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>Credit ratings in the United States are not controlled by the government, Yet they can prevent you from getting, or keeping, government jobs, prevent you from

>Credit ratings in the United States are not controlled by the government, Yet they can prevent you from getting, or keeping, government jobs, prevent you from getting government contracts, prevent you from being able to purchase a home, prevent you from getting student loans... They aren't as bad but they're still tools of control.

dd36 8y ago
Based on public court records.
- ryanmercer 8y ago
  >Based on public court records. Which to this day aren't in some central database. Many states have counties where court records aren't even available online, that's a hell of a lot different than a centralized service that compiles, ranks and sells this information. It's in a credit reporting agency's best interest to find every last scrap of financial information about you so they can sell it. They don't care so much about accuracy, they just care about growing that file so they have more to sell. There's countless instances of people having their credit reports merged with others, containing erroneous information that pertains to a parent or child if they are Bob Smith I, Bob Smith II, Bob Smith III etc, then of course you are asked for your SSN for jobs/taxes/rental applications/in many cases it is on your driver's license which is handed over to numerous people for numerous reasons making it incredibly easy for someone to steal your identity and racking up debt, that they do not pay, on YOUR credit files which can take you years to get removed, all the while being on a centralized purchasable document that is intended to say how trustworthy you are as a person...
  - sailfast 8y ago
    Handling ID Theft is certainly an area that could use improvement. It’s a total pain in the ass and the fact that we’re basically paying K&R insurance each month to hedge this risk is crazy.
sailfast 8y ago
Agreed. The link between credit agencies and the state here comes when government uses this data for clearances - typically to determine whether you might be amenable to a bribe. All that said: typically if you’re asking for money it doesn’t come for free. You are submitting to a control. The fact that these scores are used in other arenas that are not related to finance is odd, but using your financial history as an indicator of future payment seems rational whether scores existed or not.

dd36 8y ago

Based on public court records.

ryanmercer 8y ago
>Based on public court records. Which to this day aren't in some central database. Many states have counties where court records aren't even available online, that's a hell of a lot different than a centralized service that compiles, ranks and sells this information. It's in a credit reporting agency's best interest to find every last scrap of financial information about you so they can sell it. They don't care so much about accuracy, they just care about growing that file so they have more to sell. There's countless instances of people having their credit reports merged with others, containing erroneous information that pertains to a parent or child if they are Bob Smith I, Bob Smith II, Bob Smith III etc, then of course you are asked for your SSN for jobs/taxes/rental applications/in many cases it is on your driver's license which is handed over to numerous people for numerous reasons making it incredibly easy for someone to steal your identity and racking up debt, that they do not pay, on YOUR credit files which can take you years to get removed, all the while being on a centralized purchasable document that is intended to say how trustworthy you are as a person...
- sailfast 8y ago
  Handling ID Theft is certainly an area that could use improvement. It’s a total pain in the ass and the fact that we’re basically paying K&R insurance each month to hedge this risk is crazy.

sailfast 8y ago

Agreed. The link between credit agencies and the state here comes when government uses this data for clearances - typically to determine whether you might be amenable to a bribe. All that said: typically if you’re asking for money it doesn’t come for free. You are submitting to a control. The fact that these scores are used in other arenas that are not related to finance is odd, but using your financial history as an indicator of future payment seems rational whether scores existed or not.