From the Schoolhouse to the Poorhouse : The Credit CARD Act’s Failure to Adequately Protect Young Consumers

Whether through personal experiences or through the experiences of our friends and family, most, if not all, of us are all too familiar with the credit card industry's aggressive attempts to burden young college students with debt that they cannot afford to repay. Many students apply for and use credit cards without fully considering the negative effects credit card debt can have on their academic, personal, and financial wellbeing. In May 2009, Congress attempted to address the problem of young consumer indebtedness by passing the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009. While this Article recognizes and applauds Congress's attempt to protect college-aged consumers, it questions whether the current legislation, which narrowly focuses on restricting young consumers' access to credit cards, is the most effective way to provide this protection.In light of the increased levels of young consumer credit card indebtedness and the long-term negative consequences that befall many college-aged consumers as a result of this debt, this Article asserts that the current legislation misses an important opportunity to provide greater and more effective protection for this cohort of consumers. By narrowly focusing on the availability of credit cards to college-aged consumers, the Credit CARD Act fails to include provisions that provide protection for young consumers once they obtain and begin to use credit cards. Therefore, this Article argues that more comprehensive measures are needed to help protect the financial futures of college-aged consumers