Senator Josh Hawley, Republican of Missouri, is one of those Republicans who does not support free markets. The latest evidence is the "Capping Credit Card Interest Rates Act," which would cap the annual percentage rate for credit cards at 18 percent.
A press release from Hawley complains that "the biggest banks are just getting richer" and that "working people face higher financial burdens at the exact time the biggest banks are booking bumper profits."
You'd think politicians might prefer to see banks making profits than banks failing and going out of business, but Hawley apparently does not see it that way. Nor does he acknowledge that the higher interest rates are driven largely by the Federal Reserve, that is, government officials, not private profit seekers.
In any event, maybe when Hawley leaves the Senate he can start a credit card company that helps working people by offering credit cards with low annual percentage rates. He might find it more challenging than he expects. But if he can find a way to make it work, he'd probably find himself with plenty of customers.
Typically, price controls lead to shortages, so if Hawley's legislation passes, the consequence is likely to be less availability of credit, and lower credit limits, for precisely the "working people" he says he's advocating for.