USA Today on Debit Card Fees

See: "What debit card fee critics miss on capitalism":

Ever since Bank of America announced a new $5 monthly fee on debit card use, an outcry has echoed from Main Street all the way to the White House. A Fox Business anchor cut up her BofA debit card on the air in front of a sign that read "Big Bad Bank of America." Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told BofA customers to "get the heck out of that bank." President Obama slammed the charge as a bad business practice. And Consumers Union called on Congress and regulators to investigate the new fee, which will go into effect in early 2012.

Let's everybody take a deep breath...

As annoying as the fees are, they're a far cry from the industry's past egregious practices, now banned or blunted. Those included raising rates "at any time for any reason" on existing credit card balances, re-ordering debit transactions to drive up overdraft penalties, and "disclosing" practices in incomprehensible language in type that required a magnifying glass to read.

So what power do aggrieved bank customers have to respond? They can take their business elsewhere. Switching is a hassle, but there's no lack of competition. If enough consumers bolt or howl, then perhaps Bank of America and others will reconsider.

Well, yeah.

In fact, I think the editors are reading my blog: "It's Robbery to Charge for Debit Cards?"