Trade beads until Bernie's elected?

I read with interest Sean Herling's recent, socialist view on transaction fees being charged for government services. Why does the government allow transaction fees to be charged when paying the Illinois Secretary of State with a credit card?

How about because the U.S. is free market economy whereby companies can charge for the services it provides. Are you aware that the citizens of the U.S. received every dollar back from TARP plus interest?

You asked how many bank execs got bonuses from on the DMV account? Probably not one of them. Banks making sizable profits is a good thing for our economy and they are free to charge reasonable fees for the important services they provide. Also, the banking industry is far from a monopoly. In fact, Chicagoland is a hypercompetitive market for banks meaning they must compete fiercely for business. And that is good for consumers.

If you don't like paying the fees that banks and credit card companies charge, feel free to not use the valuable services they provide. You can also not use the services provided by airlines, insurance companies, car companies, rental and sales, hotels, cable companies and cellphone companies while you're at it.

Perhaps you can trade beads for what you need until the self proclaimed socialist, Bernie Sanders, is elected. If that happens, I'm sure you'll get everything you want for free including health care and college tuition. That is until Atlas shrugs.

Ross Weigand

Glen Ellyn