Banks are slow to increase rates on savings accounts, but quick to reduce them

That’s just how much refining fuel costs. There is no monopoly of fuel suppliers holding the gas price up, and gas stations make very little money selling gas itself.

The US government subsidizes the home mortgage market in the US. I don’t known of any other country offers people 30 year fixed rate mortgages.

Fixed mortgage rates help consumers because they can always refinance down to a lower rate.

That's absolutely fair, and I admit, I wouldn't be fundamentally opposed to it. The little magic 8-ball in my mind I use to gauge the plausibility of a particular political direction of development simply sees far too many endemic issues with American institutional philosophy to see something like this gain traction. Mind, I've worked in that space. It's a ridiculously profitable industry for those that operate in the space (usually with customer hostile profit generating models, and demographic engineering to ensure you're hitting the most vulnerable folks for revenue extraction; part of the reason I ended up getting out and refuse to look back).

As it turns out, the profitability per employee person in the company can be extremely high, which means there is a lot of lobbying potential to keep a cohesive National government maintained/specified banking infrastructure from coming into existence.

I'm not just trying to take cheap shots or be dismissive of the idea. It's just experience tells me this is well within "everyone stops being a dick" territory in terms of probability of realization through organic development short of some higher being deciding I need a lesson in being more humble today. There is some synergy or likelihood of an indirect development in that direction with the whole Stimulus boondoggle going on in Washington, but the resulting implementation will almost guaranteed be challenged as soon as any hint of the present crisis having resolved comes around. Private industry in the U.S. as a rule will raise hell to destroy a public alternative as unfair competition on free market principles, notwithstanding the self-referential inconsistency the private actors demonstrate at the first chance they get. This is why there are only really 3 public trust quasi-Corps I'm aware of. Post-Office (Constitutionally guaranteed), Freddie Mac, and Fannie Mae. Okay, technically the Federal Reserve, but to be frank, their track record is so spotty, it feels more like the most elaborate financial shell game ever perpetrated than an institution to consider seriously effective.

It hurts frankly. I hate that the sector is as big as it is because we can't just all agree that maybe this thing is pervasive enough to warrant folding into the basic Public Trust toolkit. That's just the reality on this side of the pond though. We measure the trustworthiness of Government as a repository for broad sweeping social power based on the least virtuous operator in living memory. Unfortunately, we just haven't had a long enough run where people could be trusted not to abuse anything more functional than what we have. Quite the opposite. Gives me a headache just dwelling on it most days.

> When was the last time you researched all the gas stations in your area and looked for the one that you felt served your interests above all the others? Nobody shops for gas this way.

I do. I own a classic(ish) car that both requires high octane gas and no ethanol. There's one gas station chain around that can be relied on to have it (in addition to every other fuel option imaginable). But I'm a relatively price-insensitive customer; I'd probably still buy from them at $5/gallon when others are at $2.50. Part of that is because of being happy with the chain, and part of it is anger at other chains for dropping non-ethanol options.

The problem is that the banks can borrow so cheaply that they actually don't want to pay their clients the interest rates on their accounts. As it expensive for the bank, and increases the bank's liabilities/risks (money in the books) hence they will lower the rates. Which then hopefully will lower the amounts on the books by people either moving it out of the bank or spend it.

That's what I understood from the bankers when I was working at a bank :) They a had a simple formula representing but can't find my notes now.

I am 'enjoying' interest rates on my bank accounts around the world between -0.5%-1.5%. I really should sort out the negative rent.