MovieChat Forums > Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (2006) Discussion > At first I felt bad, but I quickly got o...

At first I felt bad, but I quickly got over it.

posted 15 years ago by Huskie_Jon
2 replies | jump to latest

It would be one thing if these cases really did suffer tragedy, like getting crippled in an accident, and losing your job. People who suffer such fate can usually find family, friends, and charity to help them out, and most employers would be accomodating too. Americans are the most charitable people in the world.

I know my friends and family would be there for me if I suffered some sort of tragedy, but if I said, "Help me!. I can not pay my bills, since I bought that new furniture, the HDTV system, and the giant house." I might not find such sympathy.

When I graduated from college, I found myself with very thin finances, much accumulated credit card debt, and loans comming due. I even had some collectors calling me, and I did not enjoy it, but rather that blame the lenders for trying to recover the money I willingly spent, I resolved to minimize my expenses, get out of the hole, and never put myself in that situation again. I am out of the hole now, and I rarely pay finance charges.

In as much as this movie can serve as a warning about attaining too much debt, I am for it, but it shifts too much blame to the lenders rather than the borrowers, who were living behind their means, and did not think about actually reading what they were signing.

If the "predatory lenders" were not loaning money to risky borrowers, and getting bailed out by the Government, the same people who now claim the poor are being taken advantage of would be crying about how people are being denied loans and credit.

Try being responsible.

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[–] kginsane369 13 years ago

You advocate personal responsibility saying that 'risky borrowers' need to be more careful and responsible. Why do individuals in the banking industry not have to practice responsibility in who they grant loans to and how they go about collecting? (recall the anecdote of the woman who committed suicide, followed by the collector who comments on how his work is analogous to having a captive walk the plank, just to bring them back to get something from them)

I'm sure you've accrued debt just as the vast majority of American adults have. Not all of these people have/had the same means to get out of debt as you did. Believe it or not, hard work isn't always the only thing you need to succeed.

These predatory lenders gamble on high risk borrowers and go bankrupt, just to get bailed out by the government. Does the irresponsibility and corruption of the financial institutions and the government not impact you MUCH more than the potentially irresponsible actions of common individuals? Individuals, I might add, who often have their backs against the wall.

[–] Arvin-G-Borkar 8 years ago

"People who suffer such fate can usually find family, friends, and charity to help them out, and most employers would be accomodating too."

No not really.

If I am about to be homeless, I am not going to just go to a homeless shelter because they could possibly help me out. I am going to blame the people that put me in there. The max APR is 29.9%. Credit lenders COULD very well go down as little as 1% APR, if they really wanted to.

To date, I have always blamed the people with a lot more to lose than people who have lost everything. Chances are, even if it was about responsibility, the rich can take a hit and survive. The poor will not survive before they can take a hit.

Take your pick.

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