Are you aware that merchants charge more for goods and services so they can offset CC merchant fees? Even a cash paying poor person who cannot get a CC is paying for this.

My comment is to show another way this is perpetrated. People saddled with CC debt could dig themselves out faster if they could write off interest.

> Are you aware that merchants charge more for goods and services so they can offset CC merchant fees?

Well, some places add on a fee, but yes, agreed, some places apply a blanket charge. I don't see how this relates to the tax deduction.

> Even a cash paying poor person who cannot get a CC is paying for this

This is about a tax deduction. Are you saying someone who can't get a credit card is going to be meaningfully affected by a tax deduction?

> People saddled with CC debt could dig themselves out faster if they could write off interest.

This is true, but also the giant number of people who just chose to get into credit card debt would be paying less tax. If you want to make credit cards into effectively interest-free loans then that might cause issues.

> but yes, agreed, some places apply a blanket charge. I don't see how this relates to the tax deduction.

Earlier you asked me to explain how credit cards harm the poor. I showed you, and now you complain that it doesn't pertain to a tax deduction. It's not about a singular thing. The singular thing was one token example of a larger theme that for some reason you refuse to acknowledge.

People who are encumbered by credit card debt are usually people who would still be better off taking the standard deduction these days.

Exactly. It sounds harsh but those encumbered with usurious credit card debt would be better served by being forbidden from having it at all; but that’s a position strongly fought against on all sides.

They would not. One man's "usurious" debt is another's "wtf why do rich people get interest rates under 1% of payday loan offerings" (not in those terms).

... and the answer to that is the charge-off rate on a prime credit card portfolio is currently around 2%, whereas it's 55% for payday loans.

Are you aware merchants charge more for goods and services so they can take returns? Even a perfect consumer who never returns items is paying for this.