Mitt Romney: How We Have Forgotten that Usury Used to be Considered Despicable

[dynasaw]

Usury is the practice of making loans or exploiting situations with the goal of extracting excessive or abusive interest rates.The term may be used in a moral sense — condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes. Some of the earliest known condemnations of usury come from the Vedic texts of India. Similar condemnations are found in religious texts from Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Interesting how Romney, icon of the Christian right and one of the highest mucky mucks of the Mormon church, has gotten away from being identified with what historically ben regard as an egregious practice.

[Angry Dragon]

1. Willard is a PREDATOR

[Raster]

2. Ding! Ding! Ding!

In no uncertain terms!

[PATRICK]

3. Condemned by major religions

except Mormonism? Of course the despicable exception is that it is OK to let this practice happen across religious borders. Lenders who are from another religion can find a niche in hostile territory by lending where others can't. Huge problems for the ethnic minority when someone goes back after that money later.
In America, the melted pot seems to have removed all the barriers for the religions who do not grouse about this issue one little bit. Even though that one issue is vastly more important than the "moral values" outrage buttons they love to push for the richer candidates.

[louis-t]

4. Usury was 22% at one point.

I know because my first car loan was 21.99%

[Petrushka]

6. When I was going to school in the 40s, we learned that usury meant interest rates over 6%.

I have no idea when or how interest rates began creeping upward. We thought, in the early 70s, that 8% interest on a home mortgage loan was high, especially when we needed to make a 25% down-payment. Maybe those WERE "the good ole days" after all.

[kysrsoze]

5. Similar practices include $20M consulting fees, paid for by liquidated pension funds.

What an ass.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

7. I would like to see an ad listing each and every Pension Fund liquidated by Bain. I wonder how many

families were affected by just that little aspect of Bain's unmitigated greed.