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Had the same thing in the UK. They were desperate for me not to pay up front so they could try and sell me some other finance product that would cost me more /

Had the same thing in the UK. They were desperate for me not to pay up front so they could try and sell me some other finance product that would cost me more / enable me to spend more without understanding the true cost. This kind of credit for cars / housing / uni / whatever is just not helping people afford things they would otherwise defer buying. It's predatory. It's pushing up the price of items. It has no place in our society. It should be tightly controlled. Finance is pulling forward demand to get tomorrow's bonuses today and to hell with the consequences tomorrow. If we want a better world we have to regulate debt issuance. Yes some kids from poor backgrounds can't buy a nice car even though they are doing a law degree at Harvard and will be able to cover it no problem in 3 years time. The flip side of the coin is far more damaging. We should stamp out these cockroaches.

onion2k 9y ago
Yes some kids from poor backgrounds can't buy a nice car even though they are doing a law degree at Harvard and will be able to cover it no problem in 3 years time. I think you're underestimating how poor most people are. 60% of Americans wouldn't be able to cover an unexpected bill of $500[1]. Most people just don't have any money saved, or money left at the end of the month to save any. This isn't about young people buying nice cars; it's about the majority of people buying any car. Clearly cheap credit adds to the problem, but if the ability to borrow disappeared overnight a lot of people would have tremendous difficulties. [1] http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/12/pf/americans-lack-of-savings/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/12/pf/americans-lack-of-savings...
- branchless 9y ago
  You've completely missed my point. The ability to borrow sets the price. This is how prices on goods are set, not by how much it costs plus a "fair profit".

onion2k 9y ago

Yes some kids from poor backgrounds can't buy a nice car even though they are doing a law degree at Harvard and will be able to cover it no problem in 3 years time. I think you're underestimating how poor most people are. 60% of Americans wouldn't be able to cover an unexpected bill of $500[1]. Most people just don't have any money saved, or money left at the end of the month to save any. This isn't about young people buying nice cars; it's about the majority of people buying any car. Clearly cheap credit adds to the problem, but if the ability to borrow disappeared overnight a lot of people would have tremendous difficulties. [1] http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/12/pf/americans-lack-of-savings/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/12/pf/americans-lack-of-savings...

branchless 9y ago
You've completely missed my point. The ability to borrow sets the price. This is how prices on goods are set, not by how much it costs plus a "fair profit".