We've seen this explosion in debt overall.
Credit card balances especially have hit a new record at the end of last year,
nearly $1 trillion.
That's not only the highest ever according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York,
it was also the biggest yearly increase on record, up $130 billion.
>> That's right, household debt in America is at record highs.
And it follows an era that saw a jump in savings,
thanks to people staying at home during the pandemic and not spending any money.
Of course, there was some stimulus money as a result of the pandemic as well.
But now the tables have completely flipped and Americans are finding
themselves with an increasingly heavy burden of household debt.
And it's particularly bad for millennials.
For instance, millennials have seen their debt rise by nearly
30% since before the pandemic, to about $3.8 trillion.
Now, overall, consumer debt,
which includes mortgages, car loans, student debt,
all debt, is at around $17 trillion as we speak.
But the biggest concern is credit card debt, and we're seeing an explosion there,
which is definitely concerning when you think about
the high interest rates associated with them.
Now, credit card debt in the US has been rising at one of
the fastest rates in history.
We collectively owe nearly $1 trillion on our cards, an all time high.
In January alone, credit card debt jumped more than 11%.
And with the interest rates rising,
getting ahead of the debt gets harder and harder.
In fact, if you're wondering just how much the average interest rate is for
a credit card, it's around 20%, and
the average household now owes nearly $6,500 in credit card debt.
Now, there are impacts that we're already seeing,
some statistics that are already concerning.
For instance, the percentage of credit card delinquencies, meaning people
who haven't been able to make a payment in 90 days or more, that has shot up.
And Americans paid down their debt.
Remember, they paid down their debt during the pandemic, and
now that trend has completely reversed.
For instance, in the first quarter of 2021, credit card balances totaled
$770 billion, compared with 890 billion just a year earlier in 2020.
Now, there are many causes for this.
Of course, inflation is a huge reason.
People are falling behind on their car payments.
There's also increasing child care costs.
But I think it's also worth discussing the late fees associated with these credit
cards, because the Biden administration, along with
the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wanted to do something about that.
But moneyed interests have been fighting aggressively to stop it.
So let me just give you few details about that, and then Cenk,
I know you have a corruption angle to get to.
So in February, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed
a rule that would limit most credit card late fees to $8,
down from the $41 companies are currently permitted to charge.
Such late fees are a major profit center for credit card companies, and
cost card-holders $12 billion in 2020, according to the consumer watchdog agency.
The CFPB proposal would eliminate the automatic annual increase and
require credit card companies to prove that any fees in excess
of $8 are necessary to cover their collection costs.
It would also prohibit any fees exceeding 25% of the minimum payment due, Cenk.
>> Yeah, so I realized reading the first story about
how much debt we've accumulated collectively, and
how it was actually pretty good in 2021, that we had record savings.
And so you know why we had it, we alluded to it there.
We got stimulus checks because of COVID.
A lot of people didn't go out cuz they were at home.
So not vacationing, not buying as many things, etc.
And there were some raises as well.
So with that, wound up stockpiling a little bit of cash.
And as soon as I saw that, I was like, of course, that's when lobbyists and
corporate figures thought, that's a nice little piggy bank, let's go take it, okay?
So how did they take it?
Well, one of the ways that they did was they raised prices way beyond
what their costs were.
So was inflation real before the price gouging?
Yes, okay, there was definitely a little bit of increase in cost of supplies, etc.
But corporations took advantage of that, and
we showed you dozens of quotes on air, right?
From investor calls saying, turns out people could pay a lot more,
they have extra money, so we charge them way more.
So they did.
So they would raise prices sometimes 500%, right?
And so they decided, we're just gonna take that back.
And so they did, now it's in our credit card debt.
The companies already got paid, now the credit card companies are getting paid,
and what do they do?
In order for them to continue this robbery,
they buy off a bunch of politicians.
So you're gonna be shocked to find out that 17 people in Congress
are adamantly fighting against any proposal that would limit the late
fees that the credit card companies can charge you.
And you're gonna be further shocked to find out that 15 of
them were paid by credit card companies.
