While this bill may appear offensive to those underage, it is actually aimed to be helpful for them. It is supposed to protect young adults who have not had sufficient experience in handling credit, and are targeted by the credit card companies for that reason. This bill has been controversial in its predicted success, and a whole host of problems are expected to arise because of it - mainly the difficulty getting credit cards later, as well not being guaranteed people are any more well equipped to handle credit cards at 21 as opposed to 18.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Under 21? No Credit Card for You.
This article presents a bill that was signed by President Obama back in May, called the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act of 2009. It includes various provisions, such as barring credit card companies from raising interest rates without warning, charging excessive fees, and punishing customers who pay on time. However, the aspect of note involves a new age restriction. Beginning next February, those customers who are under 21 are restricted from getting credit cards, unless they are able to prove sufficient income or get a cosigner - a spouse or parent.
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4 comments:
This is a very interesting article. I am just surprised that the age for credit cards has changed because at 18 you can vote, join the armed services and that is when most go to college. But yet, now despite all these responsibilities people cannot get a credit card if they are not 21. Wow.
I can understand why the President feels this way but really people need to grow up and learn from their mistakes so, pushing back age requirements is not really helping any one just delaying parts of life.
I agree. With all the other responsibilities opened at 18, especially the possibility of dying for our country, I'm not sure why we are now limiting the chance to build credit. I understand the concept is to protect young people from being targeted, but it seems that it will mostly cause problems - especially building credit, and being able to obtain credit later.
I really enjoyed reading this article! Finally the government is making a right move concerning the issuing of credit cards. Even though a few drawbacks have been mentioned for kids waiting till they are 21, looking at the bigger picture, finally bad debt can be reduced if not stopped. It already feels as though President Obama is cleaning up the mess left back for him!
After reading this article, I feel as if waiting until you are 21 years of age is just going to create more problems. Students who don't attend college and go out in the real world to get a job (perhaps they dont have parental support to pay for school, let alone be signed for a card) need to start building their credit score. Also, what is the definition of "sufficient income"? Who gets to decide this? People under 21 need to develop good credit if they want to buy a car or a house. Some kids our age are not fortunate enough to have someone sign for them, and perhaps they are just getting on their feet. It would be nice to keep kids out of debt, but is there a significant knowledge difference between 18 and 21 years of age? Is there even a large difference between some kids who are 18 and adults? Many adults are not financially responsible with their credit cards. Very interesting article, I had no idea!
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