Consumers Should Decide For Themselves!

The Daytona Beach News-Journal has a great editorial published today, I urge all of you to check it out here.

The piece comes after public outrage over new debit card fees starting in 2012, which some blame on increasing financial regulation from Washington. The editorial notes that state legislative efforts to eliminate the fees wouldn’t do much. Big multi-state banks are more accountable to the federal government than state-level authorities. At which point the News Journal makes this important realization:

“A new state law would probably be ignored by big national banks and would cap fees for smaller banks, who are not the problem here. Thus, the law would essentially pick winners and losers in the marketplace — and we have already had too much of that.

“The best medicine for banks and angry consumers is for the consumers to decide for themselves. If they do not like the new fees, they should seek a new bank. If they are happy with the fees and the convenience of a debit card, they should stay.

“It’s really that simple. Letting consumers sort out the market is preferable to banking laws that won’t pass muster in courts, or laws that distort the marketplace.”

A wide range of financial options really is the way to go for consumers.