Augus 2, 2021
The Star
Page 5
Totheeditor
Credit card ‘swipe fees’ are W
dragging down merchants
To the Editor:
With the acceleration in online
shopping and widespread use of con-
tactless cards and mobile payments
in stores during the coronavirus pan-
demic, almost every retail purchase
made today is paid for with a credit
card or debit card.
That’s a change that may be here to
stay, but it’s bad neWs for merchants
and consumers alike, especially those
still struggling to recover from the
economic impact of COVID-l9.
The reason is that credit card net-
works and the big banks charge mer-
chants a “swipe” fee averaging about
2 percent of the purchase amount
every time a credit card is used,
whether it’s swiped, inserted or used
via a digital wallet. Those fees add up
quickly, totaling almost $100 billion
a year. They are among most mer-
chants’ highest cost and drive up
prices by hundreds of dollars a year
for the average family.
U.S. swipe fees are the highest in
the industrialized world, seven times
the amount allowed in Europe.
They’ve gotten there because of lack
of competition - credit card swipe
fees for Visa and Mastercard are set
centrally by the two giant card net—
works, and virtually every bank that
issues their cards charges the same
rates rather than competing to offer
lower rates.
Legal experts say that’s a viola-
tion of antitrust law. Furthermore,
transactions on Visa credit cards can
only be processed over the Visa net-
work and the same goes for Master—
card and its network.
VacCines are an investment
To the Editor: ‘
COVID-l9 vaccination is an in-
vestment in our individual and col-
lective futures. While social
distancing, mask-wearing and hand—
washing have helped us in the short
term, vaccines offer a long—term so—
lution for a safe return to normal.
BCBSND is helping to ensure
members who want it have access to
the COVID—19 vaccine. One means
of increasing access is by covering
vaccination costs. It’s an extension of
our commitment to put members’
health and well-being first.
Traditionally, there are two types
of costs related to immunizations—
the cost of the vaccine itself and the
professional costs associated with ad-
ministering the vaccine. In the case
of COVID—19, the vaccine itself is
being paid for through U.S. taxpayer
dollars. The cost of medical staff to
administer the vaccine is being ab-
sorbed by BCBSND. Therefore,
BCBSND members can receive the
vaccine with no out-of-pocket cost.
H,“
icy would reflect, not unilateral pres-
idential power, but the collective wis-
dom of the president and Congress
acting in concert.
The appointment power was cre-
ated to provide a constitutional means
for filling an office created by congres—
sional enactment of a statute. Failure to
fill an office would render meaningless
the purpose of investing Congress with
the authority to create offices, and un-
dermine the ability of government to
function efficiently. Occasionally, a va—
cancy in an office may occur while the
Senate is in recess, necessitating a pres-
idential power to make “recess ap-
pointments.” Thus,Article H, section 2
of the Constitution declares: “The Pres-
ident shall have Power to fill up all Va—
cancies that may happen during the
Recess of the Senate, by granting
Commissions which shall expire at the
End of their next Session.” .
Since the presidency of James
Madison, most occupants of the
White House have interpreted the
Recess Appointment Clause broadly,
so that they could fill any existing va-
cancies, including those that first oc-
curred while the Senate was in
session. Rather than nominate some-
one who might be defeated, presi-
dents could wait until the Senate was
in recess to make an “appointment.”
When Congress returned, the name
’ of the appointee would be submitted
to the Senate for advice and consent,
but by that time, the appointee/nom-
inee would have acquired valuable
experience in the position, making it
more difficult for senators to oppose
the nomination. The circumvention
of the Senate in this manner is what
has given rise to controversy over the
years.
President Ronald Reagan was
clever in gaming the system. He used
recess appointments for the purpose
of undermining the Legal Services
Corporation, a governmental agency
created to provide legal assistance to
the poor in civil cases. In his first
year in office, President Reagan
made no appointments to the board
of directors of the corporation. In his
second year, for the purpose of en—
suring that holdovers from Jimmy
Carter’s term did not dominate the
board, Reagan made seven recess ap-
pointments at the end of 1981. Over
the next couple of years, Reagan
nominated people to the board, but
then withdrew their names before the
Senate could act on the nominations.
With the vacancies intact, Reagan
proceeded to fill the openings with
recess appointments, a strategy that
As we inch closer to business as
usual, those in the medical field con-
tinue to stress the importance of
safely reaching herd immunity. That
occurs when most people, about 70-
85%, become immune to the virus.
The safest way to reach herd immu—
nity is through immunization.
While the COVID-19 vaccines
are new, the science behind them is
not. Decades of revolutionary virol-
ogy and immunology research led to
the viable vaccines before us now.
Their quick entry into the market-
place was not a shortcut in research
. but rather is a direct result of private
and public entities working together
to expedite the development and de—
livery of the vaccines.
BCBSND encourages vaccina-
tion for every, North Dakotan, unless
you have a medical diagnosis that
prohibits you from vaccination. Even
if you don’t feel you’re especially at
risk, please consider vaccination to
protect those not able to receive the
immunization.
:2, v. ,.;V., —.l
Abuse
(Continued from Page 4)
By contrast, debit cards can be
processed over a dozen competing
networks, which offer better security
and lower fees than Visa and Master-
card.
