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When I hear "usury" I usually think of high interest rates, like payday loans and credit cards, not a 2.5% 30-year term.
by mitthrowaway2 6mo ago
When I hear "usury" I usually think of high interest rates, like payday loans and credit cards, not a 2.5% 30-year term.
- snikeris 6mo agoYeah it was redefined to that at some point. See Belloc’s essay on usury if you’re interested.
- marcusverus 6mo agoThe definition of usury hasn't changed in 200 years. From Webster's 1828 Edition: U'SURY, noun s as z. [Latin usura, from utor, to use.] 1. Formerly, interest; or a premium paid or stipulated to be paid for the use of money. [Usury formerly denoted any legal interest, but in this sense, the word is no longer in use.] 2. In present usage, illegal interest; a premium or compensation paid or stipulated to be paid for the use of money borrowed or retained, beyond the rate of interest established by law. 3. The practice of taking interest. (obsolete)
- triceratops 6mo agoThe person I responded to said: "That is why [a ban on usury] was encoded into ancient religious traditions" So they obviously meant the old definition, which encompasses all moneylending.
- triceratops 6mo agoThat's the modern definition. The comment at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47880310 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47880310 was about bans on usury since ancient times, when that term referred to the general practice of moneylending. "In many historical societies including ancient Christian, Jewish, and Islamic societies, usury meant the charging of interest of any kind, and was considered wrong, or was made illegal." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usury Low interest rates (i.e. freer moneylending aka more usury) increases house prices.
- ButlerianJihad 6mo agoPayday loans are not illegal. By your definition, and Wikipedia's modern definitions, a payday or car-title loan is not exorbitant, and it is not usury. The payday loan shops around here are licensed, legitimate businesses working with regulated financial instruments. > Low interest rates (i.e. freer moneylending aka more usury) increases house prices. You just contradicted yourself. What is usury again? Low interest rates, freer moneylending, is "more usury"? You write in the present tense that freer moneylending and low interest rates are more usury than usury? Are the rates exorbitantly low? Is there an exorbitant number of customers? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_lending https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predatory_lending
- triceratops 6mo ago> Low interest rates, freer moneylending, is "more usury"? In the ancient sense of the term, which this comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47880310 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47880310 used, all moneylending is usury. More loans are approved and/or borrowers are approved for bigger loans in low interest rate environments. This leads to high house prices. Hence, the "more usury" comment that I wrote. In that one sentence I had the same ancient definition of usury in mind. I hope you don't believe low interest rates = expensive houses is something I made up. If you think I'm contradicting myself sure go on. I find it easy to hold two definitions of a word in my head and use the correct one in the right context. But I understand that not everyone can and some may find it confusing.
- ButlerianJihad 6mo agoThe question is, whether you can make words mean so many different things.