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Credit Cards

Should illegal loan sharking percentages be lowered

  • yes

    Votes: 11 68.8%
  • no

    Votes: 4 25.0%
  • maybe

    Votes: 1 6.3%

  • Total voters
    16
  • Poll closed .

creativedreams

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Would it help america have a better economy if illegal loan sharking percentages were lowered to lever the credit cards down?
 
The outrageous rates are NOT illegal.
They should be higher, and far more creative/innovative than they are now....The idea is to force people to think and plan before spending..
The bankruptcy laws are way too "soft"; people, governments who spend on an irresponsible basis should pay back 100%, except for excessive interest rates
 
Not only would it not be better, it would be much worse. The problem is, a lot of people who run up huge balances on their credit cards ought not have the cards to begin with. They are horrible credit risks, they are late payers, and more likely to go bankrupt and default on their obligations.

There are two ways to solve the problem. The first is to allow credit card companies to jack up interest rates sky high on the worst payers. This would likely lead to more charge-offs and bankruptcies, but at least those people could no longer get credit. The second, and probably best, would be strict usury laws which control how high credit card companies can raise their interest, which would have the side benefit of making them look a lot closer at the people who they are giving credit to. The less credit-worthy would never get a card.

That's how it ought to be.
 
Personally? I think if you cannot pay your credit card debt? You should have your kneecaps busted.
 
The outrageous rates are NOT illegal.
They should be higher, and far more creative/innovative than they are now....The idea is to force people to think and plan before spending..
The bankruptcy laws are way too "soft"; people, governments who spend on an irresponsible basis should pay back 100%, except for excessive interest rates

I certainly agree about the bankruptcy laws...when ever someone files bankruptcy the bills all roll over to affect every american in ways of higher prices added for products and services to cover the sales loss of payments.
 
Would it help america have a better economy if illegal loan sharking percentages were lowered to lever the credit cards down?

How about we just don't evernevererverever take a credit card....like ever...pay cash, live below your means...oh wate I'm making sense, my bad :doh
 
How about we just don't evernevererverever take a credit card....like ever...pay cash, live below your means...oh wate I'm making sense, my bad :doh

Actually this would make sense but unfortunately it would keep the flow of money and tax down so our country could not have grown a powerfull military and technology gains would be slower.

The snowball effect of people living well beyond their means only to pass away in debt helps roll the bills forward to raise inflation and in turn tax revenue. This cycle builds the economic balloon that can only grow untill government intervention is necessary. Then we just start the callapsed economy and depression cycle all over again.
 
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No. The lender writes a contract, the borrower signed it.

Bankruptcy is the proper option for people who can't pay back the creditor.

Don't pass laws making it ever more difficult to go bankrupt, as Joe Biden has, but don't make it easy, either.
 
It ought to be very difficult to declare bankruptcy, the whole idea is to discourage it as much as humanly possible. I also think that people who declare bankruptcy shouldn't get off without having to pay, they still ought to be liable for the bills they run up, just at a slower rate, perhaps with no interest, but there's no way in hell they'll get any credit from anyone for a long, long, long time. Make it hurt a lot. That'll stop people from doing it.
 
Credit cards are a bad idea in a society that has no self-control.
 
It ought to be very difficult to declare bankruptcy, the whole idea is to discourage it as much as humanly possible. I also think that people who declare bankruptcy shouldn't get off without having to pay, they still ought to be liable for the bills they run up, just at a slower rate, perhaps with no interest, but there's no way in hell they'll get any credit from anyone for a long, long, long time. Make it hurt a lot. That'll stop people from doing it.

Difficult.

Not impossible.

And bankruptcy punishes the predatory creditor, also. Let's not pretend the companies offering $5,000 lines of credit to college freshmen don't know what they're doing here.
 
It ought to be very difficult to declare bankruptcy, the whole idea is to discourage it as much as humanly possible. I also think that people who declare bankruptcy shouldn't get off without having to pay, they still ought to be liable for the bills they run up, just at a slower rate, perhaps with no interest, but there's no way in hell they'll get any credit from anyone for a long, long, long time. Make it hurt a lot. That'll stop people from doing it.

Actually... when you declare bankruptcy, you get credit offers almost immediately.
 
Actually... when you declare bankruptcy, you get credit offers almost immediately.

Yes and no. I have a friend who declared bankruptcy about 10 years ago and he says that yes, he did receive some credit card offers at the beginning, but they were all for secured credit. If people have collateral to put up against their credit, they wouldn't be bankrupt. Thereafter, he would get some unsecured offers for low amounts, simply because the banks knew he couldn't declare bankruptcy again for 7 years.

However, that was when credit was cheap and easy to get, today I doubt you'd see that kind of thing.
 
Would it help america have a better economy if illegal loan sharking percentages were lowered to lever the credit cards down?

If the loan shark percentages are illegal - how do you control them?

In my experience, credit is still easy to get and that has nothing to do with percentages. The fact I don't take up my credit allowance or go anywhere near my credit maximum is that I try to be responsible and plan ahead.

Also - over here, banks won't allow you certain services unless you have a credit card either. Mortgages for one example.
 
If the loan shark percentages are illegal - how do you control them?

In my experience, credit is still easy to get and that has nothing to do with percentages. The fact I don't take up my credit allowance or go anywhere near my credit maximum is that I try to be responsible and plan ahead.

Also - over here, banks won't allow you certain services unless you have a credit card either. Mortgages for one example.

I am referring to the interest rates charged on the loaned money.

Credit card scams are no different than the scenario of borrowing money from "Big Al" at 50-100% interest. The only difference is that card companies use slightly lower interest rates but target a huge portion of the population.
 
Ah yes, a new winger wet dream, debtors prisons and we could even outsource it. :rofl
 
How about we just don't evernevererverever take a credit card....like ever...pay cash, live below your means...oh wate I'm making sense, my bad :doh

Having credit cards isn't a bad idea. It's carrying a balance that is stupid.
 
Not only are credit cards bad for the users, they are bad for vendors also.

Depending on the type of business and the company that processes the charges, many vendors have to pay an assortment of fees that can be 16% or more of the gross sales. That's in addition to the taxes they will also have to pay. These fees apply to debit cards also.

A word to the wise: Get rid of all of your cards, except one for emergency use. Use it only for emergencies.

Make your small, routine purchases with cash. For other purchases, use personal checks. Always carry some. It's ok to use a card if a vendor refuses a check.
 
Having credit cards isn't a bad idea. It's carrying a balance that is stupid.

It's not carrying a balance that's stupid necessarily, credit is required for major purchases, I don't think you'll find many people who can go out and buy a house or a car outright. It's people who go out and buy indiscriminately, who carry massive balances that they cannot hope to pay off, simply because they have the credit available.

Having credit cards isn't a bad idea, it's having no self-control that is stupid.
 
The outrageous rates are NOT illegal.
They should be higher, and far more creative/innovative than they are now....The idea is to force people to think and plan before spending..
The bankruptcy laws are way too "soft"; people, governments who spend on an irresponsible basis should pay back 100%, except for excessive interest rates
You expect what never has and never will be. The public is not educated properly by our liberal stalinist public education system to survive in a capitalist society. They are taught multiculturalism and Kumbaya.
 
You expect what never has and never will be. The public is not educated properly by our liberal stalinist public education system to survive in a capitalist society. They are taught multiculturalism and Kumbaya.

then couldnt we solve the problem by better educating the younger of society, such as myself?

and what about the people with 10 different types of credit cards? couldnt they survive with a limit of one or two? perhaps then, they would only have interest on one card, therefore not driving them so into bankruptcy. [sp?]
 
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