Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Demanding shark is demanding

While reading several news sites today I came across something that caught my eye and promptly forced a loud what the fuck out of me.

Artist depiction
"Colin Morrison, 46, admitted illegally lending money at his home address and other areas of the city between January 2004 and January 2010. "

What really caught the eye was that he was charging them so much that if calculated for a whole year, the interest rate would be
719,000%
Do people have no shame anymore? Will we do anything for a buck and throw away any kind of morality and common sense? 



I've heard about loan sharks and how unpleasant they can be but this guy blew away all my expectations. Until I read further:
"The court heard how Morrison provided several illegal cash loans to Joseph Rankin and his partner Angela Clements - who suffers from the muscle wasting disease Myotonic Dystrophy - over a six-year period." 
Really? Take advantage of poor people with chronic muscle diseases? Is this what those kids who steal younger babies' Popsicles grow up in to? I don't even want to know what happens to people who don't pay, seeing how if you borrow 20 dollars you suddenly owe several million.

 Although the blame of this situation falls mostly on the crook, and that the needs of the aforementioned couple were of a different nature than pure consumerism, I can't help but think this is also a byproduct of the loan and credit society we live in. Everyone everywhere is deep in debt, taking bank loans to buy a car, a house, holidays, surgery, bananas... Then you borrow more money to pay the interests of the loans, and then you go to your bank and ask for a consolidation loan. That makes your credit more solid, so now you can ask for more loans to buy even more shit you don't need! And bananas. 

  

So, what would happen in a world without loans? What if we could only spend what we earn? 

(Original article - BBC News

24 comments:

  1. 700k %? who would accept that loan?

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  2. I think the world would be fucked if you could only spend what you have, how would new business start off? What about businesses that rely on loans to bring in supplies?

    Its the main reason we had to bail out the banks was to make sure the system still had liquidity, otherwise the cogs of capitalism come grinding to a halt.

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  3. An interesting point, it may be worth wondering whether loans are useful enough to justify the risks involved.

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  4. This sickens me to the core, how can people be so cruel? Just to use physical force and strike fear into people to get them to give you money. Sometimes i believe a prison sentence is not enough, It may sound sadistic but some people dont deserve the gift of life...

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  5. 719.000% ...what the...f----- ...that's just wrong!

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  6. our whole financial system is built on loans, sadly.

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  7. It would be funny if he accidentally made a typo and actually wanted 7,19000%.

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  8. Is that 719 THOUSAND % or 719%
    Punctuation, stop being silly

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  9. Thousand, it's thousand. Unbelievably.

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  10. Hey Vinny, Don't forget about my money.. Oh you wont forget.

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  11. Hahaha, no way! What an insane number. I don't know where these people come from.

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  12. That's insane profit. What a legend.

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  13. Think before you do ANYTHING relating to money loaning. Wow this story in particular is pretty scary

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  14. Feels like my bank loans are at this rate sometimes :/

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  15. Economic theory dictates that loans are nearly essential for any economic growth- Banking and particularly the loanable funds market needs to be seriously regulated so dirtbags like this guy don't get a chance

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  16. I found it pretty funny that he charged 700000% p.a. Hilarious.

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  17. sounds good , lol

    i wouldnt advise it though

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