Plastic Capitalism

This book delves into the history of the credit card business in the United States, highlighting the complex interactions between banks, consumers, and federal and state governments.

It explores how bankers created the credit card economy, initially constrained by New Deal regulations, and how they eventually circumvented these regulations to create a highly profitable but exploitative credit industry.

The book details the consumer backlash and regulatory efforts to control credit card practices, as well as the ultimate failure to re-regulate the industry, leading to the current state of high consumer debt and concentrated banking power.