Campaign contributions meant for the general welfare, I'm sure, right?
That's what reporters would have you believe.
>> They're just practicing some speech.
>> Yeah, blah, blah, blah.
And then you're gonna be further shocked to find out that the people that they
bought off most especially were the Republicans that were in charge of
the committees, okay?
It's Patrick McHenry, and
he's the chairman of the House Financial Service Committee, and Andy Barr,
they're two out of the top five recipients of credit card cash.
I'm sure that has nothing, just coincidentally, they're protecting them.
Guys, the difference between the $41 and
the $8 in fees is $9 billion every single year.
So if they limited it to $8 and protected you,
you would save collectively $9 billion.
But remember, the companies would then not make an extra 9 billion in profit.
>> Exactly.
>> So the small amount of money that they pay McHenry and
the other crooks is nothing compared to the $9 billion that are online for
just this one regulation, okay?
And do any of you, even if you're a right winger,
do you want to pay $41 for no reason?
And speaking of 500%, it is 500% of their costs.
So it's not a little margin,
you cannot have that kind of profit margin unless you bought off the government.
Normally, you would have competition, that would reduce it, but it's an oligarchy.
Okay, so, Cenk, is it really fair that they buy off committee chairs?
Is that a little hyperbole?
I can see the New York Times reporter saying.
Well, let's find out.
Mo Brooks was a very conservative Republican that was in the House.
Lauren Windsor went to a campaign event of his and covered this on her show,
The Undercurrent.
Let's see what he had to say.
>> Special interest groups run Washington.
And I don't mean that metaphorically, I mean literally.
Now, here is how it happens.
In the House of Representatives, I'll use that as an example because that's where
I work, if you want to be chairman of a major committee, you have to purchase it.
And the purchase price for a major committee,
say like Ways and Means, minimum bid is $1 million.
>> So I wonder where you're gonna get that $1 million,
cuz it seems like it'd be hard for someone in Alabama to give that to you.
To be fair to Mo Brooks, it's the one time he was perfectly honest and explained, no,
we don't get it from Joe and Jane Citizen.
Where do we get it from, Mo?
Let's find out.
>> You have to get it from the special interest groups.
And with the special interest groups, there is a quid pro quo.
If you don't do what they tell you to do,
they won't give you the money that finances your chairmanship.
>> So we act as puppets, that's what we do.
What's the point of the chairmanship if all you do is act as a puppet for
moneyed interests?
What's the point?
They just want power, that's it.
I want power so much, is it really power when you're someone else's bitch?
>> No, Ana, we often misstate that.
They have no power at all, they're just servants.
>> Its so pathetic. >> How much power does the butler
have, right?
No, they're seeking status.
I am a congressman.
And by the way, once you become a congressman, they call you
Congressman Brooks, Congressman McHenry for the rest of your life.
>> How special.
>> But they're obsessed with that.
They think that's the most important thing in the world.
And to be fair to them, that's how the so-called fourth estate treats them.
They're supposed to hold them accountable, and
they make it seem like, the congress people and senators, they're so important.
They're the only people we trust.
If you're an outsider trying to hold them accountable,
you don't have a lot of credibility.
A senator has lots of credibility.
They are beloved, honored elite, right?
No, they're crooks, you just saw with your own eyes.
They get bribed and they do exactly as they are told.
And now that's gonna cost you collectively $9 billion.
So look, Republicans, you love drain the swamp.
If this ain't the swamp, what is it?
So do you actually love corruption?
Cuz I give the right wing credit for one thing all the time,
which is that you hate corruption.
Well, here it is, your Republican congressman.
What's the first thing they did?
Take away the IRS agents for people making above $400,000.
We don't want the millionaires audited, protect the millionaires.
What's the second thing they're doing?
Make sure you can charge the average man more for late fees, okay?
Even if they accidentally didn't pay $0.50, charge them $41, why?
Cuz they're crooks.
If you are an honest journalist, you would explain that every time.
By the way, the story about the money that they took, as usual, from The Lever,
great job by Sirota's organization.