takes a 5% stake in your business. You make 2,000 dollars revenue over the year and return the 1,000 principal owed to the bank. The bank also takes 5% of 2,000 dollars = 100 dollars. Overall you make 1900 dollars, the bank makes 100 dollars.

The only benefit in an Islamic system is if you cannot repay the debt according to the schedule, the bank is obliged to expand the milestones to fit your timescale. So its more flexible. This may sound good, but in other aspects is deadly. e.g. You can be jailed if you write a cheque (check) which bounces.

Overall finance is the same. Creditors HAVE to get something in return for loaning debtors money; otherwise there would be no flow of capital.

I started a thread on this subject a while back:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

And I will quote from my OP

this is what I fear is the real crisis facing us. The stock market has had little if any connection with reality for some time now.... BUT like the housing bubble, the credit card bubble keeps getting bigger and bigger and bigger. A day doesn't pass where I either am barraged with e-mails offering me credit or they show up in my mailbox at home.

For too long we have been living beyond our means and sooner or later, and it increasingly looks like sooner, the birds will come home to roost.

Mark my word, in 4 to 5 years time fewer people will have credit cards and more will be paying cash than have been in recent years...

As credit tightens and more specifically remains tight you will see card companies squeezing card holders more than they already do... add to that the deepening recession/depression and inflation more people will be put in the position of choosing to either taking care of their families or taking care of their credit card companies. And most people will if put in that position say screw the credit card companies. And when that starts happening on increasingly larger scales... it will make the Wall street mess look like small potatoes.

[edit on 19-11-2008 by grover]

Does the PTB and the elite understand that when the rest of America is broke and broken down, there will be no one to buy their gold? When your house is gone, when you don't have enough to eat, when you don't have a job, and you have no hope, are you really going to worry about taxes? Don't they get it that they are plotting their own demise as well?

reply to post by VelmaLu


Uh, no. For one thing, 75% of the population in the first great depression still had had jobs. This probably won't be different. Now there's also other countries. Whether in America or abroad, scientists, engineers and the work force will be cheaper to hire. If I were an elite, I would want this crisis.

They get it, alright.