You have to love Harvey Rosenfield. When he sees a just fight, he rushes headlong into it. That’s why Harvey took a plane to Washington DC today to try to stop the $700 billion bank bailout, or at least get something for consumers in the process.
The Rosenfield alternative would include a national cap on interest rates for credit card, consumer and home loans for banks that dip into the the government bailout fund. It’s a plan Capitol Hill and presidential candidates would be wise to accept as their own. As Harvey says, Why should a bailed-out bank that receives a 2% percent loan from the Fed be able to charge consumers 7% to 25%. Makes common sense, but let’s see how official Washington receives the plan.
Tomorrow Harvey and longtime consumer champion Joan Claybrook will hold a press conference about the consumer’s needs in the bailout dialogue, then take their message to hearings on the hill. The press conference is at 11:30 am EDT, E-Mail [email protected] for call in # and passcode WHERE: 2128 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.