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That's nice that you say you would do that. It is also divorced from reality; what you're describing as "fasting" is what normal people call fucking starving, d

That's nice that you say you would do that. It is also divorced from reality; what you're describing as "fasting" is what normal people call fucking starving, dude. People don't get to decide that suddenly they were laid off and the economy sucks so it's been a long time since they had steady work beyond the very-part-time job at the convenience store and they don't get to decide that their seven-year-old, born when things were great and when Dad was still around and your family had a second income, needs to not go hungry. You are representing a callous, gross viewpoint and I genuinely hope it never comes back to make you regret it.

pascalxus 9y ago
the point is, with the appropriate education, early enough, we can avoid these situations. by taking on these loans, it's only going to make their situation even worse.
- wpietri 9y ago
  You are right on neither point. Education is neither necessary nor sufficient to keep people from desperate situations. And taking a payday loan often makes the situation better. Always in the short term, sometimes in the long. Expecting somebody to let their family starve or become homeless rather than taking a payday loan is ridiculous.
- eropple 9y ago
  "We should close the barn door after the horse is a county away" is not a useful, meaningful, or insightful point. So why make it? And, worse, it's wrong besides. Plenty of well-educated people screw up. Plenty of well-educated people are suckered by scams of all types, even people who literally do know better. Life is complicated, it comes at you fast, and one mistake, when you are not so fortunate as to have the kind of (tech) jobs that let you make mistakes, can be profoundly destructive. See my post elsewhere in this thread for more: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15863152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15863152
- CocaKoala 9y ago
  Sure, but the situation is already dire. What's the difference if it gets worse in three weeks? It might get worse in three weeks anyways, and at least if you take the predatory loan you'll have some money to keep the electricity on for another few days. The loan won't improve your situation, but not taking the loan sure as hell isn't going to improve it either.
- vertex-four 9y ago
  The solution is not to educate people to starve or go homeless instead of taking loans. It's to ensure that nobody is placed in a position where they're stuck between starving/going homeless/etc and taking out a payday loan. If the current system is not ensuring that, what changes would ensure it? That's the question.

pascalxus 9y ago

the point is, with the appropriate education, early enough, we can avoid these situations. by taking on these loans, it's only going to make their situation even worse.

wpietri 9y ago
You are right on neither point. Education is neither necessary nor sufficient to keep people from desperate situations. And taking a payday loan often makes the situation better. Always in the short term, sometimes in the long. Expecting somebody to let their family starve or become homeless rather than taking a payday loan is ridiculous.
eropple 9y ago
"We should close the barn door after the horse is a county away" is not a useful, meaningful, or insightful point. So why make it? And, worse, it's wrong besides. Plenty of well-educated people screw up. Plenty of well-educated people are suckered by scams of all types, even people who literally do know better. Life is complicated, it comes at you fast, and one mistake, when you are not so fortunate as to have the kind of (tech) jobs that let you make mistakes, can be profoundly destructive. See my post elsewhere in this thread for more: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15863152 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15863152
CocaKoala 9y ago
Sure, but the situation is already dire. What's the difference if it gets worse in three weeks? It might get worse in three weeks anyways, and at least if you take the predatory loan you'll have some money to keep the electricity on for another few days. The loan won't improve your situation, but not taking the loan sure as hell isn't going to improve it either.
vertex-four 9y ago
The solution is not to educate people to starve or go homeless instead of taking loans. It's to ensure that nobody is placed in a position where they're stuck between starving/going homeless/etc and taking out a payday loan. If the current system is not ensuring that, what changes would ensure it? That's the question.