Banks In New York Can Screw Over Their Customers Again

Banking customers in New York will have a rude awakening soon.  Republicans have voted to reinstate excessive fees for poor and working class families. The GOP-controlled Senate and now House have passed a bill to repeal consumer protections put in place by President Joe Biden.

Banks in New York will likely soon be able to impose higher fees on customers after both of the Republican-controlled houses voted to repeal protections. Biden's changes were to take place in October 2025.

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Republicans in the U.S. Senate and House recently voted to repeal one of the protections put in place by President Biden. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at President Biden's direction, limited overdraft fees to $5.

People should certainly be responsible with their money, but more of us working class New Yorkers have been in a situation where we over-drafted our accounts. Charging a $35 (or more, since there are no limits in place again) overdraft fee when a person doesn't have money in their account seems like adding insult to injury. Mistakes and bad situations happen. There's a certain brand of cruelty in America now that aims to dig the knife in deeper and twist it.

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Republicans control 9 out of 10 of the top 10 poorest states in America. Maybe it's coincidental, or maybe it's not, but the question comes to mind, 'Why do people keep putting politicians with a reputation of keeping poor people poor in a position of power?'

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Tim Scott, who represents the 9th poorest state, led the GOP effort to roll back the cap on bank overdraft fees. Only one Republican, Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri, voted with Democrats to keep the limits in place. Hawley may need to switch sides because he asked a very valid question that seems to go against the GOP modus operandi: "Why would we help the big banks at the expense of working people?"

The U.S. House, which is also controlled by Republicans, just voted on the bill. It now goes to Trump to sign it into law, which I believe is likely to happen. This is just another example of consumer protections being rolled back and abandoned.

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