Good to the last drop...
Those poor credit card companies...so many years, having to put up with people who got way behind on their payments and then declared bankruptcy, leaving the creditors holding the bag. Isn't that how it worked? Isn't that why the creditors campaigned (with $100 million worth of lobbying) for the new, stiffer repayment provisions in the bankruptcy bill that Congress passed?
Well, so, it may be mildly surprising that the very same credit card companies are sending pre-approved cards to the recently bankrupt, right? I mean, certainly the poor creditors have learned their lesson.
It's true. The lesson they've learned is that the poor pay more. They don't have a whole lot of choices. If you haven't sapped every cent you can get out of them before the first bankruptcy, you can always go back for a second round. And the pickin's are swell this year, with over two million bankruptcies declared. Credit card companies, payday lenders, pawn shops, rent-to-own stores will be having record profits, no doubt about it. And for those trying to get their financial lives back in order, the credit card offers just keep piling up. "You were born pre-approved," one advertisement says, like a promise of salvation itself...and why shouldn't you respond affirmatively to such an uplifting message?
I know, I know...it's all about individual choices. But this practice, shamelessly preying on the poorest and most vulnerable, cannot help but sicken us, can it? What kind of society do we wish to live in?
I remember a bar I frequented (before I quit drinking) where they would give you a free drink of your choice if you handed over your AA medallion (one month, one year, ten years...that may have gotten you a couple drinks). Illegal? Guess not. Immoral? Do I even have to ask?
Just because you can talk people into something ("just sign, date, and send...card will be sent within ten business days"), gain their assent because of the desperation of their situation, doesn't mean that you should be allowed to do so. I am reminded of the plot of a Johnny Depp movie that I've never seen...and once having heard the plot, I didn't have an overwhelming desire to see it...but it's called, The Brave, and, according to IMDB it is the story of "a down-on-his-luck American Indian recently released from jail [who] is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film, the resulting pay of which could greatly help his poverty stricken family." Cheery stuff.
And what's most upsetting is that I recall this plot-line every time I hear of creditors preying on the poor, Congress passing insane budgets that funnel yet more money to the rich and cutting vital programs for those who need them, stories of people working full-time (or more than full-time, with patched-together part-time jobs) who cannot afford the basic necessities of life. People "choose" to dig themselves deeper into despair every day, because there doesn't appear to be any options...and there are plenty of folks (and corporations...and I am told that corporations are people, too) more than willing to profit off of their dire situation.
But, hey, get a hold of yourselves, poor folk. America's the land of opportunity. Doesn't help to play the blame game. And, oh, by the way, remember, if you pay after the 15th, there's a $29 late fee.
Happy Holidays and God bless Visa...oops, I mean America.
Well, so, it may be mildly surprising that the very same credit card companies are sending pre-approved cards to the recently bankrupt, right? I mean, certainly the poor creditors have learned their lesson.
It's true. The lesson they've learned is that the poor pay more. They don't have a whole lot of choices. If you haven't sapped every cent you can get out of them before the first bankruptcy, you can always go back for a second round. And the pickin's are swell this year, with over two million bankruptcies declared. Credit card companies, payday lenders, pawn shops, rent-to-own stores will be having record profits, no doubt about it. And for those trying to get their financial lives back in order, the credit card offers just keep piling up. "You were born pre-approved," one advertisement says, like a promise of salvation itself...and why shouldn't you respond affirmatively to such an uplifting message?
I know, I know...it's all about individual choices. But this practice, shamelessly preying on the poorest and most vulnerable, cannot help but sicken us, can it? What kind of society do we wish to live in?
I remember a bar I frequented (before I quit drinking) where they would give you a free drink of your choice if you handed over your AA medallion (one month, one year, ten years...that may have gotten you a couple drinks). Illegal? Guess not. Immoral? Do I even have to ask?
Just because you can talk people into something ("just sign, date, and send...card will be sent within ten business days"), gain their assent because of the desperation of their situation, doesn't mean that you should be allowed to do so. I am reminded of the plot of a Johnny Depp movie that I've never seen...and once having heard the plot, I didn't have an overwhelming desire to see it...but it's called, The Brave, and, according to IMDB it is the story of "a down-on-his-luck American Indian recently released from jail [who] is offered the chance to "star" as the victim of a snuff film, the resulting pay of which could greatly help his poverty stricken family." Cheery stuff.
And what's most upsetting is that I recall this plot-line every time I hear of creditors preying on the poor, Congress passing insane budgets that funnel yet more money to the rich and cutting vital programs for those who need them, stories of people working full-time (or more than full-time, with patched-together part-time jobs) who cannot afford the basic necessities of life. People "choose" to dig themselves deeper into despair every day, because there doesn't appear to be any options...and there are plenty of folks (and corporations...and I am told that corporations are people, too) more than willing to profit off of their dire situation.
But, hey, get a hold of yourselves, poor folk. America's the land of opportunity. Doesn't help to play the blame game. And, oh, by the way, remember, if you pay after the 15th, there's a $29 late fee.
Happy Holidays and God bless Visa...oops, I mean America.
posted by Rod @ 4:43 PM
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