In Spite of 2010 Law, Banks Still Make Billions on Overdraft Fees

Staff / Truthdig May 26, 2016 A 2010 law was supposed to relieve Americans of the onerous penalties, but thanks to aggressive marketing campaigns that persuade consumers to “opt in” for overdraft coverage, banks made nearly $14 billion on the "service" last year. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

A Revolutionary Pope Calls for Rethinking the Outdated Criteria That Rule the World

By Ellen Brown, Web of Debt Jul 5, 2015 Pope Francis’ revolutionary encyclical addresses not just climate change but the banking crisis. Interestingly, the solution to that crisis may have been modeled in the Middle Ages by Franciscan monks following the saint from whom the pope took his name. Dig deeper ( 6 Min. Read )

Company That Sues Soldiers Pledges Reform, Changes Name

Staff / Truthdig Oct 8, 2014 USA Discounters, the Virginia-based retailer at the center of a ProPublica investigation in July, says it has made reforms to its lending practices to service members. But instead of overhauling its policies, the company has simply adopted a new name for its stores, USA Living, and continues to make loans much the way it did before. Dig deeper ( 4 Min. Read )

The U.S. Has the Best Health Care System in the World—for Drug Companies

BLANK Oct 14, 2013 Two new articles dive into the ways in which the pharmaceutical industry has gamed the market forces behind U.S. drug prices, and how sweetheart deals between doctors and financing firms are gouging the economically vulnerable. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

The Insider’s Economic Dictionary: Part A

By Michael Hudson Aug 9, 2013 Unlike psychological terminology -- which consists mainly of terms of invective (try to think of a desirable personality complex) -- today’s economic vocabulary is euphemistic. One rarely hears the terms "rentier" or "usury" that played so central a role in the debates of past centuries. Dig deeper ( 9 Min. Read )

Credit

Pavel Constantin, Cagle Cartoons, Romania Jun 3, 2013 Dig deeper

‘Left, Right & Center’: Nukes, Mortgages, Health Care and the Pope

Staff / Truthdig Mar 27, 2010 So much ground to cover this week! We saw the passage of the notorious health care reform bill, more scandal among the ranks of the pope (who's in a bit of a stew) and a nuclear breakthrough between the U.S. and Russia. Also on this week's show: mortgages, usury and you! Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Got Good Credit? Too Bad

Staff / Truthdig May 19, 2009 Those credit card holders who pride themselves on paying their bills on time, and who have enjoyed rewards in the past for so doing, are in for an unpleasant surprise: They may soon be targeted by the very companies that used to ply them with perks. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

God Is Not a Fan of the Banking Industry

Staff / Truthdig Apr 7, 2009 Do a quick Google search and you'll find that God, as worshipped by Jews, Christians and Muslims, has some strong feelings about interest charges -- or usury, as it's known in the Hebrew Bible. Here's a doozy from Ezekiel: "Hath given forth upon usury, and hath taken increase: shall he then live? he shall not live: he hath done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon him." Ouch. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama Chooses Wall Street Over Main Street

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Nov 26, 2008 Maybe Ralph Nader was right in predicting that the same Wall Street hustlers would have a lock on our government no matter which major party won the election. I hate to admit it, since it wasn't that long ago that I heatedly challenged Nader in a debate on this very point. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Who Will Take On the Banks?

Robert Scheer / Truthdig Jan 23, 2008 Because Dennis Kucinich was barred from the Democrats' South Carolina debate, there was no one willing to say what Kucinich would have said: Bankers are crooks who will steal from the public unless the government holds them accountable. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )