On the subject of credit card transaction fees.... I won't leave well-enough alone, any more than the credit card companies are willing to leave "RICH ENOUGH" alone.
All too often we hear politicians of all persuasions and offices throw around the idea that small business is the engine that will lift us from our current economic woes.
However, As I see it, little is done to actually address some of the main challenges that crush their bottom lines, inhibit their ability to grow and address today's problem numero uno -- JOB CREATION.
Credit card companies are bad actors in many ways, but what is most troubling is that their total MONOPOLY allows them to take an unmitigated swipe right off the bottom line of any business that wants to accommodate its customers by accepting their credit cards.
Case in point -- Salt Lake City Tribune
J.T. Martin, owner of a small market, pays more every month to credit card companies than he takes home in profit.
"If I want to stay in business I have no choice but to accept my customers’ credit cards," Martin said. "It is extremely costly, though. Every time a credit card gets swiped it costs me 2 to 3 percent of the transaction price."
Really is this what America has come to? A place where an entrepreneur makes less than the credit card companies who do nothing but process a transaction??
Where the hell is the FREE in that FREE MARKET ECONOMY.
Want a scary figure? MasterCard, Visa and American Express control 93 percent of all credit card transactions in this country. And with no one policing their rates, who will stop them from greedily taking more and more from small business...until they topple the very system they profit from.
Haven't we recently heard of greed destabilizing something important???
Doesn't it seem eerily similar to the unregulated greed that allowed funny money loans, and derivatives to nearly destroy our entire financial system?
I say YES it's the same damn thing - greed w/out checks and balances! And once again it's taking advantage of those who can least protect themselves.
Today's world is a plastic one, and we all enjoy the convenience of simply swiping our plastic cards to pay for all that we desire.
However, our convenience shouldn't crush the dreams and livelihoods of America's small business owners.
Those who have the courage to go it alone in our economy, are already fighting an uphill battle. One that we should support, not hinder.