Comments on: Finance Through the Eyes of Religion: Islam http://butlerproject.com/2008/05/12/finace-through-the-eyes-of-religion-islam/ Personal Economic Development Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:57:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Dana http://butlerproject.com/2008/05/12/finace-through-the-eyes-of-religion-islam/#comment-268 Dana Wed, 14 May 2008 07:25:52 +0000 http://butlerproject.com/2008/05/12/finace-through-the-eyes-of-religion-islam/#comment-268 Playing devil's advocate for a moment, isn't that rather like what must have been argued back when slavery was legal in the United States, that abolition would just be unreasonable because it would cripple the American economy? I seem to recall those arguments <i>were</i> made--and yet, here we are. I'm not sure I'm ready to throw interest-earning out the window yet, but I do know I've witnessed some interesting discussions about peer-to-peer lending such as what goes on at Prosper, in which lenders have idly discussed ways to wring higher interest rates out of their borrowers as though they were discussing the ups and downs of the stock market instead of the real lives of real human beings who would be impacted by that extra debt. It was kind of disgusting, actually. I'm also reminded of the local controversy here when the government was seriously looking at reining in the interest rates charged by payday lenders. The lenders threw a huge hissy fit and insisted they'd go under if they couldn't charge several hundred percent interest (!). As if credit card companies don't already make money hand over fist charging less than thirty. I know there's a happy medium between not charging interest and being usurious. The trouble is that too many people aren't content with the happy medium and want to extort every penny possible. I don't get it. Playing devil’s advocate for a moment, isn’t that rather like what must have been argued back when slavery was legal in the United States, that abolition would just be unreasonable because it would cripple the American economy? I seem to recall those arguments were made–and yet, here we are.

I’m not sure I’m ready to throw interest-earning out the window yet, but I do know I’ve witnessed some interesting discussions about peer-to-peer lending such as what goes on at Prosper, in which lenders have idly discussed ways to wring higher interest rates out of their borrowers as though they were discussing the ups and downs of the stock market instead of the real lives of real human beings who would be impacted by that extra debt. It was kind of disgusting, actually.

I’m also reminded of the local controversy here when the government was seriously looking at reining in the interest rates charged by payday lenders. The lenders threw a huge hissy fit and insisted they’d go under if they couldn’t charge several hundred percent interest (!). As if credit card companies don’t already make money hand over fist charging less than thirty.

I know there’s a happy medium between not charging interest and being usurious. The trouble is that too many people aren’t content with the happy medium and want to extort every penny possible. I don’t get it.

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