And with a little foresight and planning, I could walk out of the house with the cash I'll need and avoid having to use an ATM at all. I have only myself to blame if banks are getting obese at my expense. Nevertheless, I applaud the growing nationwide movement to ban ATM surcharges. The banking industry and its supporters whine that this uprising is rooted in consumer laziness and ignorance, and a knee-jerk liberal tendency to insert big government into every nook and cranny of the marketplace. This is a canard.
Consumers have every right to lay down the ground rules for doing business.
They can do it through the marketplace, regulation, or both. The banking industry uses government to achieve its ends. It supports certain laws and opposes others. In this case, consumers are saying that while we want to continue to enjoy the convenience of ATMs, we do not want to pay twice for the privilege. More power to us.