The Secret History of the Credit Card

[jeffrey]

In "Secret History of the Credit Card," FRONTLINE and The New York Times join forces to investigate an industry which few Americans fully understand. In this one-hour report, correspondent Lowell Bergman uncovers the techniques used by the industry to earn record profits and get consumers to take on more debt.

YouTube - PBS Frontline Secret History of the Credit Card

[elessar78]

It's really interesting that this country had laws against usury not too long ago, either. Not all progress is good, huh?

[SteveBlissLaw]

Just goes to show you how much political pressure is actually worth I guess.

[clipper11]

yeah, credit cards have been a cash cow for banks.

[Frugal]

I wish we still had laws against usury. I thought they were done away with here a long time ago. Now, they make record profits off of people who are desperate.

[Rosen4]

what a crash for credit cards

[Michael01]

Credit cards are the important thing for the people to have which will benefit them as it has offers and it reduces the risk of loosing the money in terms of thefts.

[HousingCounselor]

I just love how the only way Andrew Kahr would do only do an interview if they agreed not to disclose his current location or expose that he was the former CEO of Providian.

[guyinva]

It is a shame that with all the education in this country personal finance is never touched on. In my entire educational career (I have a B.A. in Biology) I can remember learning how to write a check in the sixth grade and that is it for personal finance. Nothing about credit, loans, investing, or anything. We require Gen Ed classes like biology, art, etc. (which is good) but we need to meet the basic needs of education before we go on to more general knowledge.

I like having credit cards. I am glad I didn't get any as soon as I turned 18, I probably wouldn't have managed them well (partly due to the lack of education), but when used properly they are a valuable tool. In addition to building credit I get rewards points. I DO NOT spend in order to get rewards points, I use credit instead of cash or debit on things I would have bought anyway in order to get the points. Every 2-4 weeks I pay off the credit card. As stated it is also safer to use credit cards.

[photo]

It's really interesting that this country had laws against usury not too long ago, either. Not all progress is good, huh?

I don't know about that. Most of us wouldn't own houses if we couldn't borrow money. And who would loan us money completely interest-free?

[jpg7n16]

I don't know about that. Most of us wouldn't own houses if we couldn't borrow money. And who would loan us money completely interest-free?

Usury | Define Usury at Dictionary.com
1. the lending or practice of lending money at an exorbitant interest.
2. an exorbitant amount or rate of interest, especially in excess of the legal rate.
3. Obsolete . interest paid for the use of money.

[photo]

jpg7n16, the problem with some denotations is that sometimes they almost contradict each other. I was using the original definition, which is simply charging interest for lending. Sorry if it was confusing.