We support our Publishers and Content Creators. You can view this story on their website by CLICKING HERE.

Former President Donald Trump continues to present possibilities and ideas to the American people, but not everyone is happy about his latest suggestion.

During a stop in Long Island, Trump floated the idea of capping credit card interest rates at 10 percent. As Americans struggle to keep up with their finances, this could be helpful to those who regularly rely on credit cards to make ends meet but find it difficult to keep up with interest.

“While working Americans catch up, we’re going to put a temporary cap on credit card interest rates,” he said to the gathered crowd of about 16,000 people. “We’re going to cap it at around 10%. We can’t let them make 25 and 30%.”

Federal Reserve data indicates that, as of May 2024, credit card interest rates are around 21.51 percent and have gone up as inflation has wreaked havoc on the economy. It’s also worth noting that data shows credit card interest has never been as low as 10 percent, and some in the financial industry are cautioning against this particular move.

“Government-imposed price controls on credit card interest rates would harm all cardholders, especially the lowest income Americans who these measures are intended to help,” one anonymous Consumer Banking Association insider explained to the New York Post. “This will result in credit cards only being given to consumers who have high income and credit scores who post little risk to card issuers.”

Euro Pacific Asset Management chief economist Peter Schiff accused Trump of proposing “his own version of price controls.” This is something Vice President Kamala Harris was heavily criticized over during the beginning of her campaign, as she suggested ways to tackle “price gouging” in the grocery industry.

“That would destroy the industry and millions of Americans would lose their credit cards,” Schiff predicted. “There are heavy losses in credit cards from people who don’t pay. So they need the high interest rates to offset that. There is also a lot of fraud.”

“We have opposed similar interest rate cap proposals in the past,” explained an American Bankers Association spokesperson. “They would result in the loss of credit for the very consumers who need it the most. Instead, these consumers would be forced to use less-regulated, more risky alternatives including payday lenders and loan sharks.”

Sierra Marlee
Latest posts by Sierra Marlee (see all)

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.