Recently President Obama spoke about passing new legislation aimed at “reform” of the Credit Card laws in order to prevent the Credit Card companies from taking unfair advantage of the consumer. The president chided them about everything from the high interest rates they charge to the so-called “hidden charges” contained in the large amount of fine print in credit card agreements.

I believe that there is a need for some reform of the manner in which credit card companies operate so as to make it more fair for the average consumer. It also seems to me that no fair-minded individual could dispute that. The amount of credit card debt that many people in our land have acquired has indeed led to an alarming situation. It is certainly a contributing factor to the rise of bankruptcy in America. The large amount of credit card debt in this nation is also helping our economy further into the tank, as people pull back from spending on anything other than necessities and are having to choose between paying for groceries and paying the credit card bill.

However, I feel I must protest this protest on the president's part. Not because the idea of credit card reform is a bad idea, but because of the incredible hypocrisy and misdirection the idea represents.

The monumental hypocrisy is shown by the simple fact that the worst abuser of credit in the nation, perhaps in the known universe, is our very own federal government! It was recently revealed that for every dollar spent by our government, at least fifty cents has to be borrowed! That is as astounding admission. With our current record budget of 3.7 trillion dollars, half of that, or 1.85 trillion dollars, will have to be borrowed from somewhere. Actually, it will be many “somewheres”, because no one institution or even nation can afford to lend that amount of money without bankrupting themselves! Paying that kind of debt back is literally impossible without opening the printing presses to run off money 24/7 which would result in making the double-digit inflation of the 1970's look like the “good ol' days”!

The misdirection represented here would make any slight of hand practitioner proud. While the president shows with one hand his good intention of reforming the credit card laws, you and I are distracted from the other hand picking our pockets through an ever increasing tax burden. I would submit that of the two financial villains, it is the tax that is far more insidious and destructive.

That is certainly not to say the credit card laws do not need reforming. There are many things that could and should be done in that arena which would benefit many people. People who have become victims of greed and a lack of fiscal discipline. People who in many cases are trapped by a system, legal though it is, which is morally corrupt. A system which can suck them in with tempting offers and then increase interest rates to levels even above 20%. This virtually guarantees financial slavery for the borrower. This does make the credit card companies look like first class villains, that is certain.

However, as bad as this is, the credit card companies are mere pikers compared to the federal government and the IRS! At their very worst, the credit card companies cannot simply take your money. Even when wages are garnished to pay credit card bills, a legal procedure of some kind is necessary and even that can be circumvented by the consumer if they choose the hard route of bankruptcy. Not so with the IRS! They simply take your money directly from your paycheck. The credit card companies cannot simply seize money directly from an inheritance. The IRS can and does with the inheritance tax. The credit card companies cannot simply take money from the profit you may have made from the sale of a home. The IRS with the capitol gains tax can and does. As much profit as the credit card companies may be making from the interest they charge, at least they had to allow the consumer to have funds or the equivalent of funds before they could collect money. The IRS does not give the individual consumer any funds and just takes from money that the producer earned him or herself. With the credit card company, I must sign an agreement or contract of some sort if I want to be able to use the card. No one can force me to have any credit card or to use any credit card that I have. Until I use the card itself, nothing or very little is due to the company from me. In addition, I can pay off cards and cancel the service, even if it is very difficult to do so. There are many services nowadays that will give aid to a consumer in over his head with credit card debt. In some cases, the debt can be paid off at pennies on the dollar! Yes, there are such legal services available for people in trouble with the IRS, and that can also result in paying the tax debt at a fraction of the original amount. However, there is a substantial difference between these cases. Once the credit card debt is taken care of, the consumer no longer has to pay anymore. Not so with the IRS! Income taxes and other confiscations are still taken from the person who paid off the tax debt. He or she will never be free of the predations of the government as long as they live! Even after retirement, Social Security income and retirement account income will be taxed.