Go read this article http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/19/business/19credit.html and give me YOUR spin on it.

This article was brought to my attention by someone who I will not name, out of respect. I mean, he’s an otherwise nice guy. But he posted a link to this article, and then said, “If I pay my credit card bills before they draw interest, it’ll mean I pay for it in other ways, more than those who carry debt…That’s a great law!! We end up paying for people who don’t pay…good thinking here!” (I changed the wording, because I don’t want to appear to be sucker-punching him in a place he cannot respond. But this is the gist.)

In response, someone else wrote “Another amazing Washington accomplishment! Gotta love those flippin goof balls!” (I didn’t change this one. I don’t know this guy).

This guy is a conservative, by the way, if you could not tell. More than once he’s posted similar commentary, bashing our Democratic congress and our Democratic president. And I’ve found myself jumping into argue against him, only to erase everything I wrote before posting, because there’s no point attempting a rational discussion with someone who makes irrational statements.

So, did you read the article? Am I wrong? Is there anything in there about Congress passing a law that MAKES credit card companies try to punish us for paying our bills on time? Is there anything indicating these “flippin goodfballs” have done something that directly makes my life worse?

Because what I read was that Congress wants to stop credit card companies from making billions of dollars off of predatory lending. We all saw what happened the last time predatory lending ran rampant. The housing industry collapsed and out country entered a recession.

Here at Antipundit, our goal, when we remember to do it, is to dismantle the nonsense that comes out of knee-jerk reactions. And we try to be careful, and we try not to write something based on our own knee-jerk reactions. So tell me if I’m having one. Because what I’m seeing is a conservative spinning a good thing into a bad thing just because democrats are doing it!

That’s not just crass—it’s evil. Yeah, I said it. I very much doubt the second commenter even bothered reading the article. I’m pretty sure he saw the posting, and assumed Congress was, in fact, passing a law that required credit card companies to charge us more for paying our bills on time.

Now, this guy, he’s not a professional. He’s not on the airwaves, he’s not earning money from sponsors who pay to place ads in and around vitriol and hatred. He’s just a guy, and he’s got a right to his opinion, of course. But what about the professionals? What are they saying about this? I’m going to go do some poking and find out.