The Obama administration has put in place the final provisions for a new financial regulation law, called the CARD Act, which will bring unprecedented controls to bear upon the heretofore lightly regulated credit card industry in the United States.
Speaking after the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act was finalised, United States President Barack Obama said, “Yesterday, the final reform provisions of the CARD Act took effect. As of today, consumers will be protected against unreasonable fees and penalties for late payments, as well as unfair practices involving gift cards.”
Many advantages
Arguing that this law would put a stop to deceptive credit card practices and hold credit card companies accountable to their customers, Mr. Obama noted that it would also make the terms of credit cards more understandable and put a stop to practices designed to trap consumers. Further, the CARD Act would restrict rate increases that apply retroactively to old balances and would prevent companies from increasing rates within the first year an account is opened.
Touching upon the broader context of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that the President signed into law in July, he said a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would be empowered to look out for consumers in the U.S. financial system.
“In the wake of a terrible recession, these reforms and this independent consumer watchdog will not only protect consumers, they’ll strengthen our economy as a whole, levelling the playing field for responsible lenders and ensuring that families and small business owners are better able to make financial decisions that work for them,” he said.
Free food grain for India's poor
Do not get into policy formulation: PM tells SC
6 September 2010
Press Trust of India
NEW DELHI, 6 SEPT: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today gently told the Supreme Court, which recently directed the government to distribute food grains free to the poor, not to get into the “realm of policy formulation”.
”How can food grain be distributed free to an estimated 37 per cent of the population which lives below the poverty line,” Dr Singh wondered during an interaction with editors at his residence here.
He said it was not possible to give food grain free to all of the country’s poor, he said, while answering a question on the order of the SC which had directed agriculture minister Mr Sharad Pawar to distribute food grain to the poor instead of allowing them to rot.
The Prime Minister said he had not seen the final judgment of the court but he respected the “sentiments” behind the decision that required of the government to
meet the needs of the poor at a time when food grains were rotting.
“I do recognise that food should be available to the people below poverty line at concessional prices. We have not allowed any increase in the issue price of food grains to people below poverty line since 2004,” he said.
He said that to the extent possible, the government had taken adequate steps in that direction. At the same time, the Prime Minister said, making food available free would destroy the incentives to farmers to produce more. If there was no food available, there would be nothing to distribute, he said.
NEW DELHI, 6 SEPT: Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh today gently told the Supreme Court, which recently directed the government to distribute food grains free to the poor, not to get into the “realm of policy formulation”.
”How can food grain be distributed free to an estimated 37 per cent of the population which lives below the poverty line,” Dr Singh wondered during an interaction with editors at his residence here.
He said it was not possible to give food grain free to all of the country’s poor, he said, while answering a question on the order of the SC which had directed agriculture minister Mr Sharad Pawar to distribute food grain to the poor instead of allowing them to rot.
The Prime Minister said he had not seen the final judgment of the court but he respected the “sentiments” behind the decision that required of the government to
meet the needs of the poor at a time when food grains were rotting.
“I do recognise that food should be available to the people below poverty line at concessional prices. We have not allowed any increase in the issue price of food grains to people below poverty line since 2004,” he said.
He said that to the extent possible, the government had taken adequate steps in that direction. At the same time, the Prime Minister said, making food available free would destroy the incentives to farmers to produce more. If there was no food available, there would be nothing to distribute, he said.
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