Kent Pitman<p>Continuing my own mini-filibuster inspired by Booker's unbelievable one, I want to add also my thoughts on the issue of deregulation of consumer protections.</p><p>In a 2009 essay, I made an argument that credit cards, especially the high rate ones, are a safety net of last resort, available to the poor who are ABANDONED by public safety nets, but who are forced to rent a second government that DOES offer a safety net. Those high interest rates are the TAX they pay to that privately rented government that offers them a lifeline. But the tax is not deductible. So they are double-taxed in a way rich people and businesses would never stand for. That's overly brief, but maybe you see where I was going. See the essay for more detail.</p><p>Credit Cards: A Tax on "Being Poor"<br><a href="https://netsettlement.blogspot.com/2009/01/credit-cards-a-tax-on-being-poor.html" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">netsettlement.blogspot.com/200</span><span class="invisible">9/01/credit-cards-a-tax-on-being-poor.html</span></a></p><p><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/BookerSolidarity" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BookerSolidarity</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/BookerFilibuster" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BookerFilibuster</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/SenatorBooker" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SenatorBooker</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/SenatorCoryBooker" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SenatorCoryBooker</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Booker" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Booker</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Fascism" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Fascism</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Oligarchy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Oligarchy</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/GoodTrouble" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>GoodTrouble</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/USPolitics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>USPolitics</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/politics" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>politics</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/CreditCards" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CreditCards</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/taxation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>taxation</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/DoubleTaxation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>DoubleTaxation</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/inequality" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>inequality</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/poverty" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>poverty</span></a> <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/SafetyNet" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>SafetyNet</span></a></p>