Blue Jersey's Interview of Bob Menendez: Iraq

by: JRB

Tue Jul 17, 2007 at 11:05:36 AM EDT

Bob Menendez on the Levin-Reed Amendment and the Republicans' Filibuster

by: JRB

Mon Jul 16, 2007 at 06:12:50 PM EDT

Naturally, part of Jay's conversation with Senator Menendez had to do with Iraq. Among other issues surrounding the war, the Senator gave an explanation of the Levin-Reed Amendment and shared his insight to the Republicans' upcoming filibuster.

Dodd and Levin take on the credit card industry

by: Nelson

Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 05:42:04 PM EDT

Not familiar with the interchange fee?  That is probably because Visa and MasterCard want it that way, seeing as how they control more than 80% of the market and wrote rules that make it virtually impossible to tell consumers how much interchange fees cost them. Whether you're from New Jersey or anywhere in the US, this is an issue that affects us all. 

The interchange fee is a percentage of each transaction that Visa and MasterCard banks collect from merchants every time a consumer uses a credit or debit card to pay for a purchase.  If you're curious the cost was more than $30 billion in 2005, more than late, annual and cash advance fees combined.  Additionally, interchange fees cost the average American family hundreds of dollars per year.  In fact as this consumeraffairs.com article highlights,

Interchange fees are often so high that merchants lose money on plastic transactions, particularly for `micropayment' purchases such as food. Because retailers are barred from offering discounts for buying with cash, the end result is that prices go up for all the goods they sell, and consumers never know why.