Poll Tracker

In our plastic-addicted society, 60 percent of Americans believe that credit cards are a very or somewhat important part of the economy and 51 percent are worried that if Congress requires credit card companies to reduce the interest they charge, the cards will be harder to get, according to a Rasmussen Reports poll conducted Dec.18-19. That balances off against the 80 percent who believe credit card companies are taking unfair advantage of consumers with the rates they are charged at a time when the Fed has been pushing rates down.

The Census Bureau says that in 2006 there were 173 million cardholders in 2006 carrying 1.4 billion cards, a number expected to grow to 181 million people holding 1.6 billion cards in 2010. The Rasmussen poll says 85 percent of those surveyed believe cards tempt people to buy things they cannot afford.