HIGHTOWER: GE Wants You to Go Into Debt

Here in Austin, Texas, there's a band that calls itself "Two Nice Girls." It's a three-girl band.Well it's easy to tell who's NOT nice in the world of credit-card finance: GE. Yes, General Electric, the global outfit that owns everything from nuclear power plants to NBC Television. It also owns a major consumer-finance empire that includes 3.7 million credit-card holders.Here's the not-nice part: The GE Capital Corporation has just announced that it will slap a fee on those of you who are so irresponsible that you actually pay-off your credit-card balances each month. That's right, if you do not go into debt and pay monthly interest to GE, you will be assessed an annual fee of twenty-five bucks. The message: shape-up, Go Into Debt!It seems that credit-card companies pile-up 75-percent of their profits on us suckers who don't pay-off our cards each month and end-up paying the companies' usurious interest rates. They DO make a profit on those who pay-off their balances in-full each month, but not enough to cause their shriveled banker's hearts to smile. If fact, GE has a term for cardholders who refuse to load-up on debt: "FREELOADERS."Is this a wacky world or what? Now, if you're not in debt, you're a deadbeat. General Electric concedes that its goal is to compel its customers to increase their debt. Even while Wall Street economists and Washington officials complain that we consumers are spending like there's no tomorrow.So here's the rundown: Merchants and credit-card companies urge us to spend, spend, spend; economists then scold us for not saving enough; and finally GE comes in for the kill by assessing a $25 fee if we don't run-up our credit charges.To stop the thievery and find the best deal on credit cards, contact Bankcard Holders at: 540/389-5445.