Big Brother Strikes Again

Usually I reserve my comments to issues regarding credit scores, car financing or the car business in general, but I saw a news story today that really got me thinking -- and should get you thinking as well.

The headline was "Fed Considers New Rules About Overdraft Fees". Simple enough. I mean everyone hates overdraft fees, don't they. And it really sucks that those big banks will LET you continue to charge on a debit card even though you don't have the money in the account to cover the charge. I mean, really, the technology exists just to say "Declined -- Not enough money".

But when did we as consumers give up our basic responsibility to actually know how much money we have in our bank accounts? When did is become the bank's job or the government's job to babysit us? Why is this someone else's fault?

Ask yourself this -- do you know how much money is in your bank account right now? Do you know what payments are coming due and when? If you answered no, maybe you don't deserve the privileges that come with credit. Maybe you should close your account, go back to cash, and mail out money orders.

This is a slippery slope folks and we are sliding right down. We increasingly look to the federal government to protect us from the big mean banks, the nasty finance companies, the crooked car dealers, the insurance companies, and the list goes on. But what we are really saying is as a people we are not smart enough to read the fine print. We are not responsible enough to balance our checking account. We are not proficient enough to purchase a car without the help of Big Brother.

Last time I checked, the government's job was to provide for the common defense, to help maintain the infrastructure and to allow us to pursue life, liberty and happiness. It wasn't to balance our checking accounts. Start taking responsibility for your own life or before long, we will abdicate the very freedoms that made us who we are.