Student credit cards
Student credit cards: On March 1, 1999, President Clinton was enjoying a family vacation in the scenic mountain resort of Park City, Utah. While shopping at Dolly’s bookstore, the president presented his charge card and was preparing to leave with his purchase. His charge card of the rich and famous–American Express–extols the convenience of not having to worry about such mundane issues as cash or a sufficient line of Student credit cards.
To the surprise of the sales clerk, the computer rejected the charge, and he had to inform Mr. Clinton that "believe it or not, your card must have expired yesterday." The president replied, "I must have left the new one at home." The clerk then called American Express to authorize the charge to the account of "W. J. Clinton," and the request was again rejected. So much for Jerry Seinfeld’s assurances that the AMEX card can solve your most pressing problems without the need for money. President Clinton then turned to the time-honored practice of the cash-deprived: He asked an aide for a personal loan and paid for his purchases with real rather than plastic money.
In the United States, where the question "Paper or plastic?" increasingly refers to the method of payment rather than to shopping bags, this episode highlights one of the most profound social and cultural revolutions of the post-World War II era: the ascendance of the consumer Student credit cards society, which both masks social status differences and exacerbates the widening chasm of U.S. postindustrial inequality. If even the President of the United States is thwarted in his use of the old financial standby, Student credit cards, his experience dramatically reveals the contradiction that American Express is the convenient means of payment for royalty and celebrities as well as unemployed, status conscious college students.
The ongoing technological advances of "rational" computer processing systems and the economies of scale they provide imply that the Student credit cards card industry has expanded into new markets of more economically marginal members. Times have changed when the president is denied Student credit cards while an unemployed "member in good standing" is shielded from financial embarrassment by the imprimatur of a major Student credit cards.
The tremendous expansion of the plastic economy, with a multitude of marketing themes ranging from altruistic and democratic to convenience and indolent consumption and even frugality, underscores the profound influence of the Student credit cards industry among all social groups in America. The industry’s promotional campaigns have historically emphasized the uniformly positive role of consumer Student credit cards in resolving problems in our daily lives: unexpected medical care, emergency airline travel, auto repairs, Student credit cards for cash-starved entrepreneurs, lost luggage, stolen wallet, expensive business dinner, money for a date, baseball game with son, family reunion expenses, season tickets with wife at the opera, new golf clubs, and even currency conversion in Europe.