<p>Why is this not getting more coverage in the mainstream media? This is going to cause ripple effects in the US economy and will plunge us into a deep recession. For those who don’t know what I am talking about, minimum payment on a credit card is 2% of the balance, is now going up to 4% of the balance, in essence doubling your minimum monthly payment.</p>
<p>Guess if one can’t affort that - then one should NOT have a credit card to repay then.</p>
<p>The reason is they want people to pay off the card in their lifetime. It is to help people get out of debt. CC companies were castigated for allowing such low payments.</p>
<p>I know that it helps people pay off debt quicker, that is not the angle I am coming in at and you people don’t understand what I am saying. You are used to paying ‘X’ amount of dollars for your credit card payment every month, then they just double it. You could go from $450 a month to $900 a month. This is equivalent to the bank telling you that your mortgage payment is doubling every month. Could you people afford to have your mortgage doubled every month, I DONT THINK SO. They should grandfather existing credit card debt in at payments people currently pay, not just double it with no warning. This is going to bankrupt a lot of people and wreek (sp?) havoc on small businesses in this country. I don’t think you people realize the severity of the situation.</p>
<p>Joe:</p>
<p>One would have to have more than $25k in cc debt to have that minimum payment double. If some one with $25k in cc debt has been paying the minimum payment, they are in deep trouble even before the payment is doubled- unless they are expecting a widnfall to take care of paying off the lump sum.</p>
<p>So, you could look at it another way, those who have that problem are going to hit bottom sooner and be forced to deal with a reality they are denying. That being said, you are right, publicity would be appropriate! It should not be a complete shock when it happens. I have not heard about it other than here and I read the paper daily :)</p>
<p>You usually can cancel the card if they change the conditions or interest rate. Then you are allowed to pay under the prior agreement.</p>