Another reason to minimize credit card use. . .

So, I came across this article based on an interview with two women who worked for a large bank, as customer service representatives (you know, the people we call when we want a balance transfer, or a lower interest rate, or a late fee removed). Apparently, these employees were encouraged to "sell" credit to people----especially people who sounded as if they were already in financial dire straits.

For example, they were trained to listen for phrases like "I can't pay my bills", "My son is going to college", or "My car isn't running". These consumers were considered 'marks', and were then sold credit at "the highest rate possible".

Now that it's clear Americans have been financially overextended for a very long time (and I include myself in that group), we can see that part of the reason for this has been what I consider to be unethical selling practices by American banks and lenders. 'Selling' credit to a person who has a very good chance of repaying that debt is good for the economy and the country; pushing credit on people who are already stretched to the limit and who will probably miss their payments (thereby allowing the bank to increase interest rates) is immoral and dangerous.

I'm not saying that people don't have a responsibility to determine whether they are able to repay their debt before borrowing money. But I think at least part of the horrendous economic problems we're facing have to do with lenders threw money at people they knew would be unable to pay on time. Just one more reason to keep the credit cards safely stashed in a drawer at home, unless a true emergency presents itself.