Credit = Alcohol
As part of the new credit card reform bill, individuals younger than 21 must now have a co-signer to obtain a credit card. This measure is likely aimed to prevent credit card companies from signing students up at college campuses. While I too signed up for cards for T-shirts and free food without understanding the ramifications to my credit score, I ended up benefiting greatly from the long credit history going to back to my freshman year. Now that I am out of school, I was able to apply for over $25K in new lines of credit from my recent app-o-rama. 13K is at 0% APY and is sitting in my savings account earning me interest.
None of this would be possible without having established credit history. By making credit cards hard to obtain, the government is doing incredible harm. For an administration focused on improving liquidity in the credit markets, this part of the bill is equivalent to shooting themselves in the foot.
Our current focus on pushing responsibility further and further down the line for young adults is a ridiculous trend. At 18 you are considered an adult under law. How can we expect any less when it comes to financial responsibility? The less you expect of people the less you get in return.
You can read up more on the benefits and fallout from the Credit Card Reform bill at the ManVsDebt blog.
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