Bravo to our favorite Democrat Governor Jared Polis of Colorado for vetoing a bill that would have regulated credit card fees (in this case on sales taxes) paid by merchants. These are government imposed controls on voluntary transactions between retailers and credit card companies. The first rule of economics is that politicians should never impose wage and price controls in a free market economy.

In addition to the increasing number of people with access to credit cards, Our UP study shows that retailers enormously benefit from credit card transactions. This is why they are now used for $6 trillion of dollars of transactions each year and have effectively replaced cash.

In his veto message Polis wrote that he opposed a provision in the bill that would have dictated how stores with more than 250 employees use the money they would save. “I do not think it is appropriate for the government to direct private entities – no matter the size – how to use their revenues.”  We wish more Republicans thought this way.