It's just another huge corporation looking to rack up huge profits by getting immigrants "assimilated" into the American way of life (circa 2007) quickly...getting into insane amounts of credit card debt at obscenely high interest rates to the point where they struggle to make the minimum payment. In other words...same old same old. Follow the money.
What does your rant have to do with credit cards? You think suddenly, if they couldn't get credit cards, the illegal immigration problem would be solved?
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20070215-080826-8275r.htm Few might recall that when Bank of America was first created it was called Bank of Italy. The company began as a creditor for immigrants, at that time Italian immigrants, whom the larger banks ignored. That fact might give some context to the recent furor over Bank of America's pilot program of giving illegal aliens credit cards. Of course the difference between then and now is a matter of legality. The immigrants Bank of America (then Italy) did business with were legal, whereas today they are not. And that difference makes all the difference in the world. Although the Department of Homeland Security has raised questions about the program, calling it "problematic," there is little reason to believe that on its face what Bank of America is doing is illegal. It also strains the imagination to think that Bank of America, as one of the largest banks in the world, didn't have its lawyers thoroughly vet the program for any potential problems. But if DHS upon review finds the program illegal, then by all means the federal government should shut it down. But if it's not illegal, the question goes to Congress: Why isn't it illegal? For some time, banks have been offering illegal aliens checking accounts and mortgages. Bank of America, however, has gone one step further by offering credit cards to applicants without Social Security numbers or credit histories -- which is to say, it is actively targeting illegals. Critics are projecting all sorts of malicious intent in this, but the fact is that Bank of America, like any other bank or business, is out to make a buck and discover new untapped markets. Apparently, the 12 million or so illegal aliens in the country are too much of a temptation to pass up. We're not one for bashing businesses out to make a profit, but Bank of America should have some concern for what its program will do to the country's immigration crisis. By further eroding the incentive for a foreigner to enter the country legally or an illegal alien's incentive to seek citizenship, Bank of America is directly contributing to the problem. The program is also an alluring opportunity for more sinister characters to take advantage of America's open society, such as increasing the chances of identity theft and money laundering. The worst-case scenario, as Rep. Tom Tancredo put it, is that Bank of America might unwittingly extend a line of credit to a potential terrorist. These are serious issues that Bank of America, knowingly or not, is refusing to acknowledge. As Adam Smith wrote a long time ago, the free market can only work in civilized societies in which businessmen act according to some measure of moral responsibility. This program is a blatant violation of that duty. As such, even if by the letter of the law the program is legal, Bank of America must shut it down.
i think this issue falls down along the lines of whether or not you are opposed to illegal immigration. i am against illegal immigrants being here and bush and the democrats amnesty plan. i dont want people to live a worse life out of spite. i just dont want my bank helping people who are breaking our laws.
no, but giving them credit cards certainly doesn't fix it. besides my response was to this giving them credit cards, bank loans, mortgages and whatever else only encourages them to establish themselves, and make a life here. it does promote a sort of assimilation, but it doesn't solve the problem of being in the country illegal.
I disagree. Unless you think having access to credit cards will increase illegal immigration, this doesn't really have much to do with opposition to illegal immigration (or at least, it shouldn't). The question BoA is dealing with is, "given that illegal immigrants are here, what should we do?" From that perspective, as long as they are here, you might as well try to integrate them into the economy. To get a bank account (and then a credit card), you have to get a tax ID number. That registers you in the system - and that gets you paying taxes. If they are here anyway, its best that they are integrated into the system than running an underground economy that benefits no one. The only way it really is linked to illegal immigration (as opposed to illegal immigrants) is if you believe that this type of service makes it more likely someone will immigrate here illegally. To me, that's a non-starter. These people are risking their lives to come here for a better life - I don't think the idea of whether they can get a credit card will play into that decision. Unfortunately, Compass Bank probably isn't for you then, either. Nor is any other major bank, most likely. Most of them offer bank accounts and mortgages to illegal immigrants. I think those are far more serious methods of integrating them into society than are credit cards.
this is about as dumb and simplistic as it gets. you cant recognize the difference b/t a traffic ticket and someone illegally entering our country?
how does this statement jibe w/ your signature? glad to see you were able to formulate a response to the editorial though.
