4 ms·

I don't understand the fear of the social credit system. It doesn't seem too different from the American credit scoring system. They are both systems designed

I don't understand the fear of the social credit system. It doesn't seem too different from the American credit scoring system. They are both systems designed by the elites to shape the behavior of commoners. Why do I have to regularly use a credit card to prove that I am credit worthy, so that I can get a bank loan to buy a house?

gbear605 8y ago
Because the bank wants assurance that you’re not going to go bankrupt or just not pay it back, and reliably paying off your credit card is a proxy for that. Whereas you taking a high speed train is not a risk, so blocking that is just punishment.
- powerapple 8y ago
  These people do not want to repay their debts, mostly. And they have money, properties they don't declare. It is a solution to solve problems in China, not problems in US.
kaiju0 8y ago
I think the fear come from how hard it would be to dig out of the hole. People make mistakes. Under the American system the mistakes expire after time. I have not heard of the expiration of offences in this system. This social credit system is new an may evolve with time.
veryworried 8y ago
Sorry, but you are not entitled to a house or any loans. This is not "elites shaping the behavior of commoners", this is just common sense. Loaning money to people is an investment and giving money to people who have no history of even paying off a simple credit card bill doesn't make sense. It's like being 20 years old and creating a new startup then wondering why investors don't want to give you any money so you can hire out staff and build a product. It's not inherently impossible to get a loan with no credit history, just really difficult to do without something else to inspire confidence. And frankly, considering how easy it is for any Joe to build a decent credit history from just using credit cards I'd say most lenders are actually doing consumers a favor by lending them such vast amounts of money on such a basic premise. I know if it were my money I'd be way more conservative.
godelski 8y ago
I was under the impression that the Chinese version included things like religious and political affiliation. Which, assuming true, a lot of people feel like is a clear overstep. Even now we don't look back at the McCarthy era with fond memories. Also in America your credit score won't affect you from buying things like a plane ticket or even leaving the country. It only affects your line of credit (money borrowed). I'm not convinced the government should be telling you how to spend your money (but that's clearly an opinion). There's also a lot (A LOT) wrong with the credit system, like the fact that a significant number of Americans (numbers vary from 5% to 25%) have significant errors by one of the 3 major credit agencies. Equifax... I'm not convinced China could do substantially better than us (especially when you add more factors). Even if you reduce that number to 1/1000 (I doubt that good considering other database error levels), that still seems like a big deal if it prevents you from mundane events like taking a train or plane. I wouldn't look at a system that doesn't look good and say "Hey, we should do this, but with more consequences when it fails."

gbear605 8y ago

Because the bank wants assurance that you’re not going to go bankrupt or just not pay it back, and reliably paying off your credit card is a proxy for that. Whereas you taking a high speed train is not a risk, so blocking that is just punishment.

powerapple 8y ago
These people do not want to repay their debts, mostly. And they have money, properties they don't declare. It is a solution to solve problems in China, not problems in US.

kaiju0 8y ago

I think the fear come from how hard it would be to dig out of the hole. People make mistakes. Under the American system the mistakes expire after time. I have not heard of the expiration of offences in this system. This social credit system is new an may evolve with time.

veryworried 8y ago

Sorry, but you are not entitled to a house or any loans. This is not "elites shaping the behavior of commoners", this is just common sense. Loaning money to people is an investment and giving money to people who have no history of even paying off a simple credit card bill doesn't make sense. It's like being 20 years old and creating a new startup then wondering why investors don't want to give you any money so you can hire out staff and build a product. It's not inherently impossible to get a loan with no credit history, just really difficult to do without something else to inspire confidence. And frankly, considering how easy it is for any Joe to build a decent credit history from just using credit cards I'd say most lenders are actually doing consumers a favor by lending them such vast amounts of money on such a basic premise. I know if it were my money I'd be way more conservative.

godelski 8y ago

I was under the impression that the Chinese version included things like religious and political affiliation. Which, assuming true, a lot of people feel like is a clear overstep. Even now we don't look back at the McCarthy era with fond memories. Also in America your credit score won't affect you from buying things like a plane ticket or even leaving the country. It only affects your line of credit (money borrowed). I'm not convinced the government should be telling you how to spend your money (but that's clearly an opinion). There's also a lot (A LOT) wrong with the credit system, like the fact that a significant number of Americans (numbers vary from 5% to 25%) have significant errors by one of the 3 major credit agencies. Equifax... I'm not convinced China could do substantially better than us (especially when you add more factors). Even if you reduce that number to 1/1000 (I doubt that good considering other database error levels), that still seems like a big deal if it prevents you from mundane events like taking a train or plane. I wouldn't look at a system that doesn't look good and say "Hey, we should do this, but with more consequences when it fails."