As I've pointed out, 2009 legislative restrictions on credit-card fees and interest-rate changes made it unprofitable for credit-card companies to offer low-interest credit-cards or credit cards to high-risk consumers. In today's WSJ ($), Todd Zywicki explores further: while lower-income Americans have less access to credit cards now, their borrowing needs haven't changed, so they have been forced to substitute expensive payday lenders or, worse, illegal loan sharks. And Dodd-Frank will have additional pernicious effects on lower-income Americans. Just another example of how well-meaning consumer protection laws can end up hurting consumers.
"Dodd-Frank and the Return of the Loan Shark"
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| Isaac Gorodetski Project Manager, Center for Legal Policy at the Manhattan Institute igorodetski@manhattan-institute.org |
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| Laura Eyi Press Officer, Manhattan Institute leyi@manhattan-institute.org |