Not surprisingly, banks and the
card networks want to protect the sta-
tus quo. They want to continue mak-
ing enormous profits on the backs of
small businesses and working—class
consumers. They love the windfall
they’ve seen during the pandemic
and are already planning a huge in-
crease in fees next year.
It’s time to bring competition to
credit card ‘swipe fees.
Sincerely,
Arch Simonson
Simonson Station Stores
V of North Dakota
Grand Forks
in your health
While the Vaccine will prevent
most from getting sick, ongoing re-
search is needed to determine if the
vaccines prevent you from harboring
and spreading coronavirus. Experts
are continually learning about simi-
larities and differences between nat-
ural immunity and vaccine-induced
immunity.
If you have questions about
whether you should receive the vac-
cine, talk to your physician.
Even if you already had COVID-
19, I recommend you get vaccinated,
as the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC) recommends.
All North Dakotans are eligible to
receive COVID-l9 vaccines. To find
the nearest vaccine distribution loca-
tion near you, go to
vaccinefinderorg.
Dr. Greg Glasner
Fargo
(Glasner is the-chief medical ofi‘i-
cer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of
North Dakota and a 1982 graduate
of Rolla High School.)
.
enabled him to control the agency
from 1981 through 1984, even
though none of his appointees was
ever confirmed by the Senate.
Recess appointments of federal
judges, including the 15 Supreme
Court Justices who have ascended to
the High Bench through the recess
process, are a matter of special con-
cern since their appointment carries,
as Article III of the Constitution pro-
vides, tenure during “good behavior,”
which can mean, generally speaking,
a lifetime appointment. Recess ap—
pointments have been upheld by the
Supreme Court, but it remains dis-
turbing that recess judges, who will
exercise the same weighty authority
as those that have been subjected to
the advice and consent of the Senate,
will not have been vetted or scruti-
nized by the Senate.
The tools and powers available to
the president to circumvent the
checking and balancing mechanism
of advice and consent in matters of
treaty making and the appointment
power remain a matter of concern
and controversy. This is not to say
that the Senate—the joint partner in
treaty making and appointments—is
not without its own devices to frus-
trate the constitutional design for col-,
lective decision making. We turn
next week to the ways that the Senate
can foil the president’s ambition.
Presentation Medical Center
477-3161
\ ‘rll' Ila.
Located in Presentation Medical Center, Rollo
An account to check on
Dear Savvy Senior,
I’m 58 years old and working on
a plan for my retirement. I’ve read
that I need to check my Social Secu—
rity statement every year to validate
its accuracy. How do I go about
doing this?
Planning Ahead
Dear Planning,
Checking your official Social Se-
curity statement every year is smart
move to make sure your posted eam-
ings are correct, which will ensure
you get the benefits you’re entitled
to.
But most Americans don’t do it.
In fact, most US workers have never
even created a digital “my Social Se-
curity account” so they can access
their statement information. Here’s
what you should know.
Online Statements
In 2017, as a cost cutting measure,
the Social Security Administration
stopped mailing paper Social Secu-
rity statements to everyone under age
60.
The only people who still get
statements in the mail are those over
age 60 who aren’t yet getting bene-
fits and who haven’t set up an online
account. (Paper statements, however,
are still available to anyone on re-
quest by submitting form SSA-
7004.)
If you haven’t done so, you
should create a “my Social Security
account” which will give you instant
access to your personal Social Secu-
rity statement so you can check your
earning record and get estimates of
your future retirement benefits at full
retirement age, as well as at age 62
and age 70.
Your statement will also let you
know how much you would qualify
for if you become disabled, and how
much your family members will re-
ceive in survivors benefits if you die.
How to Create an Account?
To create a “my Social Security
account,” go to SSA.gov/myaccount.
When you open the account, you’ll
be asked to enter your Social Secu-
rity number and birth date, and you’ll
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By Jim Miller
also be prompted to answer a series
of multiple-choice questions that
might include inquiries about finan—
cial products you own and previous
addresses to confirm your identity.
Then you’ll receive a code by either
email or text, which you will enter
online to complete the process.
If you have a problem creating
an online account, call 800-772-
1213. After you establish an ac-
count, you’ll get an annual email
reminder to log on and review your
statement.
If you have a security freeze on
your credit report to help ward off
fraud, you must lift it temporarily to
Temanson
hat’s coming 0 you
set up your online Social Security ac-
count
Specifically, you’ll need to thaw
the freeze at Equifax, the company
the administration currently uses to
help verify users’ identities. ,
Creating an online account is also
a good idea to prevent someone else
from fraudulently creating one first
and using it to steal benefit payments
in the future.
Given the number of security
breaches in recent years, it’s possible
someone may be able to illegally ob-
tain your sensitive personal inforrna—
tion, like your Social Security
number, and use it to set up an ac-
count in your name.
Once you get access to your state-
ment, compare the earnings listed on
your statement with your own tax
records or W—2 statements. You have
to correct errors within 3 years, 3
months and 15 days following the
year of the mistake.
If you happen to spot a discrep-
ancy within that time limit, call 800-
772-1213 to report the error. Some
corrections can be made over the
phone, or you may need to schedule
an appointment and go in with copies
of your W-2 forms or tax returns to
prove the mistake, or you can mail it
m.
Send your senior questions to:
Savvy Senior, PO. Box 5443, Nor-
man, OK 73070, or visit SavvySe-
nior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor
to the NBC Today show and author
of “The Savvy Senior” book.
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