I don't have statistic data to back myself up. However, according to my experience, people I know in this and other countries, it seems to be that new immigrants and illegals are more responsible with money, and they work a lot harder for a lot less money. Will there be credit card abuse among them? Sure, but I don't see they will exceed the ratio of the legals. The stories I heard about bad tenants who refuse to pay rents are all long time legals. The credit risk is not as high as some might think. Nowadays, it's troublesome with some purchases if you don't have a credit card, and you are stopped for any online shopping if you don't have one. That's a huge market for the banks and retailers. I believe Bank of America will benefit a lot from this move, and retailers are going to benefit from it as well. It's not something designed to help illegals, but rather pure profit-driven business, and it's helping illegals as a side effect. I am not here to argue whether this program is right or wrong, but the US credit system is far from perfect. When I first came here, I was denied personal and business credit cards multiple times by a large bank, even though I showed them platinum cards in Canada and Germany from the exact same bank. I had to use my foreign currency cards in the beginning. Then, I just moved everything to another bank.
im not censoring it. i think its rubbish. i already hear enough tony blankley. its the typical nativist rant that anything that might make life a bit more normal to undocumented workers is bad. they are here. you aren't going to deport them all. lets instead try to incorporate them into the mainstream.
this takes us to the question of do we try and stop allowing more to flow through? and at what point, or population size for the country as a whole, do we reach the brink of diminishing returns?
but look. a mexican planning on crossing the border illegally isn't going to be motivated because after he comes here and perhaps has a job and has some semblance of financial stability there is a possibility that he might get a credit card from bank of america. it only serves to bring some financial normalcy to people here already. it allows them to be incorporated into the transparent above board financial activities. it doesn't hurt anyone. the argument about should we have a fence or tougher immigration laws is one thing. the notion that we should be vindicative and create a living hell for people who are here and hard working is morally repugnant.
In other OLD news, Compass Bank (headquartered in Birmingham, AL) was just purchased by a bank from Spain February 16, 2007 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. of Bilbao, Spain has agreed to buy Compass Bancshares Inc., based in Birmingham, Ala. for $9.6 billion, according to published reports. BBVA, which is Europe's eighth top bank by market capitalization, will fund the purchase in part by the issuance of 196 million new shares to increase its capital by 5.5%. The bank will also sell its 5% stake in Iberdrola, a Bilbao, Spain-based private electric utility, to take in 844 million euros, reports said. The deal leaves BBVA a step closer to the company’s goal of U.S. expansion, however some analysts claim they overpaid and BBVA shares fell 3.3%, reports said.
This sucks, but BofA sucks. I'm a college student I've banked there for two years, haven't had in over draft in months, and I can't get a credit card to help pay for school expenses but my parents illegal immigrant neighbors down the street can????? That is so wrong. I do, however, see the logic in it and honestly if I was BofA's CEO I'd look into doing the same thing because its a huge market that sends money back into our economy and helps raise my bottom line... great plan on their part but horrible in the grand scheme of things like...I don't know....um say the law.
I maybe a little Fuzzy but didn't The American People pay for the last Savings and Loan Debacle? why would this one be any different? Rocket River
no, the time to panic was when armed mexican military started crossing our border and protecting/covering drug running routes while our government does nothing. the time to panic was when armed mexican overran a national guard post, where the troops there were not allowed to have weapons. the time to panic was when bush signed us onto the north american union and started systematically tearing this country down. the time to panic was when illegal immigration began to dramatically rise (coincidentally, under bush). we now have anywhere from 12-30 illegals in this country where 10 years ago it was 5 million. the credit card kerfuffle is just another problem in the larger picture. (or maybe im just watching too much lou dobbs? )
actually, these days seems like the traffic ticket is a bigger offense. this is a post 9/11 world we live in. we can leave our borders wide open, as long as people arent speeding!
