PrintAugust 25, 2008
Biden and son - friends of the credit card industry (Updated)
As more details emerge about Senator Joe Biden's track record, more questions are emerging about the wisdom of Barack Obama in selecting him to be his Vice-Presidential running mate.
One area of concern is revealed by Biden's moniker 'The Senator from MBNA." MBNA is a large credit card company now owned by the Bank of America that was formerly domiciled in Biden's home state of Delaware. As a Senator, Biden advocated for the credit-card industry and received large donations from MBNA, in particular. He supported a bankruptcy bill that made it arduous for consumers to escape from their credit card debt by filing for bankruptcy.
Today's New York Times is reporting that the largesse of MBNA also extended to Joe Biden's son, Hunter, who was paid large sums ($100,000) every year from 2001 to 2005 as a "consultant" to MBNA. Hunter serves as a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington-as do many other family members of Congressmen.
One area of concern is revealed by Biden's moniker 'The Senator from MBNA." MBNA is a large credit card company now owned by the Bank of America that was formerly domiciled in Biden's home state of Delaware. As a Senator, Biden advocated for the credit-card industry and received large donations from MBNA, in particular. He supported a bankruptcy bill that made it arduous for consumers to escape from their credit card debt by filing for bankruptcy.
Today's New York Times is reporting that the largesse of MBNA also extended to Joe Biden's son, Hunter, who was paid large sums ($100,000) every year from 2001 to 2005 as a "consultant" to MBNA. Hunter serves as a lawyer and lobbyist in Washington-as do many other family members of Congressmen.
The irony is palpable. Barack Obama has made protecting consumers from credit card companies-who he portrays as predatory -- a signature issue. In late 2007, Obama introduced his "Credit Card Safety Act" to help consumers evaluate credit card agreements
Just a few months ago he spoke out against credit card companies and specifically addressed the power of credit card companies stating he "fought against the credit card industry's bankruptcy bill that made it harder for working families to climb out of debt" and criticized John McCain for supporting the very same bankruptcy bill that Joe Biden and his son supported and promoted. He has called for new restrictions on "predatory" credit card companies he says deceive consumers into piling up massive debt they have little hope of repaying and spoke of his opposition to the overhaul of the bankruptcy laws that "Biden and Son" supported and promises to overturn the very law that they helped to pass.
File under cynicism and hypocrisy-two words that are more appropriate than hope and change in describing the Obama campaign.
UPDATE
Jim Geraghty reminds us that it is nice to be a Senator's son:
He points out that Hunter Biden at 28, less than two years out of law school, was already a "senior vice president" at Delaware-based credit card giant MBNA."
