It's time to pay the bill for easy credit

Many are complaining the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights recently signed by President Obama is just another government intrusion into private business.

Maybe the bill does overstep the boundaries of good government but it also takes to task what should have been good financial sense, such as prohibiting issuing credit cards to minors and clearly stating the terms of the contract.

It should not take an attorney to interpret the terms on a credit card application. Fees and the ability of the credit card company to change the terms of the contract should be plainly stated and that just has not been the case.

How many of us have actually read the fine print on a credit application, studied the terms and analyzed what they could mean to us in the event we lose our job, become disable or otherwise become unable to pay? Yes, we all should do that but few do.

The fact is we have become a nation of credit cry babies. We want it and we want it now and we don't care how we get it. We don't consider credit as actual money but rather an easy way to get what we want. Credit can be a good thing. It can help people buy homes, cars and establish businesses. At what point did we lose sight of the fact that borrowers should have the capacity to make a legal contract (be of age and sound mind) and repay the debt? And when did consumers become reluctant to demand and expect fair treatment and negotiate on their own behalf?

It seems to us that both parties in the consumer credit contract have breeched their duties and now we are all going to have to pay for it.