Is the enforced need to engage in usury in the moral?

[Maxwell511]

I have lived in the US permanently since 2016 and never felt like getting a loan or credit card. I worked and earned my money. Recently I needed to rent a car. However since I never needed to get a loan or Credit Card Hertz refused to lend me a car for my money. Because I feel some guy in Wall Street could not say I owed a bank money and paid it back. Therefore I was untrustworthy in the eyes of Hertz to operate a motor vehicle. I had a similar issue with Comcast on a student visa but that was okay because Bernie Sanders had previously set up a local internet company that would accept cash be itself. When he was previously Mayor of the town.

I got a credit card now cos it seems necessary although I don't like the idea. Is this stuff moral? Back in the old country in Europe need to have banks and other creditors to lend me money to obtain basic services from other companies was not a thing!

 

[Tanj]

Credit cards are only usury if you don't pay them off in full by the due date. If you do that then instead they are a handy way to manage day to day expenses, and pick up some frequent flyer miles for nothing.

 

[Aussie Pete]

I have lived in the US permanently since 2016 and never felt like getting a loan or credit card. I worked and earned my money. Recently I needed to rent a car. However since I never needed to get a loan or Credit Card Hertz refused to lend me a car for my money. Because I feel some guy in Wall Street could not say I owed a bank money and paid it back. Therefore I was untrustworthy in the eyes of Hertz to operate a motor vehicle. I had a similar issue with Comcast on a student visa but that was okay because Bernie Sanders had previously set up a local internet company that would accept cash be itself. When he was previously Mayor of the town.

I got a credit card now cos it seems necessary although I don't like the idea. Is this stuff moral? Back in the old country in Europe need to have banks and other creditors to lend me money to obtain basic services from other companies was not a thing!

Moral? No? Ethical? No. It's the way of the world and there is little that you can do about it.

 

[dqhall]

I have lived in the US permanently since 2016 and never felt like getting a loan or credit card. I worked and earned my money. Recently I needed to rent a car. However since I never needed to get a loan or Credit Card Hertz refused to lend me a car for my money. Because I feel some guy in Wall Street could not say I owed a bank money and paid it back. Therefore I was untrustworthy in the eyes of Hertz to operate a motor vehicle. I had a similar issue with Comcast on a student visa but that was okay because Bernie Sanders had previously set up a local internet company that would accept cash be itself. When he was previously Mayor of the town.

I got a credit card now cos it seems necessary although I don't like the idea. Is this stuff moral? Back in the old country in Europe need to have banks and other creditors to lend me money to obtain basic services from other companies was not a thing!

I have used credit cards for years. I rarely use my ATM card. I might spend cash at a bridge toll booth or coins at a gas station vacuum.

I get 2% cash back with one card I have. They put it on my statement. I may use it to purchase things online or get a statement credit.

Credit card interest, subprime auto loans, subprime mortgages, payday loans and pawn shop loans are legal usury.

 

[RaymondG]

I lot of people who dont like credit cards, dont like them because they know they would not be able to control themselves with them. They would spend more than they are able to pay back, and may or maynot be able to pay it back later. They treat it as if it was their own money, and worry only about what they want now, and not the one who is lending you the money.

For this reason, Those without cards are treated like those who have them and use them poorly.

I think there is some wisdom in this philosophy.

 

[durangodawood]

I lot of people who dont like credit cards, dont like them because they know they would not be able to control themselves with them. They would spend more than they are able to pay back, and may or maynot be able to pay it back later. They treat it as if it was their own money, and worry only about what they want now, and not the one who is lending you the money.

For this reason, Those without cards are treated like those who have them and use them poorly.

I think there is some wisdom in this philosophy.

So... people faulting the tools for their own lack of self control.

Actually thats reasonable. We overrate our capacity for self-direction. It takes a lot of conditioning, and many people simply havent had that.

 

[RaymondG]

So... people faulting the tools for their own lack of self control.

Actually thats reasonable. We overrate our capacity for self-direction. It takes a lot of conditioning, and many people simply havent had that.

Yes, is it much like when people placed fault the banks for giving them loans for homes they could not afford.

Didnt make much sense to me...but I understood.

To correlate.....it would be hard to tell the differences between the one who took the loan they would not pay back, and those who would not take it because they knew they could not pay it back. So it is somewhat understandable to treat them the same.

And safer choice would be those who have proven that they can take loans and have the money to pay them back.....

 

[Sketcher]

I have lived in the US permanently since 2016 and never felt like getting a loan or credit card. I worked and earned my money. Recently I needed to rent a car. However since I never needed to get a loan or Credit Card Hertz refused to lend me a car for my money. Because I feel some guy in Wall Street could not say I owed a bank money and paid it back. Therefore I was untrustworthy in the eyes of Hertz to operate a motor vehicle. I had a similar issue with Comcast on a student visa but that was okay because Bernie Sanders had previously set up a local internet company that would accept cash be itself. When he was previously Mayor of the town.

I got a credit card now cos it seems necessary although I don't like the idea. Is this stuff moral? Back in the old country in Europe need to have banks and other creditors to lend me money to obtain basic services from other companies was not a thing!

I view credit cards as a method by which I can spend money that I already have in the bank.

 

[RaymondG]

I use to be against Credit cards as well......until I discovered that they would actually pay ME to use them... they've paid me over 1k to use them so far and now I feel a little foolish for not starting to use them sooner....

 

[Junia]

It probably isn't ethical or moral but not all debt is forbidden in the bible.

and there is no real choice for us God unders tend that

 

[essentialsaltes]

Maybe look into an Islamic bank in your area. Islam also has strong prohibitions on usury, and they jump through various hoops to provide banking services that are compliant with religious law.

 

[jayem]

I don’t like carrying more than $20 or so of cash around. So I have 2 credit cards that I use pretty regularly. I get cash back on both. And I always pay the balance off every month. So I earn money using the cards. You have to be disciplined. Credit card interest can be ruinous.

Even without my paying them interest, the card issuers still make money on my purchases. The merchants are charged a 2-3% fee by the card networks on every transaction made by a card user.

Edited to add: It’s almost a necessity these day to have a credit card. Using it prudently, and never missing a payment is the road to a good credit score. Having a good FICO score (like 750 or higher) can make your financial life a lot easier.

 

[The happy Objectivist]

I have lived in the US permanently since 2016 and never felt like getting a loan or credit card. I worked and earned my money. Recently I needed to rent a car. However since I never needed to get a loan or Credit Card Hertz refused to lend me a car for my money. Because I feel some guy in Wall Street could not say I owed a bank money and paid it back. Therefore I was untrustworthy in the eyes of Hertz to operate a motor vehicle. I had a similar issue with Comcast on a student visa but that was okay because Bernie Sanders had previously set up a local internet company that would accept cash be itself. When he was previously Mayor of the town.

I got a credit card now cos it seems necessary although I don't like the idea. Is this stuff moral? Back in the old country in Europe need to have banks and other creditors to lend me money to obtain basic services from other companies was not a thing!

You can get a debit card that just comes right out of your bank account instead of credit. And I wouldn't call it being forced. The car company has a right to set its terms and if you don't like them you don't have to do business.