USURY:

the lending or practice of lending money at an exorbitant interest. (Dictionary.com)

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I expect you are getting the same letters in the mail that I am. They are from credit card companies telling me that they are going to raise the interest rates on balances on the cards to such levels as 24.9% and (in some cases) even higher. That, my good readers, is usury. There are laws about usury, but it seems that they are seldom applied. From my perspective the practice is just barely short of theft.

Usury is a practice which I found identified first in the Bible (see Exodus 22:25-27 and Deuteronomy 23: 20-21.) Jews were forbidden from charging exorbitant interest on loans to other Jews. The word neshekh, for instance, means "a bite" and refers to the painfulness of excessive interest on the debtor. (Wikipedia) I point to this biblical and religious reference because it is clear to me that usury is a moral issue even more than a fiscal one. A person doesn't have to be Jewish, Christian, or a part of any faith community to understand that. It is just plain wrong to bleed people for the purpose of financial gain.

All this is not to say that interest charged on money loaned is inappropriate. To the contrary, a bank or lending institution is in the business of making a profit, just like any other economic enterprise. There is nothing wrong with charging those taking out a loan a fee for the use of the money. The key word in the moral issue is exorbitant. I don't hear folks complaining about paying interest on loans. But they are properly upset about interest rates on those loans that jeopardize their well-being.

I am told that closing out a credit card can be injurious to one's credit rating. Prior to the current flurry of financial games, I could let the credit card lie in my drawer without using it, thus avoiding those excessive rates. But now, I am told, that the lending institutions are charging a fee for inactivity. The whole mess deserves a much closer look. My understanding is that a new law governing lending practices goes into place in January, 2010, which is why the lending institutions are rushing to get "under the wire" with their current practices. Sneaky.

I think it's time to identify this lending season as being usurious and continue to push our federal government to take action against this fiscal and moral injustice. Do I sound angry? I am.

Photo credit: Wikipedia, a woodcut by A. Durer