Debt for Sale : A Social History of the Credit Trap / Brett Williams.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Williams, Brett, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Consumer credit--United States.

Consumer credit.

Debt--United States.

Debt.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (161 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2011]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Credit and debt appear to be natural, permanent facets of Americans' lives, but a debt-based economy and debt-financed lifestyles are actually recent inventions. In 1951 Diners Club issued a plastic card that enabled patrons to pay for their meals at select New York City restaurants at the end of each month. Soon other "charge cards" (as they were then known) offered the convenience for travelers throughout the United States to pay for hotels, food, and entertainment on credit. In the 1970's the advent of computers and the deregulation of banking created an explosion in credit card use-and consumer debt. With gigantic national banks and computer systems that allowed variable interest rates, consumer screening, mass mailings, and methods to discipline slow payers with penalties and fees, middle-class Americans experienced a sea change in their lives. Given the enormous profits from issuing credit, banks and chain stores used aggressive marketing to reach Americans experiencing such crises as divorce or unemployment, to help them make ends meet or to persuade them that they could live beyond their means. After banks exhausted the profits from this group of people, they moved into the market for college credit cards and student loans and then into predatory lending (through check-cashing stores and pawnshops) to the poor. In 2003, Americans owed nearly

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

1 Don't Charge This Book!

2 Calling All Convenience Users

3 Rustling Up Revolvers

4 Seducing Students

5 Pummeling the Poor

6 Search for Solutions

Notes

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (pages 133-147) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9786613211255

9781283211253

1283211254

9780812200782

0812200780

OCLC:

759158277