Let's Have a Genuinely Meaningful "Investigation"
20 January 2007
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Morton Mintz wants Congress to determine if interest rates charged by credit-card companies are usurious (Letters, Jan. 20). I've got a better idea. Let Mr. Mintz himself investigate by offering credit to consumers. If, as he suspects, current rates are excessive, he'll earn a handsome profit by charging lower rates. If he doesn't profit, he can nevertheless rest assured that a meaningful test of the appropriateness of these rates was conducted - rather than an 'investigation' staged by that troop of political thespians called "Congress."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
The Editor, New York Times
229 West 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036
To the Editor:
Morton Mintz wants Congress to determine if interest rates charged by credit-card companies are usurious (Letters, Jan. 20). I've got a better idea. Let Mr. Mintz himself investigate by offering credit to consumers. If, as he suspects, current rates are excessive, he'll earn a handsome profit by charging lower rates. If he doesn't profit, he can nevertheless rest assured that a meaningful test of the appropriateness of these rates was conducted - rather than an 'investigation' staged by that troop of political thespians called "Congress."
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Friday October 5, 2007 at 8:18am