Thursday, October 04, 2012

Immoral Interest Rates EuroNews Advert

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What is USURY ?



“Usury is the practice of making loans
 with excessive or abusive interest rates.” Wikipedia.

Condemned throughout history by so many religious and moral codes as being the cause of evil, usury is alive today, breeding like bacteria in the Petri dish of our slick modern society, and feeding on the culture medium of unethical practices.

In Marcus Porcius Cato's narrative “De Re Rustica” the question is asked, 

"What is to be said of making profit by usury?"  His reply,

"What is to be said of making profit by murder?"

I am personally aware of several suicides that have resulted as a direct outcome of people feeling totally trapped by financial circumstances. Money lenders charging immoral levels of interest could be said to contribute to peoples misfortunes and even in some cases to their deaths.

So what has brought on this rant – you might ask? I was watching a news item on Euronews about how Greece is leading Europe in having set up an instant alert and rescue system to deal with missing children. Well done Greece I'm impressed. 

The news item was followed by the usual advert break. I was horrified and sickened by one of the adverts which was selling loans at the mind-numbing interest rate of no less than 49.90% APR.

I, at first, did not believe my eyes, and had to check a second time to make sure I was not hallucinating.


In my innocence, or if you like, ignorance,  I had simply thought that this sort of money lending was outlawed by civilized countries. 

In many desperate cases, lenders with their 50% interest rates might as well put heavy chains around a victims neck and toss them into the sea. I am truly outraged. No credit to EuroNews either for carrying this sort of advert.




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