How Checking Account Fees and Terms Vary by State

October 10, 2012, 4:10 pm

By ANN CARRNS

No one likes to pay bank fees. And they are even more annoying when it is clear that the amount and variety of fees can vary depending not only on where you bank, but also on the state where you live.

The Pew Safe Checking in the Electronic Age project, part of the Pew Charitable Trusts, recently analyzed the fees and terms offered to consumers in the 50 states, using the country's 12 biggest banks by deposits. (The 12 are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank, TD Bank, SunTrust, BB&T, HSBC Bank USA, Regions Bank and Capital One. Together, these banks held nearly half of the country's deposits as of October 2011.)

The center created a tool that allows comparison of what is paid in one state with national medians. (Each state was evaluated based on the banks that had a retail presence there; no state has all 12 banks.)

Nationally, for instance, Pew found that 89 percent of checking accounts had a monthly fee. The median fee was $12, and the median minimum balance amount necessary to avoid the monthly fee was $2,000. The median length of a bank disclosure, meanwhile, was 69 pages. And the median number of “extra” fees - categories beyond the 12 most common fees charged by many banks - was 26.

But a quick look at Pew's state-by-state map finds significant variation in those numbers. Arkansas, where I live, pretty much tracks the national median, except for the minimum balance requirement. (It's higher here, at $2,500.) And it's a bit more fee heavy, with 34 extra types of charges.

Compare that with Massachusetts, which has a median minimum balance requirement of $6,000 - the highest amon g the states - but fewer additional sorts of fees (11).

In both of those states, the most you could pay in a single day from an overdraft - that is, overspending an account - is $140. But the “worst case” situation, which occurs when you don't cover the shortage within a certain period of time and incur extended overdraft fees, is very different: $1,015 in Arkansas, versus $1,420 in Massachusetts.

South Dakota and Alaska, meanwhile, top the list for the median length of disclosures (129 pages and 148 pages, respectively).

How does your bank compare with those in your state, and with big banks nationally?

How Checking Account Fees and Terms Vary by State

October 10, 2012, 4:10 pm

By ANN CARRNS

No one likes to pay bank fees. And they are even more annoying when it is clear that the amount and variety of fees can vary depending not only on where you bank, but also on the state where you live.

The Pew Safe Checking in the Electronic Age project, part of the Pew Charitable Trusts, recently analyzed the fees and terms offered to consumers in the 50 states, using the country's 12 biggest banks by deposits. (The 12 are Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, U.S. Bank, PNC Bank, TD Bank, SunTrust, BB&T, HSBC Bank USA, Regions Bank and Capital One. Together, these banks held nearly half of the country's deposits as of October 2011.)

The center created a tool that allows comparison of what is paid in one state with national medians. (Each state was evaluated based on the banks that had a retail presence there; no state has all 12 banks.)

Nationally, for instance, Pew found that 89 percent of checking accounts had a monthly fee. The median fee was $12, and the median minimum balance amount necessary to avoid the monthly fee was $2,000. The median length of a bank disclosure, meanwhile, was 69 pages. And the median number of “extra” fees - categories beyond the 12 most common fees charged by many banks - was 26.

But a quick look at Pew's state-by-state map finds significant variation in those numbers. Arkansas, where I live, pretty much tracks the national median, except for the minimum balance requirement. (It's higher here, at $2,500.) And it's a bit more fee heavy, with 34 extra types of charges.

Compare that with Massachusetts, which has a median minimum balance requirement of $6,000 - the highest amon g the states - but fewer additional sorts of fees (11).

In both of those states, the most you could pay in a single day from an overdraft - that is, overspending an account - is $140. But the “worst case” situation, which occurs when you don't cover the shortage within a certain period of time and incur extended overdraft fees, is very different: $1,015 in Arkansas, versus $1,420 in Massachusetts.

South Dakota and Alaska, meanwhile, top the list for the median length of disclosures (129 pages and 148 pages, respectively).

How does your bank compare with those in your state, and with big banks nationally?

