Fully one third of Americans are forced to live on 2x the federal poverty level or less. Decade in, decade out. And because they use credit cards so desperately, they end up paying at least 25% more for everything they charge, than those who can pay cash, or pay off their cards monthly.
I will never forgive/forget after Katrina a Discover card rep chastised me as someone that didn’t take my commitments seriously. Amex and Visa gave me a 3 month reprieve but then charged me 29.99 percent in 2005. EarthLink internet kept charging me even though I had no electricity..
Holy sh!t, Henry! You are the person for whom Elizabeth Warren created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Which Trump, Inc. has also gutted, if not shut down, IIRC.
No person or agency helped me then and now it is even worse.
We live in a nation that abhors a social contract. It is anathema to us. We do not want to owe basic courtesy or fellow feeling to ANYONE. Hence poverty, denial of health care, the nation as shooting gallery, the theft of the meagre belongings of homeless people, our neglect of education...