We write about credit cards a lot in this blog. We’ve covered the credit card reform pretty closely, documenting many of the “unintended consequences.” However, today we want to address a different form of plastic: debit cards.

While we’ve encouraged consumers to some degree to focus on debit as opposed to credit in order to help keep spending under control, that doesn’t mean that debit is perfect. Like most things, it has flaws. Today, we want to examine some of the possible downsides of debit.

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Personal finance blog “FiveCentNickel” asks their readers to imagine a world where cash is king in a recent post titled “Is It Possible to Live Without Credit Cards?”

The notion may seem unrealistic to some, especially in this uncertain economic environment where thousands of Americans are unemployed or under-employed and rely on their plastic to get them through each month.

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After reading our recent post on the credit-card changes coming our way, I came across this interesting observation in a NY Times article:

“There will be one-size-fits-all [credit card] pricing, and as a result, you’ll see the industry will be more egalitarian in terms of its revenue base,” said David Robertson, publisher of the Nilson Report, which tracks the credit card business.

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