AN INDUSTRY WITH NO SHAME....I do not like the credit card industry. The revolting travesty of "universal default" is one reason. That they have become obscenely profitable by
transforming themselves into little more than genteel loan sharks preying on the unfortunate is another. And the fact that despite all this they still insist that bankruptcy laws need to be tightened so they can squeeze another few dollars out of their already wretched clients is the final straw:
In Cleveland, for example, a municipal court judge tossed out a case that Discover Bank brought against one of its cardholders after closely examining the woman's credit card bill.
According to court papers, Ruth M. Owens, a 53-year-old disabled woman, paid the company $3,492 over six years on a $1,963 debt only to find that late fees and finance charges had more than doubled the size of her remaining balance to $5,564.
When the company took her to court to collect, she wrote the judge a note saying, "I would like to inform you that I have no money to make payments. I am on Social Security Disability....If my situation was different I would pay. I just don't have it. I'm sorry."
Judge Robert Triozzi ruled that Owens didn't have to pay, saying Owens "has clearly been the victim of (Discover's) unreasonable, unconscionable and unjust business practices."
The fundies ar all over the Ten Commandments dispute like a cheap suit, but are no where to be found on the issue of the money changers charging usurious rates. Hmmm? I guess they are cafeteria fundies.
How ironic that Republicans can lecture on personal responsibility for spending when they are responsible for the obscene national debt and borrowing beyond comprehension. When it comes to responsibility for our money, their motto seems to be Charge It! These guys sure have a fat lot of nerve.
As the new Bankruptcy Law states "It's your own damn fault. Take some personal responsibility. You shouldn't have lost your job to outsourcing, you shouldn't be handicapped, you shouldn't have gotten sick, and by God you shouldn't have gotten old!"
Another principle that's been completely abandoned is the notion that the lender should shoulder some responsibility for the credit risks it assumes. When I was in college it was HARD to get a credit card, even one with a paltry $500 limit.
Don't forget a recent Harvard study shows that half of all bankruptcies are caused by medical costs. Despite what industry supporters say, many of these people aren't living high on the hog, they're just trying to stay alive.
