BofA fallout offers us a lesson

Mark R. Craven, Las Vegas

Monday, Nov. 7, 2011 | 2 a.m.

Any reasonable person could have predicted the results of Bank of America charging a new debit card fee. The unreasonable ones would have predicted that all other major (evil and greedy) banks would follow suit, thereby gouging the unprotected public. But reason prevailed and through market pressures by BofA customers voting with their accounts, the bank reversed its position, much like Netflix customers recently.

So why isn’t it as reasonable to expect that bank customers are fully capable of doing the same thing to any change in bank policies or fees? If you don’t like how any company does business, choose another business. There will always be an alternative. It’s the capitalist, free-enterprise way. And despite the onerous regulations imposed by federal regulators, customers can still outvote federal government regulators. Let banks alone, let them charge the fees and rates they choose, and the public will decide who fails and who prospers.