One aspect I've never liked about Occupy Wall Street is the apparent rabid hate for the Wall Street Elite at the greater expense of truly helping main street. I fear that a very small inner circle group of OWS has a very intense vendetta against the Wall Street Elite, perhaps because they never made it into the Wall Street inner circle themselves. Ouch!
It is almost of an conspiratorial level that some would prioritize punishing the wall street elite ahead of helping main street. I suggest it is better to fight the Inane rules that Wall Street, the big banks, and our own government create rather than bitterly hate these entities and blame them directly.
Here are three mega impactful anti consumer practices being inflicted on consumers on a daily basis that if rescinded would help prevent the ongoing erosion of middle class wealth and their happiness as well.
1. 2% monthly minimum credit card payments... are destructive to a person's economic well being because they allow a debtor to attain levels of debt over time that are just too high to ever pay off. Additionally, consumers have been over charged by a factor of 1000% to 2000% for credit card debt suspension insurance that would PREVENT many credit card defaults from ever occurring.
2. Judges make no distinction in court between a strategic credit card default and an involuntary credit card default. What is even more outrageous is that some involuntary credit card defaulters could have avoided their involuntary credit card defaults if Credit Card Debt Suspension Insurance had been fairly priced. In essence, judges routinely ignore the fraud of credit card debt suspension insurance premiums that are 1,000% to 2,000% too high, but allow the resulting consumer credit card default to proceed.
3. Over priced credit card debt suspension insurance. As mentioned above, using our courts to legally punish consumers who rightfully avoided debt suspension insurance because it was DRAMATICALLY overpriced by 1,000% to 2,000% but subsequently defaulted on their credit card debt is patently unfair.
4. Reverse Mortgage scams. Forcing elderly homeowners to take everyone's name off of the deed but one, while also charging that person for mortgage insurance based on the full value of the home is a rip off, plain and simple. It appears the government, in setting up reverse mortgage programs, never considered the option of a homeowner agreeing to a very modest monthly draw that even after 10 years time would not jeopardize the value of the home versus the equity taken out. What a horrible way to treat our elderly, many of whom have practiced frugality their entire lives.
These are four anti consumer issues, that if fixed, would basically rebalance the distribution of wealth between those on main street who have earned it versus those on wall street who want their unearned cut.
I would suggest that if Occupy Wall Street wants to truly have a positive impact on our society, focus more attention on first FIXING the bad rules rather than punishing the schmucks who created the bad rules.
I have mentioned before my concept of credit card reparations for consumers. Reduce everyone's credit card debt by 65% and simultaneously raise their monthly minimum payments requirement from 2% to 5%. This one action alone would do more to fix the economy than virtually any idea I have heard proffered by our politicians and so called money experts.
