Credit cards and carjacking

I was late with my credit card payment last month, and got socked with a $39 late fee. I simply forgot to go to the website and make the payment. The $39 late fee seemed pretty excessive to me, since I have a good record of paying my bill on time and was only a few days late. I was, frankly, more than a little annoyed with my credit card company for that. In this light, I read a recent comment from one of President Obama's economic advisors:
Austan Goolsbee, an economic adviser to President Obama, said that while the credit card industry had the right to make a reasonable profit as long as its contracts were in plain language and rule-breakers were held accountable, its current practices were akin to “a series of carjackings.”

“The card industry is giving the argument that if you didn’t want to be carjacked, why weren’t you locking your doors or taking a different road?” Mr. Goolsbee said.

As a man who has been carjacked at gunpoint, and who has paid exorbitant credit card late fees, I feel I am well-qualified to comment on this.

Mr. Goolsbee, you are a freakin' moron.

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