By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 03:53:00 +0000

The wrong approach would be for me to blame the credit card companies: They sent me the card offers, they raised my interest rates, they keep raising my credit limit, etc. This sort of response will only make me bitter, angry, and stressed out. If I want my situation to change,
Well, ok.
I have changed my opinions about personal versus corporate responsibility ever since I watched a documentary called “The Corporation”. Yeah, it's liberal. But that doesn't mean that we can't learn from it.
The gist of the documentary is that corporations, including credit card companies, are considered persons in a legal sense. However, they are not persons regulated by any moral laws imposed upon human persons. The only obligation of a corporation is to make earnings for their stockholders, by any means legal. That is what they are designed to do.
Credit card companies behave in ways that are perfectly legal, but are deceitful and harmful to the consumer. They produce legal riders that even trained lawyers admit are confusing. The financially un-savvy will pay the “payment” on their statement without understanding how much interest it is costing them. People psychologically do not feel they are spending money in the same way as if they used cash.
The only reason that I have not gotten into credit card trouble is that I am paranoid, suspicious and wary of the Man who runs my credit card company. I will not give the Man one cent of interest. I want him to starve. I hate my credit card, but I think that is a fairly unusual reaction.
I view credit card companies as pushers on the street trying to get kids addicted to heroin.
It is fine for you as an individual to take responsibility, while the corporation goes on its merry way increasing profit margins. I appreciate your integrity.
But this is not, ultimately, an individual concern.
In the event of a depression or other financial disaster, millions and millions of people will be in serious trouble, due to credit card debt.
In that case, it will not be just the individual who will pay. Responsible, or less indebted, people will be pressed to bail out family members. Communities will be pressed to assist families who are sinking into poverty. There will be a huge cost to all of society.
So, do I think that the solution is to blame the individual rather than the credit card companies? No. I actually believe that society must regulate the corporate world in self-defense, because the behavior of those corporations is damaging to the national interest.
Having said that, I commend you for taking charge. The problem is that there are about 100 people who will never catch on for every one person who does.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 13 Nov 2006 03:35:00 +0000

Roger, I think you're right on and I've commented on it over at my blog The Search For Purpose. This got me thinking about why people and even Christians have such a hard time taking responsibility for themselves and their families. I see Christians all the time that constantly pass their responsibilities (raising children, supporting/serving their church, etc.) off on someone else. It

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 21:04:00 +0000

That is brilliant.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 11 Nov 2006 20:28:00 +0000

Good post. Reminds me of something GK Chesterton wrote in to an English newspaper which had posed the question, “What's wrong with the world?” Chesterton answered:
What's wrong with the world? I am.
Yours sincerely,
GK Chesterton

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:49:00 +0000

Roger, I agree with you regarding your conclusions that we need to look at ourselves before imposing blame on others. However, as someone who leans (at least in this season) more to the left, I respectfully disagree with Dennis Prager.

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