McCaskill Ads Feature Victims of Sexual Assault

October 10, 2012, 3:34 pm

By JOHN ELIGON

Senator Claire McCaskill's campaign released blistering attack ads against Representative Todd Akin on Wednesday that featured three Republican women who said they were rape victims and criticized Mr. Akin for his opposition to allowing sexual assault victims to have access to emergency contraception.

In three separate 30-second clips, each woman â€" listed only by a first name, Diana, Joanie and Rachel â€" stares directly into the camera and makes her pitch against Mr. Akin, accusing him of denying women a right to choose.

Diana described herself as a pro-life mother who never has voted for Ms. McCaskill, the one-term Democratic Missouri senator, but now she will because of Mr. Akin.

“In the hospital I was offered emergency contraception,” she said. “Because of my personal beliefs, I declined. Here's what else I believe: no woman should be denied that choice.”

The ad was the latest example of how the McCaskill campaign has taken a more aggressive stance in recent weeks on Mr. Akin's comments in August that victims of a “legitimate rape” had biological mechanisms to fend off getting pregnant. Mr. Akin was roundly criticized from members of both parties. Republicans tried to get him to drop out of the race so they could replace him with another candidate. But he refused, and the deadline for him to withdraw passed on Sept. 25.

Joanie brought up the “legitimate rape” comment, saying that although Mr. Akin said he misspoke, “I do believe he showed his true colors and his true intent on what he intends to do if he's elected.”

“As a woman of faith, I must forgive Todd Akin,” she continued. “But as a voter, it's not something I can forget.”

Rachel said that she was raped a decade ago during a home invasion and that she took emergency contraception at the hospital.

“At the worst moment of her life, no woman should be denied that choice,” she said. “What Todd Akin said was troubling enough, but it's what he believes that's worse.”

The new ad comes as Ms. McCaskill was forced to fight off negative publicity surrounding her campaign. An Associated Press report on Tuesday said that companies with ties to Ms. McCaskill's husband received nearly $40 million in federal subsidies for low-income housing projects while she has been in office. The campaign denied that Ms. McCaskill had been funneling funds to benefit her husband, saying she had voted against some measures that would have financed the businesses that contracted with the federal government to provide low-income housing. The campaign also told The Associated Press that the bills financed a variety of government programs.

Ryan Hite, a spokesman for Mr. Akin, said in a statement on Wednesday that Ms. McCaskill's new ads were an effort to distract attention from the scrutiny she was facing.

“She has up until now successfully hidden from voters the fact that her 1 percent luxury lifestyle is funded by U.S. taxpayers,” Mr. Hite wrote. “Claire McCaskill has betrayed the public trust by putting her interests ahead of Missouri voters' and no amount of advertising will paper it over.”

Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Limits on Montana Campaign Contributions

October 10, 2012, 2:26 pm

By JACK HEALY

DENVER â€" One month before Election Day, a federal appeals court has temporarily blocked a lower-court ruling that would have allowed unlimited campaign dollars to flow into state-level campaigns in Montana.

The decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals came late on Tuesday, one week after a federal judge in Montana struck down that state's limits on campaign contributions as an unconstitutional restriction of free-speech rights.

Although Montana and its three reliably Republican electoral votes have been largely overlooked in this year's presidential race, the state has become a pitched battleground over campaign-finance rules. In June, the Supreme Court tossed out a Montana law that banned co rporate contributions to candidates and political parties.

The Ninth Circuit appeals court, which oversees much of the Western United States, said it was staying the lower court's ruling until the judge, Charles C. Lovell, provided a fuller explanation behind his reasoning.

The judge's original ruling landed in the middle of a fiercely competitive election season in Montana, and has the potential to gut many limits on donations to candidates for state-level positions. Under the Montana law now being challenged by conservative political groups there, individuals and political committees could give only $630 to candidates for governor or lieutenant governor, and as little as $160 for other candidates for public office.

Judge Lovell said the rules prevented candidates from raising enough money “for effective campaign advocacy.”

For now, the old rules have been reinstated, with uncertain implications on races for an open governor's seat and the statehouse.

“The effect is hard to measure because, well, the status quo has been returned,” David C. W. Parker, a political science associate professor at Montana State University, said in an e-mail. “I would say that outside groups haven't been hugely active on broadcast television on the races for state offices. They seem to have been active in other way  - mailers and such, but this is hard to elevate fully.”

