Something is rotten in the state of…the American credit system? Aye. America has become a debtor nation. Everyday, the number of people permanently harassed by debt collectors increases exponentially. Ironically, it seems what the government encourages to boost our economy is for Americans to spend, spend, spend. However, their prescription seems to be in the best interest of large corporations rather than of the people. Why am I harping on credit card companies? I harp because these companies are predatory, immoral, and un-American.
The credit system needs to be changed or fixed, first and foremost, because it is predatorial. Rather than encourage responsibility, credit card companies specifically target people who they know are in debt, in ensure that these people make payments on what they owe for the rest of their lives. The documentary, “Maxed Out” illustrates the relentless, unkind nature of collectors by showing clips of an interview with collectors, and an interview with the family of a debtor. The collectors were assertive and energetic, and saw their jobs as a “sport like football or basketball”. However, while the collectors displayed their happiness, the devastated family expressed worry, sorrow, and anger about their mother; a woman who, overwhelmed by debt commits suicide. The dire contrast between the two shows just how destructive the current credit system is to the lives of the American people. Another poignant example of the relentless credit companies are their yearly offers of credit cards to college students—young adults who are still getting in the habit of waking themselves up in the morning, who are not aware of the dangers of becoming a debtor. “Maxed Out” cites two specific teenagers who became so saddled with debt, not from irresponsible spending but from the credit card companies’ interest rates, that they killed themselves. The fact that even after companies hear that they caused such tragedies to befall American families, the companies do not try to change their policies to be less harsh, shows their inherent lack of conscience or morality.
Credit companies are not only predatory, but immoral. Why? Because rather than profiting for their service by perhaps charging only slightly more than the amount owed to the company, credit card companies are said to charge 2$ interest for every 1$ principle owed. In doing this, they essentially have American citizens trapped in debt, not all different from that of the sharecropping system of the post-Civil War South. I find myself asking, what would Jesus do? Most of America is Christian, and it is said that America was founded upon many Christian values. However, credit card companies are un-American by being inconsistent with American morals. Most people know about the story of Jesus and how he chased the money lenders from the temple. Jesus thought money lending was a dishonorable practice—so why doesn’t our government provide citizens with more protection against the greedy companies. Credit companies are allowed to delve into our personal information to manipulate us. Why doesn’t our government do something about it? Don’t we have a guaranteed right to privacy in our constitution? Unfortunately, our constitution only guarantees a right to privacy from the government, but not from other private entities like Choicepoint—an information service provider for credit card companies that shows companies all previous addresses of a person, and the names of all a person’s former neighbors and family. However, I believe that had the framers of the constitution known about the future corporation that would use people’s personal information to manipulate them, they would have included a right to privacy from private entities as well.
In conclusion, people need to be more aware of the corrupt credit system in order to avoid it. We need not only to be financially responsible, but we also need to avoid debt in all ways shapes and forms. This way we can protect ourselves. If we don’t protect ourselves from these monsters, who will?
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