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| Moron of the Day, Sen. Dick Durbin |
Inside the otherwise insane Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform bill lurks the Durbin Amendment, promoted by today's winner of the coveted Moron of the Day award, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.
The Durbin Amendment established a price control to limit the amount that banks could charge for the use of debit cards. Only boneheads think that government price controls actually work, and today's winner is no exception. Government price controls inevitably produce shortages, work-arounds and regulatory mischief.
Thanks to Bonehead Dick Durbin (and the rest of the Dodd-Frank supporters, like RINO Scott Brown of Massachusetts), the Durbin amendment goes into effect today. In response, Bank of America has started charging it customers a $5 per month fee for the privilege of using the debit card. Other banks are following suit, mostly at lesser fees, to make up for lost revenue.
Inevitably, the demagogues in Congress will blame the victims of the Durbin Amendment, the banks. But loyal readers here know the truth.
Congratulations to today's Moron of the Day, Senator Dick Durbin. Today's Moron of the Day did not merely say something stupid (as most of our award winners), but he successfully put his stupidity into action, hurting the very people he -- thanks to his ignorance of economics -- thought he would help: low income folks who can't get credit cards and must rely on debit cards.
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