I read an interesting story published yesterday in the Scotsman.

It outlines the latest problem involving kids, credit cards, and the Internet. It also gives a perfect illustration of how it is simply impossible to please everybody.

Here is the situation... Like most bank, Lloyds TSB used to offer regular bank cards to kids (ie. younger than 15), but restricted their use to bank machines or bank branches.

However, as everyone knows, this restriction essentially makes the cards useless in most situations, or at least more inconvenient than useful. And so people complained.

So Lloyds changed their policy and started issuing cards that allowed kids to use the cards through Interac and online.

Uh-oh! That opened the door for kids to buy adult material online, like porn and Viagra. So people are complaining.

Where do I stand on this?

Well, I usually tend to err on the side of personal responsibility, and I see no reason to change my pattern here.

As far as I can tell, this issue reveals three essential truths:

1) Increased convenience will always result in decreased regulation or security. And vice-versa.

2) Bad parents will always blame somebody else when their kids do bad things.

3) Politicians will always cater to the bad parents of the world.

From my standpoint, the big question is: Why aren't these parents disciplining their kids?

I mean, if I looked at my bank statement and saw that my kids were browsing porn and buying Viagra online, I am NOT blaming the bank.

No, I am straightening out my child ASAP, and then immediately setting up a household policy that institutes punishment for the next offense.

But that's just me, I guess.

Instead, it appears that the rest of the world has to live with restrictive controls that do nothing more than protect absent parents from the chore of disciplining their children.

Stupid.

So let's add this new reality to the already restrictive policies that banks have to implement in addition to the unworkable UIGEA law.