The ruling did not affect the tight Senate race between Jon Tester, the Democratic incumbent, and Representative Denny Rehberg, his Republican challenger. That contest, which could tilt the balance of the Senate, has been swamped by millions of dollars of spending from local donors and outside interest groups.

 

Jack Healy has reported from both the Baghdad and Kabul bureaus of The New York Times since October 2010. Follow him on Twitter at jackhealyNYT.

Obama Says He Was \'Too Polite\' at Debate

October 10, 2012, 1:56 pm

By HELENE COOPER

President Obama continued his own critique of his debate performance last week, telling Tom Joyner, a talk radio show host, on Wednesday that he had been  “too polite” with Mitt Romney.

“It's hard to sometimes just keep on saying, ‘and what you're saying isn't true,'” Mr. Obama told Mr. Joyner in an interview. He promised that he would be more aggressive in the next debate, which is scheduled for Tuesday at Hofstra University on Long Island. “By next week, I think a lot of the hand-wringing will be complete because we're going to go ahead and win this thing,” Mr. Obama said. “We've got four weeks left in the election and we're going to take it to him.”

Mr. Joyner's radio show has a big audience among African-Americans.

Mr. Obama's efforts at damage control were the second time this week that he  baldly admitted to not performing up to par in the debate. He told a fund-raising audience in Los Angeles on Sunday that his performance in the debate had gone awry.

Mr. Obama also predicted that Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. would do a “terrific” job against Mr. Romney's running mate, Representative Paul D. Ryan, at the vice-residential debate Thursday night.

My Lesson in the High Cost of Drugs for Pets

October 10, 2012, 1:27 pm

By ANN CARRNS

Recently, my husband and I caved to relentless pressure from our children and adopted a dog from the local animal shelter. A probable schnauzer cross, she is a delightful pet - cute, loyal and not too rambunctious - most of the time, anyway.

What she isn't, though, is cheap.

Yes, we saved money by adopting a shelter mutt instead of a pedigreed dog. But pet health care has evolved since my childhood, when I last owned a dog. I recently learned that drugs for dogs can cost as much as drugs for people. In 2011, about two-thirds of American households owned a pet, and Americans spent nearly $7 billion for prescription and over-the-counter pet medications, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

I've now added my bit to the total for this year. When our adopted pet's regular flea medication wasn't doing the trick, our veterinarian recommended a new combination drug, called Trifexis, that dogs can take once a month both to kill fleas and prevent heartworms, a deadly canine scourge.

I happily took home a single dose to try. She seemed to tolerate it - that is, she didn't barf it up immediately after she gobbled it down. So I went to a local pet store to buy a longer-term supply. I was told the store didn't carry it. Nor did a local veterinary supply outlet. So I returned to the vet to buy it, and was taken aback when I learned a six-month supply was $115, or $19 per pill. (A long-acting collar to ward off ticks was another $45.) I paid the bill, shaking my head about the surprisingly high cost of dog ownership while wondering how a drug for a pet could rival the cost of prescriptions for people.

That's just the question being co nsidered by the Federal Trade Commission, which last week held a workshop on pet medications and is soliciting comments from veterinarians, consumers and others about the state of the animal drug industry. Unlike human drugs that are primarily sold through pharmacies, many pet medications are sold by the veterinarians who prescribe them. And some drug manufacturers allow their wares to be distributed only by vets.

This has led to concern that consumers are paying unnecessarily high prices for some medications. There is a bill pending in Congress (H.R. 1406, the Fairness to Pet Owners Act) that would require veterinarians to write prescriptions for all pet drugs, so owners can take them elsewhere and shop around for better prices if they want.

Numerous veterinary groups submitted testimony arguing that the proposed House bill is unnecessary and adds extra cost to veterinarians' practices. They say most states require veterinarians to write prescriptions upon reque st anyway, and most do regardless of the law, based on the profession's ethics. If the drug is needed right away, buying it from the veterinarian - who knows the animal and can safeguard the quality of the drug - is the best option, they say. (It appears unlikely the bill will be acted on this year, but it may be reintroduced next year, according to a spokesman for the American Veterinary Medical Association, which opposes the measure as “redundant.”)

