18-Year-Olds and Credit Cards: Discussion Continues
Earlier this week I brought up the proposal in the Senate-passed CARD Act (Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act) which would require adults under the age of 21 to get a cosigner in order to get a credit card (or prove significant income, whatever that means – don’t we have to do that anyway?). I’m not the only one who had an opinion on this particular feature of the new legislation. Here is a taste of what other people are saying about the proposal:
Man Vs. Debt: 18 Year Olds Now Require Co-Signer To Obtain Credit Cards. Still Maintain Right To Catch Bullets With Their Face!
Either you are a legal adult at 18 or you are not. If you are considered old enough to fight and die for this country, you should be considered old enough to not have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get a credit card.
If you don’t think 18 is mature enough to obtain a credit card or even to consumer alcohol then we should be raising the legal adult age to 21, not placing a bunch of government restrictions, exemptions, and regulations. In addition, it appears card holders will need co-signer permission before increasing credit limit and making other changes. Mommy, Daddy, please let me get a credit card… please!
Independent Beginnings: Attention Students: You are Gonna Need Permission to Open that Credit Card
Traditionally, eighteen-year-old freshman college students have been immediately attacked by credit card offers as soon as they start school. Lacking education on how credit cards work, many of these students jump at the opportunity of opening one of these “magic” cards and end up falling further and further into debt. It will be interesting to see how this will change now that students under twenty-one have to get their parents to cosign with them (or another adult over twenty-one). Will this allow students more time to learn about how credit cards work before amassing huge amounts of debt on them? Or, will this have little effect whatsoever? I guess it would largely depend on the student’s parents’ views on credit card usage.
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