Durbin Remains Persistent – And Misguided

Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) deserves credit for persistence. He successfully introduced new regulations and price controls in the debit card market in 2010, and he’s consistently tried to expand both in the credit card market ever since.

The fact that the 2010 Durbin amendment led to the virtual disappearance of debit card rewards programs and no-fee checking accounts, without delivering the lower retail prices supporters touted, hasn’t deterred him. (For more on the harmful consequences, see here, here, here, here, and here.)