Dear Suz, The mob-owned bar in my childhood neighborhood charged $4/week on a $25 loan, and we called them loan sharks. Today, I got a credit card application from First PREMIER Bank Mastercard, charging 36% interest! They advertised a "second chance option," that seems like a short cut to an exotic lifestyle. Isn't this fraud? Who slaps the credit cards companies hands for this crime?
Dear Outraged, Usury is illegal/unethical money lending at exceedingly high interest rates or beyond the max allowed by law. Usury has been common since England's King Henry VIII in 1509. First PREMIER Bank mastercard advertises that it was "established to help people with damaged or limited credit history," i.e. bad risks. In the U.S., usury laws are set by the states and credit card companies can be exempt. Corporate greed by any other name is alive and well. Obvious Note: pay credit card balances to 0, -builds credit history and costs 0 interest. -SQ
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