Elizabeth Warren Interviewed By Bill Maher On Credit Card Legislation, Usury (VIDEO)

TARP watchdog Elizabeth Warren sat down for an interview with Bill Maher on last night's episode of "Real Time." One of the topics she and Maher discussed was the current credit card legislation and how usury has regained a place within our society. Warren stated that this is the reason we needed a credit card bill of rights, to prevent companies from arbitrarily raising interest rates and burying people in a mountain of debt. Maher took another angle, saying it proved that we really just don't treat each other very well.

Watch a clip of the interview below.

Comments

[PhilipTaylor]

1. TRULY FAIR SYSTEM needs leaders drawn from new soil, NOT People with obligations to Wall St but knowledgeable like WARREN+Krugman+Stiglitz and others, possessing extensive knowledge!

2. Obama has delegated Regulatory Reform to the FED and Treasury who put us in this CRISIS!

3. Define a New and Improved Model of Capitalism that Moves from Leveraged Capitalism to Meritorious Capitalism:

--Stop Current Leveraging Capitalism=Rewards Wrongdoing=Apocalypse in Two Decades
--Create Meritorious Capitalism=Sustainable+Profit Oriented+Clean Environment+Prosperity
--Best Model of Capitalism=formulated to resistant elite manipulation+injustice+foster tranquility
--Reward Individuals for Income Appreciation=Profits+Public Good as proper model of capitalism
--Where are True Reformers=Intellectual honesty demands redesign of Corporations
--Redesign of Corporations=facilitate broad populace participation fairly+sustainably in profitability

[rabiddog6708]

I loved the part of the show where Bill make the remark about how awful CNN was and that America needed a real news channel. I used to watch CNN and MSNBC on a daily basis, but gave up about 2 years ago. The media takes a story like the passing of Diana Spencer and bombards the airwaves for weeks on a 24 hour basis, as if nothing else was going on in the world because they are afraid someone will tune out if they aren't talking about the OJ Simpson trial or other such nonsense.

[WarSkeptic]

I wish he would have interviewed her about her actual job
Which is overseeing the bail-out money
She has nothing to do with any kind of credit card regulation
She has nothing to do with the stimulus program

She spun Maher all the way. Its incredibly ironic to hear her talk about usury, seeing as how she obviously doesn't believe in it, the "loans" she gives out are interest free

[golferman]

This loans are not interest free. They are not loans. It's a bailout. We buy stock and when everything gets back to normal we will sell the stock. And at a pretty good profit I would bet. And I enjoyed her views about the credit card mess. I don't remember Maher introducing her as a credit card expert. So I don't think she claimed to be an expert on the subject. Bill brought the credit card subject up and she gave her views. And BTW I agree with her.

[WarSkeptic]

Wouldn't you like him to ask her about the TARP money instead of things she has nothing to do with?

And yes they are interest free loans. We did not nationalize which was the other option. If you think we are going to make a profit from this TARP nonsense you are a fool

[researcher]

yes and during that show he dumped on ASU as a party school and i received my PHD from there.

if there were parties there I sure did not get an invite in seven years working on that degree.

but I have heard that east coast kids come to az for the weather and the parties.

not in my dept did I see such a thing.

oh well this lady made sense. finally a harvard person makes sense.

see how I lumped all harvard's in one bucket. :-)

[Acidic]

ha ha, blah blah

[Acidic]

Just kidding my friend! I to have degree from a so-called party school

[eilish]

My degree came from an obscure little college where I learned to write complete sentences and spell correctly.

[kindmind]

Excellent and clear.

[RButler]

I saw her recently on Jon Stewart's show, another comedy show. How come these short, humorous yet intelligent interviews are more informative than all that nonsense on 'serious' financial shows? BTW. She's good. She knows her stuff and still is able to keep up with Maher and Stewart. I'm glad she's where she is right now and I hope she isn't neutralized by Wall Street, lobbyists and politicians.

[CompliantMedia]

It is so sad and disheartening to witness how far so many American businesses have gone to make their primary goal the maximizing of profits through deceit and misrepresentation.

When did they all start acting like car salesmen? It is appalling how widespread it has become.

What is especially disconcerting is that so often the victims feel helpless - and they probably are.

But even the large institutions (e.g., the U.S. Government), who should have safeguards and policies in place to prevent victimization, fall prey without a whimper. There is probably no better example than defense contractors who routinely feast at the Federal trough.

[wdw505]

there is nothing wrong with maximizing profits

[petef59]

Through deceipt and misrepresentation? That is not profit, that is crime.

[CompliantMedia]

Funny thing. Bernie Madoff agrees with you and feels exactly the same way.

[bltmn]

It is as though lying has become a sacrament.

[hawkseye]

Maher's commencement address (if he were invited to give one) was the best part of the show.

[GrkAm]

She certainly has my vote! She is an intelligent person, fighting for the rights of the middle class. And, explains banking in terms understandable by all Americans.

What I am having a problem with is that she stated that there is NO trail for the first $350,000,000 billion of the "bail out".

I'm surprised one minute, not at all the next!!

[floridafun]

how are you surprised by this? it was totally processed under the republiban administration with their usual cloak and daggers methodology..remember bush insisted NO ACCOUNTABILITY OR REVIEW BY ANYONE? change is good!

