Take Action: Give Stay-At-Home Parents More Credit!

Don't let Congress send us back to the 19th century!

Goal: 15,000 • Progress: 884

Sponsored by: The Hunger Site

According to Congress, women should have to defer to their husbands on all matters of finance. This sentiment presented itself upon passage of the CARD Act — legislation that says only an individual's own credit can be assessed during application for a credit card. This means that stay-at-home parents who do not work cannot use the household income as proof of trustworthiness, and therefore can't obtain credit cards.

Homemaking is a full-time job. Raising children, tending to household needs, managing family finances — these are all important tasks whose importance shouldn't be underestimated. This isn't the 19th century; stay-at-home parents shouldn't have to rely on their spouses for financial decision-making.

The CARD Act is demeaning the jobs of homemakers by rendering them ineligible to establish their own credit. Send a message to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau telling them not to push women's rights back in time!

To whom it may concern at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

Your agency has the power to defend the rights of stay-at-home parents, and right now is your time to stand up for these members of our society.

Stay-at-home parenting is a full-time job that often includes tasks like handling household purchases and taking care of the family finances. But because the CARD Act has prohibited stay-at-home parents to use their spouse's income as proof of credit trustworthiness, these parents have been rendered ineligible to obtain their own credit cards and thus unable to build their own credit.

Sometimes, stay-at-home parenting is the only option for a family, and restricting parents from being able to use the household income inherently demeans that role. By passing this law, many parents will now be unable to perform the necessary tasks they were able to when they could piggyback on their spouse's income.

This new law calls upon memories of the 19th century when women had so few rights compared to men. Please don't send us back in time.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Petition Signatures

May 12, 2013 debi griffin

May 10, 2013 Rhiannon Young

May 8, 2013 (Name not displayed)

May 8, 2013 Richard Bosboom

May 7, 2013 Megan Erickson I'm a stay at home mom and this is ridiculous!!

May 7, 2013 (Name not displayed) I worked for many years and I am home with a child with a medical condition. If I had not previously worked, I would not have any credit and would not have been able to have an IRA account of my own. Be fair to parents at home-it may be a lifeline.

May 6, 2013 star carter

May 5, 2013 Charlotte de Marigny

May 5, 2013 Jodi Peer

May 3, 2013 Kat G

May 2, 2013 (Name not displayed)

May 2, 2013 Mashawna Huling

May 1, 2013 Meiju Lehtiniitty

Apr 30, 2013 Amy Knapp

Apr 29, 2013 Ms. Carla Compton, Advocate/Activist

Apr 28, 2013 ebreia guimaraes

Apr 27, 2013 Karolina Kunka

Apr 26, 2013 Denise Hall

Apr 26, 2013 mia taylor

Apr 25, 2013 EWA KUCZENSKA

Apr 25, 2013 (Name not displayed)

Apr 25, 2013 JENNIFER JOHNSON

Apr 25, 2013 Barbara Policriti

Apr 25, 2013 Ela Gotkowska

Apr 25, 2013 Ramona Ivanovic

Apr 25, 2013 sky vettel

Apr 24, 2013 Jan Blanchard The American Congress is backward, primitive, neanderthal, out of the loop & discriminatory. We just would not get on at all. Try dragging yourselves out of the cave & into the 21st century. You might just like it.

Apr 23, 2013 Jan-Paul Alon

Apr 23, 2013 Lauren Miller

Apr 21, 2013 Catherine Matte

Apr 20, 2013 Stacey Calvert

Apr 20, 2013 Nanci Rogers

Apr 19, 2013 Lisa Reeves

Apr 19, 2013 ana obrist

Apr 19, 2013 Pamela Moteles

Apr 18, 2013 Melinda Reed

Apr 17, 2013 Nancy Chasteen

Apr 17, 2013 Kathleen Keske

Apr 17, 2013 Linda Borell