Slaves to the man.

"man must live by the sweat of his brow" (God according to Genesis 3:19),
"lend, expecting nothing in return" (Jesus according to Luke 6:35)

I just watched a great PBS Frontline episode called the Card Game all about the banking and credit card industry and the various tricks they have been using to rip us consumers off for the last 20 years.

Watching it I remembered this passage from Dante's Inferno about the usurers burning in the 7th circle of hell. Here it is:

"Dante then asks for clarification of one more theological issue: why is usury a sin? Virgil explains to Dante that usury goes against God’s will because a usurer makes his money not from industry or skill (“art”)—as Genesis stipulates that human beings should—but rather from money itself (in the form of interest). Thus, usurers also go against God’s “art,” or His design for the world."

Many medieval theologians considered lending for gain to be a sin. Thomas Aquinas, based on Aristotle, considered usury--like sodomy--to be contrary to nature because "it is in accordance with nature that money should increase from natural goods and not from money itself."

I always sort of intuitively felt it was wrong because it seems to be profiting from someone else's need. Just didn't seem too Christian to me.

Then I had to ask myself if I was making any money off interest. None that I am aware of....unfortunately. I wanna be a rich and evil sinner too!

CBS recommends we use mafia loan sharks if you need a loan because the interest rate is better.

We have literally become slaves or indentured servants to the banks and credit cards. With interest rates the way they are, we can work our whole lives and still not pay off the debts. I'm almost of the mind to quit paying the bills. It won't hurt them at all. They haven't exactly stuck to their word with me. How many times have they changed the rate on a card without notice? Not what I agreed to! The government will just hand them billions more of my tax dollars anyway and not even ask for a reciept.

Where's my bailout! If anybody wants to get serious about turning this economy around all they would have to do is pass a consumer debt forgiveness bill. We just handed the banks over $800B ($800,000,000,000.00)!!!!!!! What the F are they doing with it? Sometimes I think they used it all to print out new credit card advertisements to send me in the mail. Are you kidding me?!?! Let them use it to pay off some home mortgages, some college loans, some car loans, some credit card debt. It's only fair and only makes sense. It would free up a lot of money among us bottom dwellers drowning in debt for consumer spending.

The least the government could have asked in return for the money we lent them is to lower their interest rates to something below 10%. More than 10% used to be illegal. 25-35% is ordinary for first-timers now. They should have forced the banks to come clean with consumers about hidden fees, changing rates, etc and made these practices illegal. Not everyone should have a credit card. I know I shouldn't. Stop sending me your offers!