[AAKAlan]

A breath of fresh air. And a very smart lady.

[bltmn]

Maher is correct to point out that this society seems more intent than ever to trick and trap and scr ew each other for a buck. I have worked around, and for, people who seem irrationally obsessed with ripping people off. It's an odd, pseudo-macho game that has replaced ingenuity as the driving force of the economy.

This behavior disgusts me. But, being a good Liberal, I try to understand what brings out such evil in people. I've found that most scam-artists see their targets as lazy, irresponsible, and undisciplined and therefore deserve to be taken advantage of. I think it's largely a delusional rationalization for flat-out greed, but this society has become spoiled in many ways, and we can be undisciplined and lazy, and we do borrow way too much money. My point is that reining-in lenders who entrap consumers is only half the story - let's also look at what makes it so easy to do so.

[GrkAm]

Good post! Everything was so easy for many years from home equity loans, to car loans AND credit cards. Often, everything got maxed out. Everyone pretty much had whatever they wanted, WHEN they wanted it. I don't think you can change that!

This included the financial institutions, too! The signs were there, but we all were encouraged to spend and spend more. All the while, because of years of de-regulation, we were being charged outrageous interest rates (all explained in the fine print in legal language few people understood).

Regulation on ALL financial institutions again is a place to start, and a Consumer Bill of Rights, so there would be no surprises for consumers. Personal responsibility is just that, and it extends to ALL aspects of our lives.

[richard]

This woman is sane, sensible, reasoned, civil, logical and everything she says makes perfect sense to any rational human being. So of course she will be attacked, discredited or ignored. There are voices of reason out there trying to help, but they are being shouted down by the lunatic fringe, greedy bankers and credit card companies who seem to maintain the same stranglehold on the economy whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge, I guess our government is not red or blue, rather the same shade of green.

[wdw505]

yes are you surprised.......nothing is wrong with greed when used properly

[Tulka2]

(Cover your mouth when you do that. That Ayn Rand thing is a bad bug.)

[Oliver Watson]

wdw505, I know nothing of your political and/or religious leanings and I am am not attacking you. merely picking up on your point.

But from one of, if not the most Christian nation on the planet, the idea that Greed is good, is counter to the core beliefs of Christianity.
Greed is one of the 7 deadly sins...
Which puts the Republicans at odds with their own beliefs.

and in fact, when is greed ever good? Especially financial greed?
Does having the most money mean that you'll be saved from swine flu or the apocalypse?

Greed in the UK (MPs de-frauding the public for their own greed) has undermined Parliament's ability to do anything. Greed in the US has brought the world's economy to the brink of collapse.
The idea that greed is good, that sprang up in the 80's, (maybe because of Oliver Stone's Wall Street or maybe the film reflected the Wall Street's mood at the time) is plain and simply, 'selfish'. If you have too much of something... there is someone out there with not enough.

[rf-hawaii]

Okay, so the woman is a peach. Let's add her to the list of people we will support and protect.

We're all in this together.

Thank our stars for people like Elizabeth Warren. Fair-minded people in government.

[wdw505]

no we are not all in this together........have some personal responsibility

[floridafun]

yes we are...and thankfully our president and his staff are actually addressing our huge problems. and in a transparent manner!! finally a real leadership administration is on the job! elizabeth does a good job explaining our situation!

[BBackSoon]

I really do like Elizabeth Warren, I have seen her on a few shows and she gets a little flummoxed from time to time but she knows what she is taking about and can spell it out for most of us. As long as you believe the market will correct yourself.

[SiberianRat]

"We don't treat each other very well." He's soooooo right. That whole piece ("we will do anything to each other for money") is totally true and it's totally sick and dysfunctional and is going to be the downfall of the country if we don't change soon. The "American experiment" will go down in history as a miserable failure without a significant shift in priorities.

[Tulka2]

My dear. The first act of a revolutionary is to stop buying into "we". I am sure you are none of those things. Bill Maher is entertaining, but he is not enlightened regarding human nature. The Dalai Lama carries more weight with me and he finds most humans cooperative and loving. The problem is not most humans. The problem is the lack of banking regulations.... just as it was in Dicken's time.

[SiberianRat]

I agree with you that most humans are good deep down (unlike the cynical Maher), but we have this toxic idea in the US that money and materialism are more important than compassion, cooperation, etc. This toxin infects too many of our people, even good people, and we must find a collective "cure" for this line of thinking and approach to living.

[olmossy]

Dickens ! that reminds me, what we need some poorhouses, and some debtor prisons. That will solve everything!

[Acidic]

It's the reason why we're the most powerful and yet screwed up industrialized nation. Gotta take the good with the bad?

[jefered]

The most powerful? In what arena and since when?

[olmossy]

Here is the sad truth America. George Bailey REALLY wasn't ever born. And We do live in POTTERSVILLE.

[Tulka2]

The banks, who the small percentage of ruthless, greedy humans hide behind, would love us to buy that it's all human nature, that it's all of our fault that the melt-down happened. Phooey. I don't buy it. This happened because the banks bought off the government and there was not regulation. There are names. We should name them.

[olmossy]

I never meant all people were bad, Just that Potter had won, and is in charge.