Capping Credit Card Rates Will Do More Harm Than Good: Editorial

With voters increasingly alarmed about rising prices, the White House has set its sights on a familiar villain: credit card issuers.

Earlier this month, the president promised a one-year interest-rate cap of 10%, effective Jan. 20, with threats of “very severe things” for issuers that didn’t comply. The threat was ignored, and the administration now wants Congress to legislate. The bad news is that Congress might oblige.

The idea has enthusiastic supporters in both parties, the rare topic that unites Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders with the White House and its populist allies. If prices are too ...