The F.T.C. has already received reams of comments on the issue, and is accepting consumer submissions until Nov. 1.

I could have paid a bit less, it appears, by buying my drugs online from 1-800-PetMeds, which sold a six-month supply of Trifexis for $99.74 and offered free shipping. A prescription from the veterinarian is required. (My dog's pills did come with a $20 mail-in rebate. And the drug is quite effective, at least - no fleas to be seen.)

Do you buy medication for your pets? How do you save money?

Obama Campaign Says Romney Is Misleading Voters on Abortion

October 10, 2012, 12:21 pm

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

President Obama's campaign on Wednesday accused Mitt Romney of “cynically and dishonestly” trying to hide his real position on abortion and contraception after the Republican presidential candidate said he could not think of any abortion-related legislation that would be part of his agenda in the White House.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Stephanie Cutter, the deputy campaign manager for Mr. Obama, scoffed at those remarks, calling them a desperate attempt to mislead voters about his real intentions on the subject.

“Governor Romney has been dishonest about his plans on issue after issue. Romney's dishonesty on abortion is just one example,” Ms. Cutter said, noting that a sp okeswoman for Mr. Romney quickly reiterated his anti-abortion credentials.

“We're saying he's trying to cover up his beliefs,” Ms. Cutter said. “They know that his anti-choice position, his anti-Roe v. Wade position, is bad for his campaign.”

Mr. Romney made the comments about abortion during a discussion with the editorial board of The Des Moines Register in Iowa. Campaign officials have said he was answering a specific question about abortion legislation but that he remains committed to an anti-abortion agenda.

“Mitt Romney is proudly pro-life, and he will be a pro-life president,” Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Mr. Romney, said in an e-mail.

Earlier, Ms. Saul had told The National Review Online that Mr. Romney would “of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life.”

Mr. Obama's campaign described the different answers about abortion from Mr. Romney's campaign as part of a broader effort by the Republican candidate to hide his more conservative views from centrist voters who will help decide the election next month.

Ms. Cutter alleged that Mr. Romney had taken a similar approach on other issues in the last week, including tax cuts, changes to Mr. Obama's health care law and benefits under Medicare.

Asked about how the campaign will communicate that message to women, Ms. Cutter was not specific, but said that “we'll remind them about the real Mitt Romney and the positions he's taken over the last six years.”

Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, also spoke to reporters on the call. She noted that there were at least two dozen pieces of legislation proposed by Republicans in Congress that would restrict abortion rights.

“The Romney campaign is trying so hard to mislead people, especially women,” Ms. Richards said, adding that she had taken a leave from her job at Planned Parenthood to vol unteer for Mr. Obama's campaign.

Ms. Richards said that Mr. Romney's record proved that he would push anti-abortion legislation as president despite what he told The Des Moines Register.

“There's no way for him to hide form the positions he's taken repeatedly over the years,” she said. “I don't think this is about flip-flopping. This is about trying to distance himself from the positions he's taken repeatedly.”

Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.

Obama Campaign Says Romney Is Misleading Voters on Abortion

October 10, 2012, 12:21 pm

By MICHAEL D. SHEAR

President Obama's campaign on Wednesday accused Mitt Romney of “cynically and dishonestly” trying to hide his real position on abortion and contraception after the Republican presidential candidate said he could not think of any abortion-related legislation that would be part of his agenda in the White House.

Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Stephanie Cutter, the deputy campaign manager for Mr. Obama, scoffed at those remarks, calling them a desperate attempt to mislead voters about his real intentions on the subject.

“Governor Romney has been dishonest about his plans on issue after issue. Romney's dishonesty on abortion is just one example,” Ms. Cutter said, noting that a sp okeswoman for Mr. Romney quickly reiterated his anti-abortion credentials.

“We're saying he's trying to cover up his beliefs,” Ms. Cutter said. “They know that his anti-choice position, his anti-Roe v. Wade position, is bad for his campaign.”

