Staff / TruthdigMay 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 )
By Ellen Brown, Web of DebtJul 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 )
Staff / TruthdigOct 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 )
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BLANKOct 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 )
By Michael HudsonAug 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 )
Staff / TruthdigMar 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 )
Staff / TruthdigMay 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 )
Staff / TruthdigApr 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 )
Robert Scheer / TruthdigNov 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 )
Robert Scheer / TruthdigJan 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 )
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