Is that ethical?
Clearly, a lot of people think "not so much", since there's a big government push to clean up predatory or deceptive lending practices. I'm just fine with this. In fact, hooray!
However, I do feel that, when it comes to credit and debt, there's plenty of responsibility to share around...
I was raised by parents who believed you simply never carry a balance. You always pay in full, every month. Great, in theory. But what if you want to buy a car? What if you have a medical emergency? What if you thought you'd be able to pay your balance, but you suddenly lost your job in this terrible economy?
Muddier areas, for sure.
It seems like it's easy to either blame the big companies for squeezing the little guy, or get on one's high horse and sniff that everyone should live within their means, all the time. Personally, I do feel it's hugely important to take personal responsibility for our debts and maintain good credit. Where the corporate sleaze comes in is with the switcheroos these credit card companies seem to feel free to pull--changing the rules whenever it's convenient for them. Because they have us by the you-know-whats, we have no recourse (except, I suppose, to rely on our sometimes functional U.S. Congress) but to try to keep up with ever-increasing interest payments. Scary times.
Where do you think the responsibility primarily lies when it comes to credit card debt?
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I think there is plenty of blame for everyone. Consumers have to take the blame for buying things that they knew they couldn't *really" afford - or buying on credit instead of saving. The credit card companies should take a large part of the blame for a.) offering credit to people who wouldn't normally qualify b.) luring them in with unnaturally low rates that revert to very high rates when one is late or over the limit or the "free" time ends c.) changing things without being very clear and upfront about what they are doing d.) punishing people with higher rates and lower limits even when all payment TO THAT COMPANY have been current.
And the government has to bear a piece of the blame for systematically dismantling the oversight and regulations that kept an eye on the finance companies to ensure that they were a.) not too big to fail and b.) that the credit policies were fiscally responsible.
Credit card debt is out of control in this country. We have been a “want it – get it now” society and we are all paying for it. We do have to take responsibility for our personal debt that we created. However, the banks and the credit card companies are about as unethical as it gets. They exploit the consumer and they are no different than the mafia when it comes to credit debt with unbelievable high interest rates and fees. I would like to see Congress stop this type of loan sharking with the banks and credit card companies. Because most of the credit card companies are based in Delaware, and they have all gradually raised the interest rates to the same rates over the same period of time, it makes one wonder if there aren’t some anti-trust or price-fixing violations. I remember when credit interest was deductable on our taxes. I don’t know if that is a good idea or not – I would rather they cap the interest rates.
A lot of the fault lies with credit card companies. I remember a representative of a bank (which will remain nameless) came to my finance class and asked if anyone knew who their best customers were. The answer? The best customers were the ones who had the highest balance and paid minimum balance due every month. Personally, I would consider these high risk customers but this bank saw these as the "best" customers. So, yeah, I think a lot of the fault lies with the credit card companies.
As for carrying zero balance, yeah, its nice in theory but unfortunately for many Americans this simply is not possible. There are people who have student loans to pay off, medical bills to pay off, car emergencies to pay off, relatives to help, etc. It does not make them any less responsible than those who have zero balance. Each person has a different story, as long as they are trying to pay their bills down, they are just as responsible. Unfortunately in this economy, this is getting tougher to do.
I wonder if I could have the govt come in and give me a "bailout" for my bills...
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