Data Shows Strong Interest in a 10% Card Rate Cap (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Right. President Trump is pushing to cap credit card interest rates at 10%. It's unclear exactly how he would do that. And there are debates about whether it's good policy and could hurt the very people it is intended to help. Nevertheless, it is a proposal that is out there that is generating a great deal of interest. With us now, CNN chief data analyst, Harry Enten. When I say it's generating interest, Harry, how much?

[00:00:25] Speaker 2: It is generating a ton, a ton of interest, John Berman. I mean, just take a look here. Google searches for credit card rate cap up 3,200% versus a year ago, up like a rocket. And every single poll that I have looked at, it's an extremely popular policy. And therefore, I'm not sure about the policy, but it is great at this point. Great, great, great politics.

[00:00:50] Speaker 1: Yeah, maybe the victory firm is merely talking about it, whether or not it goes through. Why? Why do you think there's so much interest in this?

[00:00:57] Speaker 2: Why is there so much interest in this? Why do I say it's great politics? Well, take a look here, how Americans feel. Credit card debt is a stress in my life. Look at this. You got the majority of Americans, 55% say credit card debt is a stress in my life. More than that, where cost of living ranks on terms of the top issues in terms of what's affecting you and your family. It is number one, number one in poll after poll after poll. So when you see this, you see a majority of Americans saying credit card debt is a stress in my life and you see that ranking number one, cost of living in terms of the top issues. That is why there's so much interest in something that I think a lot of Americans think can address the very issue that they feel is numero uno, and that is the cost of living.

[00:01:36] Speaker 1: How partisan of an issue has credit card debt become?

[00:01:39] Speaker 2: Yeah, okay. So this is another reason why I think this is great politics is, you know, oftentimes we see issues that divide Americans, liberals and Democrats on one side, conservatives and Republicans on the other. But take a look here. Percentage with credit card debt, 49% of Democrats, 48% of independents and 51% of Republicans. It is a bipartisan problem in this country. So all of a sudden Donald Trump saying, hey, let me find an issue in which I can unite the different factions in this country behind something that I am trying to propose here. This is it, baby. This is an issue that Democrats, that unites Democrats, independents and Republicans, because the percentage with the credit card debt amongst Republicans, independents and Democrats, it's pretty much, gosh darn, equal.

[00:02:23] Speaker 1: What are the chances, though, that there is actually a cap based on people betting on it?

[00:02:28] Speaker 2: Yeah, okay. So essentially you see this, you see it's good politics, right? You see, of course, that the Google searches are way, way up. But in terms of the chance that it actually happens, chance the federal government this year caps credit card rates. At this point, the cash prediction market has it at only a 33% chance. So good politics talking about it, but actually getting it accomplished, that I think is a little bit tougher to do. And the prediction markets agree on that.

[00:02:52] Speaker 1: Yeah, it's not nothing. 33% is not nothing. However, it may be more about the discussion, more about the proposal than actually passing. Correct. We'll see what happens because politics these days always surprises. Harold Etten, thank you very much.