Sunday, August 23, 2009

How is Socialized Medicine going to work?

Hint: We've seen this before:

It’s worth pausing to note that the reason that so many credit card companies are raising interest rates and implementing annual fees these days is in response to federal “consumer protection” laws that make it illegal to charge customers who are bad credit risks proportionately, and therefore credit card companies have to spread the pain over all of the good customers as well.

This is exactly how Massachusetts auto insurance works (the result is that safe drivers here have the highest rates in the nation) and it’s exactly how socialized medical care is supposed to work.

And TJIC waxes pensive ab0ut the Democrat's motives. I'd vote for "venal". Of course, the Republicans are venal, too, just not in a way that will kill some people and bankrupt more.

1 comment:

Divemedic said...

I have to disagree with you on the credit card rules. This is one area where I happen to (gag) agree with Obama.

The credit card companies enter into a contract to extend credit at percentage rate X. Then, once you go ahead and borrow that money, they retroactively change the interest rate on that balance, even when nothing has happened to change the risk to the lender. Why? Because they can.

For example (this once happened to me): you get a charge card that promises 3% interest on all balance transfers for the life of the loan. You go ahead and transfer balances, say $10,000. A month later, you are informed that the rate is now 24% on the entire balance, even though your credit situation has not changed, and you have not defaulted or paid late on any credit obligation. So, a loan that was costing you $25 a month in interest and has a monthly payment of $125 is now costing you $200 a month in interest with a monthly payment of $300.

I think it is high time that the government do something about that sort of bait and switch tactic.

Curiously enough, word verification is "lates"