Wow… evil in the world…
I think there is a role for society to correct injustices and protect people who can’t protect themselves. And to that end I give you credit cards with 19% interest rates targeted at folks who have no business being considered for $10k or $20k credit limits. Certainly not illegal. Probably not evil. But still… I do so hope that another credit card company gets their kid’s debt business when they hit 19 or 20.
Ah… but is this evil? If evil were relative then I’d have to say no based on the commercial I just saw for a company that offers a $3k loan where the borrower is then on the hook for more than 3 years of payments of around $200 / month. That means to borrow the $3k ends up costing you north of $9k. I saw the numbers flash by but it looked to be in excess of 99% APR.
I know my libertarian friends will take issue with this but maybe, just maybe, something needs to be done about businesses like this. I assume it isn’t illegal but if we take the perspective that the state regulates cigarettes and other things harmful then maybe we could start thinking about the economic health of this country in similar terms. Lord knows the administration is mortgaging quite a bit of our future on their own (see other posts about that) but maybe they could find a few occasions to look out for citizens in trouble.
I don’t know. Maybe I’m wrong. If this is allowed to go on then maybe an alternative source of revenue that I can implement would be to tell people there is gold in the stream out back and then charge them $100 per egg for breakfast at my company store.