This is a huge issue.

The "necessities" involved can be food, gambling, cell phones, cable,
utility bills, or housing.

The human carnage is significant as the issues divide marriages, divide
parent from child, and more. The situation also makes it more difficult for
legitimate businesses, grocery stores, and others to function in lower
income areas, as money is siphoned off.

A noted law school professor was on NPR discussing credit, such as taking
80 senior law students hours working together to figure out that a 3%
rebate card was actually a 17.8% card reduced to 14.8% by the 3% rebate,
but even then they were not sure. also noted that credit card companies
manage to keep out the one line on the credit card statement that might
influence people not to use the cards. This line is a statement regarding
the number of years and months that it will take to pay off the card using
the minimum payment. When people see "29 years and 3 months to repay," they
might get the idea that use of the cards is a bad idea.

This is becoming a major growth industry for Omaha, not long after gambling
appeared in Iowa across the river and also perhaps associated with our
national leadership in STDs and our top 10 ranking for metro areas.

All involve concentrations of wealth in some unproductive and damaging
ways, especially damaging to lower and middle income peoples.

Robert C. Bowman, M.D.
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