Clinton's proposal creates a new government commission to focus on credit card abuses and caps interest rates, while Obama's comes with a five-star rating system and a new consumer bill of rights. You be the judge: Clinton's plan : Cap credit card interest rates at 30 percent.

The Government Accountability Office reports that 1 in 4 credit cards charges higher rates.) Stop credit card companies from increasing rates without written consent from consumers and prevent rate increases because of missed payments on unrelated accounts.

Require card companies to explain terms and fees clearly to consumers. Increase government regulation of credit cards and other credit products through the creation of a Financial Product Safety Commission. Obama's plan :

Create a five-star rating system for credit cards so consumers have a better sense of the fees and rates associated with each card. Card companies would have to display their star ratings with their application materials. Write a credit card "bill of rights" that would stop credit card companies from making "unilateral" changes to the terms of cards as well as apply interest rate increases only to future debt.

It would also stop card companies from charging interest on fees, something the Clinton plan includes as well. Tags: Secondly, he has spent at least the last year running for President. Obama is totally unqualified to be President. He doesn't even have enough experience yet to be an effective Senator. It is one thing to run around and say Yes we can change, it is quite another thing to get it done. Wake up Democrats this guy is not going to get anything done.

He will spend the first days in the White House looking for the mens room, nevermind figuring out who are the important people in the Pentagon. Yeah righ change. Also, Obama lists in his backgorund that he was a "community organizer". What on earth is that supposed to mean? You know what it sounds like to me a resume filler when you were un-employed.

Do tell Mr. Obama what is a community organizer? Who pays you when you are a community organizer. Mr. Obama is just full of empty rhetoric. Harry Clemitine of NJ Feb 15, 2008 13:24:26 PM permalink Harry Clemitine: While I agree with you, your comment is completely unrelated to this post. I like Clinton's plan because it's actually a plan. She's specific in what she is going to do whereas Obama is not.

I am a Republican, but if a Democrat is going to be president, I think Clinton would do a much better job. Sydney of TX Feb 15, 2008 13:53:26 PM permalink Harry, stop whining. We need to stick together and follow whoever gets the nomination. Democrats need to take back the white house this year. Rick of FL Feb 15, 2008 14:10:20 PM permalink Five-star rating system? Like the terror alert coding system?

Sorry, that just sounds too vague and too symbolic for me. Ditto "bill or rights". I share Harry's concern, though not his vehemence. So much of legislation and policy is "engineering", which one learns with practice in creating and comparing the results of multiple scenarios with multiple, dynamic variables.

Although some people abuse the use of their credit cards, others have to use them for personal reasons whether they want to or not. If something isnt done soon, the credit card companies will have everyone over a barrell with no way out.

As far as voting for president, Obama seems to be a very intellegent person, but I believe experience is on Hillarys side. I am going to vote for Hillary for president because I believe she can do the job. Jane of WV Feb 15, 2008 14:45:29 PM permalink Do any of you guys stand up to pee. All I hear from you Dems is who is going to take care of poor little me.

Take some responsibility for your lives. Are you to stupid to understand that banks are out to make a buck;i f you dont like to high interest rates dont use a credit card. If you want to buy a home do what any normal person would do start at the bottom and work your way to a bigger home. But no, the Me gereration has to have the biggest and newes. Then you expect everyone else to bail you out when things go sour. Poor little MEs.

Take Clinton's for example, 30 percent is ridicoulously high rate. And why would anyone agree to that high limit. Is she kidding me? Also, as soon as you make that into law, you will give the credit card companies ammunition to charge the high rate. Because they can according to the law.

Another thing, as far as getting the consumer to agree, that would be specified in that small print that nobody bothers to read. And then what? Consumer would be trapped. And the rest of her proposal, more of the same - Bureaucratic at best. As for Obama's plan, all well and good but he need's to think a little deeper.

5 star rating won't mean a thing as far as these banks are concerned. The one thing that I thing would help consumer is stopping the banks from assesing the ridicoulously high interest rate on existing balance, including the late fee and other fees. Harry of NJ, Your comment about Barrack lacks some merrit. If you are so keen on experience, look at GW. What happened to him with all of the experience he hard as the Governor of TX?

Look at all of these experience congressmen and senators that have demostrated extremely poor judgement on the affairs of the state, with absolutely no consideration for the people that elected them. Also, Obama has been working with people for about 27 years. His resume is impeccable.

