Show Unemployed Jpy by Matt Steen EARL YOU pUT TOO I LIKE UKE TO LEAVE A TIP MANY STAMPS ON THIS FOR THE MAILMAN LETTER YOU CANT CAN'T TIP THE MAILMAN BY PUTTING EXTRA STAMPS ON A A LETTER NOW rr r rE E YOU THINK THAT THE MAILMAN GETS PAID PAIP IN STAMPS DONT DON'T YOU T iq M rry MA r 1 11 r J Copyright 2004 Matthew Steen 5 1 JS J'S 1 J HEAR HEA R THEY w ALSO GET DENT DENTAL AL F r r Credit cards hook students Gerald Narciso Globe Weekly News Credit card companies love people like me When I was 18 I was young irresponsible ble and most importantly poor Those characteristics mixed with instant purchasing purchasing ing power will will inevitably lead to debt A little here a cool jacket there Then you start thinking things like I want to go to Cancun but cant can't really afford it pause Ah why not Put in on the card The credit card companies know this and that is why they target high school and college students But just because they can legally does that make it right According to a 2001 I report done by Nellie Mae who is the leading provider for federal federal fed fed- eral loans to college students discovered that 83 percent of college students have at least one credit card with an average average average aver aver- age balance of over 2000 And by the time that student graduates they will have doubled doubled doubled dou dou- bled that figure and triple the number of cards they own Before you know it youre you're a year old colle college e grad that has a debt that will willbe willbe willbe be haunting you fo for forthe r i the next decade And what do you have to show for it but a closet clos dos et full of shoes and a cool stereo system If you are unable to pay the minimum balance of those multiple cards it can ultimately ultimate ultimate- ly lead to you getting bad credit Having bad credit can cannot cannot cannot not only affect you if you are trying to buy a house or car but even when you are trying to get a job Companies see seebad seebad seebad bad credit as a character flaw dd and an increased chance of stealing money So in other words its it's not good to start accumulating debt Trust me the majority of my friends and I have been there and are paying for it now Im I'm sure most of us have sat back and thought about how we let it get to this point Obviously a lot of it has to todo todo todo do with our own irresponsibility irresponsibility irresponsibility but credit card companies companies companies compa compa- nies played a little role in it as well Why else would credit card companies start soliciting soliciting soliciting solicit solicit- ing you as a year old and keep sending you offers for more cards for the next five years of your life Why else would they give you a low APR rate and even make the minimum monthly payment only 2 percent of the debt Because they know that without without without with with- out a good job the likeliness you will only pay the minimum minimum minimum mini mini- mum balance will allow the interest to keep accumulating And when you max out that card they know you'll just get another one I think that is morally wrong because even though it makes sense for the companies companies' companies companies' companies companies' compa compa- nies' nies profits it ruins kids' kids a I lives Credit card companies companie have have- to tobe ibe be more sensitive to t thi this an and have to be careful on whom they try to target I have read how some credit card companies even target old people and mentally disabled disabled disabled dis dis- dis- dis people I understand its it's a business but you have to draw the line somewhere Hopefully the government will take a closer look at this problem so that those companies cannot take advantage of people who are ignorant to the consequences P 1 11 |