I am nervous about putting these thoughts on paper, but having considered them for a long time, I am ready to go out on a limb. Deep breath. Crack my knuckles. Here we go...
THE FICO CREDIT SCORE SYSTEM IS UNFAIR AND BIASED AGAINST THE POOR AND MINORITIES
http://www.washingtonabc.org/conference-2011/racial-wealth-gap.pdf.
I understand that it may have started as a system to help banks decided who could pay this or that house/car payment. It may have seemed like a good idea.
The FICO system is now used to decide whether people can get car insurance, an a apartment, an education or a job and that, in my humble opinion, is unfair and prejudicial and I'll even say un-Christian
The FICO system is so relative to circumstances beyond our control. It is not just about whether a bill is payed or not. It is a mysterious system that few people understand; invented and controlled by...hmmm, no idea. Is it not easily corrected and our wrongs are recorded, not just for 7 years, but for an infinite amount of time. The information is easily manipulated and often wrong. It gives no consideration for difficult times or catastrophic health problems. Business are now making millions of dollars a year to "protect your identity" because the system is so failed.
It is another system in place to suggest that the world is so fair that we can judge everyone by this three digit number and get an accurate idea of who they are as a person. It assumes that everyone, before credit mistakes are made, has received the same financial education and has the same resources available to them for survival. The FICO system is a financial felony for a lot of people in this country. It handcuffs them to crime ridden areas of town and to a welfare system they would like nothing more than to get out of. It forces the poor to pay loan shark payments to gain legally-required car insurance or to rent-to-own a sofa for 4 times the price it is worth. And they don't have the money to begin with!
It leaves them powerless against society. If years of mistakes are made and then they get sober, get therapy and get motivated, they will still find most of their options for a success are closed because of their financial history. The fallacy that if only you work hard you will achieve the American Dream is such a cold-hearted lie. The dirty little secret is that if you are born poor, you will probably stay poor. And if you are born rich, no one cares about your credit score anyway.
There will be some random exceptions to this rule (HA! Positive Deviance) which society will point to as justification that your limitations are your own fault cuz "that guy did it." And then radio announcers will throw insults, calling you "the great unwashed", condemning you for using food stamps. They will sit back, confident that their own success is because of hard work and brilliance, take their ball and go home, giving you not even a passing thought.
THE FICO CREDIT SCORE SYSTEM IS UNFAIR AND BIASED AGAINST THE POOR AND MINORITIES
http://www.washingtonabc.org/conference-2011/racial-wealth-gap.pdf.
I understand that it may have started as a system to help banks decided who could pay this or that house/car payment. It may have seemed like a good idea.
The FICO system is now used to decide whether people can get car insurance, an a apartment, an education or a job and that, in my humble opinion, is unfair and prejudicial and I'll even say un-Christian
The FICO system is so relative to circumstances beyond our control. It is not just about whether a bill is payed or not. It is a mysterious system that few people understand; invented and controlled by...hmmm, no idea. Is it not easily corrected and our wrongs are recorded, not just for 7 years, but for an infinite amount of time. The information is easily manipulated and often wrong. It gives no consideration for difficult times or catastrophic health problems. Business are now making millions of dollars a year to "protect your identity" because the system is so failed.
It is another system in place to suggest that the world is so fair that we can judge everyone by this three digit number and get an accurate idea of who they are as a person. It assumes that everyone, before credit mistakes are made, has received the same financial education and has the same resources available to them for survival. The FICO system is a financial felony for a lot of people in this country. It handcuffs them to crime ridden areas of town and to a welfare system they would like nothing more than to get out of. It forces the poor to pay loan shark payments to gain legally-required car insurance or to rent-to-own a sofa for 4 times the price it is worth. And they don't have the money to begin with!
It leaves them powerless against society. If years of mistakes are made and then they get sober, get therapy and get motivated, they will still find most of their options for a success are closed because of their financial history. The fallacy that if only you work hard you will achieve the American Dream is such a cold-hearted lie. The dirty little secret is that if you are born poor, you will probably stay poor. And if you are born rich, no one cares about your credit score anyway.
There will be some random exceptions to this rule (HA! Positive Deviance) which society will point to as justification that your limitations are your own fault cuz "that guy did it." And then radio announcers will throw insults, calling you "the great unwashed", condemning you for using food stamps. They will sit back, confident that their own success is because of hard work and brilliance, take their ball and go home, giving you not even a passing thought.
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