In Illinois, he's admired for his ability to stay focused on issues that concerns the people of Illinois. And best one of all is willingness to reach out to Republicans to get bills passed. That is one of the reason that even Republicans in Illinois voted for him. That is the experience that matters my friend.

usnews.com

Here's why the spell of spend-and-borrow is so strong By PÉRALTE C. PAUL The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 02 07 08 You promised yourself 2008 would be the year you stopped your bad financial habits. Just like you did last year. And the year before. By now, you've received the first credit card statement along with your other monthly bills and looked at all those debts.

Do you allow yourself to be overwhelmed and slide back into the same old patterns and push them off to 2009 or do you really hunker down to do what you promised? Admittedly, it won't be easy. With home prices stagnant or slip-sliding, many consumers no longer have the on-paper wealth they once had.

For some that means making some tough choices. This year we'll feel the credit crunch in a deeper way even more than last year," said William H. McCracken, chief executive of Synergistics Research Corp., Atlanta-based financial services consultancy.

For years, consumers fueled their spending with this rise in home values. They were able to refinance and suddenly they didn't have the cushion. All they had were large bills." As if that weren't enough, your credit card companies will be pushing you to spend, spend, spend, especially at the beginning of the year because so many of us promise to and actually make some headway in paying down our debt. Even Washington is adding to the temptation:

18 that includes giving rebates to most Americans. C'mon and charge! With many consumers worried about the economy tipping into recession, the credit card companies will likely be more aggressive, but they'll be more selective about their targets, he said. Banks are worried about the ultimate depth of the economic slowdown and the impact of job losses.

Good customers might spend less, and others could fall behind on payments. You will have people in a recession who will want to be paying down debt and then you'll have people out of work who won't be able to pay any debt," Robertson said. That won't stop the banks, however. Another common practice: Letting you skip a monthly payment because of how you've handled that account in the past.

Still other credit card companies will suddenly boost your credit limit - even if you didn't ask for an increase - or double or triple the benefits that come on a particular credit card such as frequent-flier miles or rewards points. They see it as necessary, particularly in the first quarter of the year, to push the consumers into opening up their wallets," McCracken said, which leaves you with a broken promise. Indirectly, that's the end result," he said.

The hope is that American consumers, who account for roughly two-thirds of the economy, will help kick-start the United States out of its slump by spending that money. But Americans already spend more than they have. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. I know in Washington, they want everyone to go out and spend it, but we believe the best move you can do is put it in a savings account and hold onto it," said Justin S.

Parr, a principal financial advisor and certified financial planner at Lightship Mutual in Atlanta. In fact, according to an online survey of 5,000 conducted by TurboTax last month, 43 percent of respondents said they would use their rebates to pay down debt. Still, the tug to spend is a strong one in America's collective psyche as 38 percent of those TurboTax surveyed said they would spend their rebates, mostly on daily necessities, such as food and clothing.

We're a consumer society and if you don't buy, there's something wrong with you." Know yourself So how do you stay on track now that you've seen the first of billing statements of 2008? It's not enough to want to do better. You have to understand the psychology behind some of the financial decisions you've made, said Joan DiFuria, Goldbart's partner.

Resolutions are the idealized versions of what we want to be and what we want to do," DiFuria said. Instead, she said many of us only get to what's called the "realized" version. In other words, we fall short of what we want to achieve, she said. In many people's minds, there's a great distance between the idealized version and the realized version."

How you relate to money now in many ways is based on your sense of self-worth. For example, people who thought family members or close friends considered them to be losers when they were growing up could overspend as a means to compensate, DiFuria said. So it's important to understand your spending habits, because if you get overwhelmed or feel like you've already failed in your resolution so early in the year, then you'll give up and fall back into old patterns, said Judy E.

Hall, a psychologist and executive officer of the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. Small steps To break any bad habits, you need to start simple and small, said Parr, the financial planner. So if you want to save more, concentrate on a manageable amount of money you can easily sock away each week, no matter how small.

In the beginning, when you go to the gym, you're not going to be running 25 miles off the bat," Parr said. It's not about the amount, it's about getting you into the habit." UmbrellaBank.com in Birmingham, for example, has a zero minimum-to-open savings account and no monthly service fees on a savings account that pays 3.44 percent interest.

Even the large money center banks are tweaking their programs so consumers can save without too much effort. Wachovia Corp., No. Consumers are creatures of habit," said Katherine Black, Wachovia's national savings director.

ajc.com