Victory for Stay-At-Home Parents!
Posted October 18th, 2012 by Ashley BoydEveryone wants their hard work and effort to be recognized and valued. When you earn a paycheck for your work, there’s some built-in validation of the “worth” of your effort. But the external recognition of stay-at-home parenting is often more complicated. Sure, the contributions of stay-at-home parents are validated rhetorically but things seem to usually get a little more murky after that.
For this reason (and many others), stay-at-parents were justifiably outraged when new credit card rules, instituted last October as part of the Credit Card Accountability and Responsibility Act (CARD), unintentionally made it impossible for credit-worthy stay-at-home parents, no matter their family’s income or credit history, to get credit in their own name. As we at MomsRising pointed out in one of our first email action alerts on this issue, these rules would mean wealthy stay-at-home moms Michelle Obama and Ann Romney would be unable to get credit cards.
But the story doesn’t end there!
Stay-at-home parents, led by stay-at-home mom Holly McCall, fought back and won!
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it had taken significant action to change credit card rules that have unfairly denied stay-at-home parents access to credit. The CFPB formally released proposed changes to the rules related to the CARD Act in order to reverse the wrongful interpretation of the CARD Act and restore access to credit to credit-worthy individuals.
The CFPB took action after Holly McCall worked with MomsRising and Change.org to generated over 50,000 signatures on our petition to the CFPB to restore stay-at-home parents’ fair access to credit. With Holly, we delivered these signatures directly to CFPB Director Richard Cordray and discussed our concerns about the issue with he and his staff at length.
Soon after, MomsRising was invited to testify about this issue before the U.S. House of Representative’s Sub Committee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. During the hearing, Sub Committee hearing, Congresswomen Carolyn Maloney and Shelley Capito praised our work on this issue and said our campaign was making a real difference in moving things forward.
The CFPB heard us! In fact, in the text and justifications of their proposed rule change, the CFPB cited MomsRising member concerns as a key reason for their decision to take action (page 6, footnote 14!). This is a testament to our work together!
Let’s reward “good behavior”! Click here to add your name to a “Thank You” card to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
We’ll deliver the card to the CFPB to let them know that we appreciate and support their decision to recognize the value of stay-at-home parents’ work.
To learn more about this issue and why it’s so important for stay-at-home parents and others, check out my previous blog on the topic.
What do you think about the CFPB’s move to restore access to credit to credit-worthy stay-at-home parents? Add your comments below and tweet them to @momsrising and @ashleyboyd
5 Comments
May 8, 2013 at 10:37 am by AnitaUPDATE: “‘Stay-at-home spouses or partners who have access to resources that allow them to make payments on a credit card can now get their own cards,’ CFPB director Richard Cordray said in a prepared statement.”
http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/05/08/.UYpc-YYrAKo.twitter
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October 19, 2012 at 9:58 pm by MarieMy 8 years as a SAHM was repaid with $1 in alimony after my divorce in 2011.
Prior to resigning my position, I 100% supported my ex-husband while he attended graduate school and the Years (not a typo) he spent searching for a job.
Although we kept a log detailing the money he would repay me (which, as the dollars racked up, I began to think of as my second 401K), he destroyed it because he found the amount owed to be “depressing”.
The bank records and tax returns did not sway the judge. I was left penniless and have had to hustle to salvage my career, pay child support (again, not a typo – the judge awarded primary, physical custody to my alcoholic/abusive ex). Who’s depressed, now? SAHM should have a contract!
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October 19, 2012 at 11:00 am by BENFrom someone who works in the financial services industry I’m outraged that “MOMS RISING” folks are outraged at the Credit Card Act. When we decide if someone is “credit worthy” of receiving a credit card from us we need to ensure a few things. First and foremost can this individual PAY BACK any debt incurred? If you dont work and have no reportable/taxable income then please explain why on earth we would grant you a tool (credit card) to rack up hundreds and thousands of dollars in potential debt w/o having a MEANS TO PAY IT BACK? The rationale you folks employ of “oh my spouse who does work will pay it back”. WRONG! What if said spouse who does work gets laid off, divorces you, refuses to pay your debts? Now where are we, the financial institution, left? I’ll tell you, we’re left with a an uncollectable debt and no co-signer that we can legally pursue for repayment. All becasue you stay at home people think you are deservant of the same treatment as those who are employed outside of the home.
If you want to be treated like and afforded the same priveleges (credit cards)as those folks who DO EARN A TAXABLE INCOME then get a job!
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October 18, 2012 at 4:04 pm by RuthWoot! Nice work, Ashley!
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Ashley Boyd Reply:
October 18th, 2012 at 6:58 pm
@Ruth, Thanks! It was an amazing team effort!
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