Current Events > Credit Cards are good if you're responsible

(+) Yeah! (+)

But over half of Americans are not (carry a balance), so no, credit cards are evil and predatory.

Average credit card balance in the top ten states are $8-10k.

Whew mines only 2k

Irony posted...

Whew mines only 2k

<_<

Whew mines only 0k

Maybe the Americans would be better with credit cards if the corporations paid a living wage.

You know what else is evil and predatory?

We tell 18 year olds to take out tens of thousands of dollars of debt to pay for a higher education that might not even get them a job.

TheHoldSteady posted...

You know what else is evil and predatory?

We tell 18 year olds to take out tens of thousands of dollars of debt to pay for a higher education that might not even get them a job.

Yes but I'd also say joining the military to do that exact same thing is equally predatory

It is hilarious how people blame their own lack of responsibility on the entire credit card industry

>laughs in thousands of dollars in credit card points

Credit cards are a good representation for the failings of capitalism.

Dakimakura posted...

Maybe the Americans would be better with credit cards if the corporations paid a living wage.

Lol, wait till you see the credit card balances people who make $60k+/year make

Sexypwnstar posted...

Lol, wait till you see the credit card balances people who make $60k+/year make

I put most of my expenses on a credit card each month and just pay it off to stack rewards. Its normally between $6k and $10k each month. Venture X had been great.

Sexypwnstar posted...

Lol, wait till you see the credit card balances people who make $60k+/year make

Mine is at about $480 since the start of the month

I pay off all my credit cards completely every month.

I am fortunate now though.

Years ago I usually had a balance around 3-4k most of the year. I would pay it off at the end of the year with holiday bonuses. It sucked.

They are evil and predatory though. There had to be laws created specifically to stop credit card companies from preying on college students so much. Here's an article from back in 2008

Add this to the list of the countrys financial woes: Credit card companies are aggressively targeting college students, many of whom are nave about money matters and vulnerable to predatory offers that can get them permanently mired in debt.

According to an eye-opening survey by the United States Public Interest Research Group, or U.S. PIRG, which is an advocacy organization, some students reported receiving hundreds of credit card offers in a year. The report also described how companies lure cash-starved students with gifts of clothing and free food. In one flagrant case in Ohio, students who showed up for the food were required to fill out credit card applications before they could eat.

A half-dozen states have placed restrictions on how credit cards can be marketed at public colleges. Congress is considering sensible bills that would restrict the amount of credit and the number of cards that students could be offered. Lawmakers should also focus on the lucrative and often secret deals that universities and their alumni associations regularly cut with credit card companies.

Those deals which resemble the now outlawed student loan kickback deals often grant companies the exclusive right to market to a colleges students. In some cases, the colleges get a cut of what the students spend, which makes the school a partner in the plundering of young peoples meager assets.

Congress must insist that these deals be made public and universities and alumni groups must insist that students be given fair deals from credit card companies.

With financing from the Ford Foundation, U.S. PIRG has begun a national campaign urging schools to adopt some common-sense principles that would help shield students from credit card marketers and financial ruin.

The group calls on universities to stop selling the names and contact information of currently enrolled students to credit card marketers. It also says that schools should ban marketers from using gifts to entice students to sign up for credit cards, and it urges schools to do more to educate students on managing debt responsibly.
Most importantly, the group calls on schools that still decide to cut deals to only do business with credit card companies that steer clear of commonly used but unscrupulous credit card terms that take advantage of students. That means an end to hidden fees or unreasonable penalties, including universal default, under which interest rates go up when the customer fails to pay a bill not related to the credit card account.

Schools need to reform their credit card practices. If they dont move quickly, lawmakers must do it for them.

https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/18/opinion/18sat2.html

And they're still doing it.

Despite changes in the law designed to make it harder for banks to prey on students, roughly a quarter of todays college graduates walk away from school with over $5,000 in credit card debt. About one out of every 10 students graduates owing more than $10,000 on their cards.

Why do these companies extend so much credit to college kids? Here are several key reasons:

They know that parents will often foot the bill. Some college students will need a cosigner to even get a card. If they dont, however, their parents may still pay off their cards for them so that their kids dont have to struggle.

They know that young people often have poor money skills. Most college kids havent had experience managing money on their own, so they may make small, unnecessary charges without thinking about how those charges add up. Every dime of their balance that goes unpaid from month to month makes the credit card company richer through the interest.

They want to get people hooked early. Once you get accustomed to living on credit, it can be a lot harder to live within your means. Credit card companies know this

https://www.aprilrandlelaw.com/why-credit-card-
companies-target-college-students

Just saw an ad for one that was presented as a tiktok unboxing video

Their loss. Credit cards are great if you are responsible.