Remember the outcry over Bank of America’s plan to charge a $5/month fee for using a debit card? Well, Bank of America backed off in response. Now we know that more than 600,000 people moved their bank account because of the plan. Both actions — BofA’s decision not to move ahead with the fee, and the bank-transfer statistic, show that a free marketplace will determine the success or failure of products and services. No rule or regulation was required to “protect” consumers from the proposed fee. Consumers “protected” themselves by walking away. Regulations of any kind should be imposed by government very cautiously and only when individuals cannot reasonably be expected to “protect” themselves on their own.
