The title of your thread implies a comparison will be made, but I have not seen one in the postings so far, so I'll make it--
Once upon a time in America it was illegal- under usury laws, to charge more than a certain interest rate, about 10% if I remember right. But the credit card companies have bought the US congress, and now it is legal to charge 25% and more- rates that were once charged only by knee breakers in the mafia. But now it's ok? If some one is so much of a risk that the bank can't lend them money at 10% or so, should the bank be lending them money at all? Worse are the payday loan companies and title loan companies (who aren't actually interested in your car title, but your future income). And how proper is it for a credit card company to lower a customer's credit limit, and then charge them a penalty the next month for being over the new limit (Which penalty is often as high as the finance charge)? These things are all possible because our government (in the form of politicians) has sold us (the US citizens) out, for their own short term benefit.
Charging more than 10% or so should be illegal (again as it once was), but then again lawyers should also not be allowed to advertise as once was the law- "are you being denied social security, because you'd rather be a drunk than work?"), and companies should not be allowed to advertise free scooters and diapers ("At No Cost To You, If You're On A Government Program") For that matter does anyone remember the term "false advertising" Half the ads you see and hear (NOT AN ACTUAL STATISTIC-but think about it next time you hear or see a commercial, especially for a car dealership) are made up of lies- granted there is the fine print, but is that in the SPIRIT of the law? You don't hear about anyone in trouble for false advertising anymore, whereas it used to be a familiar phrase.
WTF- we have been sold out by the politicians who run our government. And that's not to say that everyone with massive consumer debt is blameless, but the deck has been stacked against them in recent years in a way that used to be prohibited by law.
And while I have an audience (hopefully) please don't believe it when they say the economy is improving because unemployment claims are going down-- unemployment claims are not necessarily an accurate reflection of the economy. When someone with a crappy minimum wage (or close to it) full time job gets let go, their unemployment check is very low. So low that if they find a minimum wage part time job, it will pay more than their unemployment benefit; as a result they are under employed, yet no longer file for unemployment, allowing the politicians to say that "jobless claims are down, pointing to improvement in the economy"- even though the economy is actually worse.
And while I'm off on tangents, don't believe that illegal aliens "only do the jobs that Americans aren't willing to do." In a capitalist society, supply and demand are the guidelines we live by. If a job doesn't pay enough, be it landscaping, being a busboy, or a housekeeper or a garbageman, then the job goes undone until it does pay enough. If no American wants to cut your grass for $7 an hour, you have to cut it yourself, or pay more money, not hire an illegal to do it. Because of illegals doing the jobs "Americans aren't willing to do", all jobs in America pay a little bit (or a lot) less. But that keeps the rich people happy.
There are so many problems with our country that are created purely by greed and the golden rule-(he who has the gold makes the rules), that unless something changes soon, we'll all be speaking Chinese before long. The only solution is to THROW THE BUMS OUT. It doesn't matter if they are republicans, democrats, or independents, if they've had a term in the Congress, and our lives have not changed for the better, they need to go back to earning and honest living, and give someone else a shot.
They gotta write their own letters
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