Modern Times
Contemporary problems looking for an intervention:
• America is apparently engaging in something called “Post-Acquittal Detention” for terrorism suspects who have been found to be… not guilty of what they were accused of.
Wittes warns that keeping detainees post-acquittal would undermine confidence in the rule of law. “I think people have this very deep-seated belief, and rightly so, if you’re acquitted then you go free. And you don’t want to undermine people’s trust in that proposition.”
Wittes adds that post-acquittal detentions would be difficult because the government would be, in many cases, detaining someone based on the same evidence that was rejected ruing prosecution.
Keep in mind that this Wittes fellow — Ben Wittes from the Brookings Institution — is one of the people who dreamt up the legal framework for “preventative detention” in the first place, so that this idea of post-acquittal imprisonment has actually reached his conscience and managed to bother it really says something about what an awful idea it is.
• Abusive overdraft fees – re-christened “courtesy loans” by the still-cynical-enough-to-astound consumer banking industry, got some play in a non-lefty media outlet today:
President Obama signed legislation in May limiting certain credit card practices — such as rate increases on existing debt — that have pushed consumers deeper into distress in a sliding economy. The government also wants to create a consumer protection agency to supervise loans. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is examining the fairness of certain overdraft practices.
It’s unclear whether those efforts will be enough to rein in overdrafts, now the single-largest driver of consumer fee income for banks. In 2009, banks are expected to reap a record $38.5 billion from overdraft fees, nearly twice the $20.5 billion they stand to collect from credit card penalties such as late and over-limit fees.
Emphasis added. Also, while the point of this blog post was originally going to be to suggest items that might appeal to our Senior Senator for some legislating, the notion has apparently already occurred to him:
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., said if the Fed doesn’t curb overdraft abuses, he’ll “pursue legislative action.” Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., has sponsored legislation requiring banks to get consumers’ permission to cover overdrafts, disclose APRs and pay transactions in a way that doesn’t increase fees.
The legislation in question can be viewed here (it’s pretty short and easy to read), only has 8 co-sponsors and no Senate version, which could stand some improvement. The House bill actually had its hearing at the same time as Dodd’s credit card bill, so it’s an obvious followup to the increased credit card regulations.