Swipe and Sign

Credit Cards

What is it/How doe sit work?
A Credit Card is approximately the size of a playing card, made of plastic with special numbers on the front and a magical information strip on it's back side. That strip holds up-to-date information about the amount of credit your choice company has given you. You get to use that money whenever you like and as long as you pay it back on time, there is virtually no cost to you. If not... (see "function" section)

What is the purpose of a Credit Card?
• Eliminate the need to carry money in your pocket for added security
• Allow banks to hold onto the majority of their money all at once
• Make it easier for consumers to shop
• Loan money to consumers with the intent to get it back from them in stages

What is the function of a Credit Card?
• Over spending of money the consumer does not necessarily have
• Debt
• Repossession
• Fraud
• High interest rates

Consumer culture is at it's peak in the last leg of each year. From November to January, people are shopping non-stop; christmas, boxing day, etc. What makes it easy is having a credit card. If you can't exactly afford it all right now, that's fine. Swipe and sign. You'll have the hap-hap-happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. That is, of course, until the credit card bill arrives in the mail in January. If you've worked hard and made the money you spent back at your job, you'll probably be fine. If you can't pay it all back, you'll end up owing more than you borrowed. Worst of all, if you took a few too many weeks off of work to enjoy the Christmas you borrowed, you may face having your children's presents repossessed.

You would think that people would learn from, say, The Great Depression, when they are faced with the chance to 'Buy Now, Pay Later.' From the looks of the so-called financial crisis facing the United States currently, we can see that a lot of people haven't learned a thing.

The problem with taking out loans is that banks don't have an infinite amount of money. Also, they're not only loaning it to you, but hundreds of other people as well. Banks can go bankrupt. Don't believe me? Where do you suppose the word came from? You don't have to take my word for it, has anyone here seen "It's a Wonderful Life"? Well, there you go. Above all, you've got to realize that things don't always work out in life the way they do in movies.

This is reality and in reality, people end up jumping off bridges and not getting saved. People end up taking out loans to pay off the loans they took out to pay off their credit cards. It's a slippery slope if I ever saw one.

The moral of this story isn't to avoid ever having a credit card (which isn't necessarily a bad idea) but rather to make you think. Hard work pays off, that paycheque is your own hard earned cash and you can spend it however you like. If you have to have a credit card, remember what Uncle Ben told Peter Parker before he passed away:

With great power comes great responsibility.