Mr. Romney made the comments about abortion during a discussion with the editorial board of The Des Moines Register in Iowa. Campaign officials have said he was answering a specific question about abortion legislation but that he remains committed to an anti-abortion agenda.

“Mitt Romney is proudly pro-life, and he will be a pro-life president,” Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for Mr. Romney, said in an e-mail.

Earlier, Ms. Saul had told The National Review Online that Mr. Romney would “of course support legislation aimed at providing greater protections for life.”

Mr. Obama's campaign described the different answers about abortion from Mr. Romney's campaign as part of a broader effort by the Republican candidate to hide his more conservative views from centrist voters who will help decide the election next month.

Ms. Cutter alleged that Mr. Romney had taken a similar approach on other issues in the last week, including tax cuts, changes to Mr. Obama's health care law and benefits under Medicare.

Asked about how the campaign will communicate that message to women, Ms. Cutter was not specific, but said that “we'll remind them about the real Mitt Romney and the positions he's taken over the last six years.”

Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, also spoke to reporters on the call. She noted that there were at least two dozen pieces of legislation proposed by Republicans in Congress that would restrict abortion rights.

“The Romney campaign is trying so hard to mislead people, especially women,” Ms. Richards said, adding that she had taken a leave from her job at Planned Parenthood to vol unteer for Mr. Obama's campaign.

Ms. Richards said that Mr. Romney's record proved that he would push anti-abortion legislation as president despite what he told The Des Moines Register.

“There's no way for him to hide form the positions he's taken repeatedly over the years,” she said. “I don't think this is about flip-flopping. This is about trying to distance himself from the positions he's taken repeatedly.”

Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.

Wednesday Reading: Ten Travel Web Sites Worth Bookmarking

October 10, 2012, 8:02 am

By ANN CARRNS

A variety of consumer-focused articles appears daily in The New York Times and on our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them together here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit you in your wallet.

The Early Word: China

October 10, 2012, 6:00 am

By JADA F. SMITH

Today's Times

• Amisco Technologies, an auto parts maker with plants in coastal China, bought two Michigan factories with 500 workers but shut them down in 2007. Amisco is now owned by Bain Capital, Sharon LaFraniere and Mike McIntire report. That and other China-related holdings by Bain funds in which Mitt Romney has invested seem to contradict his campaign-trail complaint that China's manufacturing juggernaut is costing America jobs.

• After Mr. Romney's gain in the polls, a Big Bird ad from President Obama's campaign was not the rebuttal nervous supporters were hoping for, Jim Rutenberg and Jeff Zeleny report.  But the ad was just one element in a broader effort to reassure Democrats and show that any sense of complacency within the campaign is now gone.

• Campaigns are not having much success controlling how television networks show their candidates during debates, especially the dreaded split-screen and reaction shots, which have long bedeviled presidential candidates who sometimes forget that they are on camera even when they are not speaking, Jeremy W. Peters reports.

• In 2008, a strong black turnout that voted almost exclusively for President Obama helped turn North Carolina blue for the first time in decades, Susan Saulny reports. But times have changed, enthusiasm is down, unemployment is up and it remains unclear what effect those developments will have on the 2012 race, where a small drop-off in blacks' support could have an outsize impact.

• As candidates saturate the networks with advertising and make pleas for voters to cast early ballots, Ohio â€" a battleground state â€" feels like the eye of the storm less than a month from Election Day, Trip Gabriel and Helene Cooper write.

• If Congress fails to act by January, spending cuts and tax increases huge enough to throw the country back into recession will hit, but policy and economic analysts say the effect will be gradual and in some cases reversible, Annie Lowrey reports.

• Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, complicated efforts to reach a deficit-reduction deal on Tuesday by criticizing a proposal that would lower top tax rates but still raise more revenue, Jonathan Weisman reports.

Happenings in Washington

• Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will meet with Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu at the State Department. They will deliver joint remarks to a visiting group of Girl Scouts in honor of the inaugural International Day of the Girl.

• The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing on “The Security Failure s of Benghazi” at noon.

• The Rev. Al Sharpton will lead a rally on the steps of the Supreme Court to show support for the admission policy used by the University of Texas at Austin in Abigail Fisher's case against the university's diversity program.