Pulpit must preach end to blood money

Editor’s Note: Voices is a weekly commentary by a panel of Maine columnists who explore issues affecting spirituality and religious life.

Religious leaders ignore credit-card usury. Some acknowledge it but are too cowardly to confront it. Others accept its benefits in donations with a misguided rationale that lenders are “good corporate citizens.”

In reality, lenders are often nothing more than John Gotti-like Mafia bosses who use blood money to “benefit” the community.

Spiritual backbone must be shown to stop legalized loan sharking by pressing Congress to cap and reduce interest rates.

Independent of the extraordinary power that the financial services industry has over the state and federal legislative process, there is a complacency, embarrassment and reluctance by those with consumer debt to voice outrage about their exploitation. They need to speak up. Even at an interest rate of 18 percent, a standard rate, a middle-class family will have enormous difficulty in paying off a balance that requires three times the minimum monthly payment. Families become permanent indentured servants. Lenders, like parasitic vampires, have an indefinite revenue source of blood money.

It’s extraordinary to me that many Christian leaders refuse to use their pulpits or status in the community to address one of the greatest social injustices affecting families. Studies show that one of the major stresses on working- and middle-class families comes from financial pressures. Legalized usury contributes to the problem.

Tamara Draut reported on MinutemanMedia.org that families will pay $7 billion in extra fees and almost $80 billion in interest on credit cards this year. According to her, pre-tax profits will reach $27 billion.

Banks should charge interest at a reasonable rate. Excessive interest is legal, but it is hardly moral and not in keeping with Judeo-Christian principles. Televangelists should especially be mindful of this reality when they take donations by phone.

One dastardly practice making headlines as of late involves families who get a temporary loan based on their anticipated income tax refund. According to Jay MacDonald, writing for Bankrate.com, “Tax preparers, both independent operations and major chains, charge interest rates that can run on an annualized basis well into triple figures, all for the privilege of getting money a few days earlier.”

Some lenders who oppose regulation have a “buyer beware” attitude. Others profess that they are providing a “service.” Why doesn’t this same logic apply to airline safety, meat inspection or nutritional labels? If a potato manufacturer has to tell the consumer about the fat content, maybe a credit-card company should be required to share on a quarterly basis, in large bold print, with a family what an 18 percent rate will do to their finances. I’ve actually seen card rates in excess of 35 percent!

I still haven’t figured out what Martha Stewart did wrong – no one lost a job or suffered diminished value on their investments – though she may be on her way to redecorate a prison. Regulations abound in society to protect the innocent from the unscrupulous. Stopping industry monopolies, criminalizing insider trading on Wall Street and imposing minimal health standards at restaurants are among consumer expectations. Anyone loaning money should also be placed under such scrutiny. This shouldn’t stop at credit-card companies – retailers, car dealers and those making payday loans are among the groups that charge usurious rates also meriting tough oversight.

Bankrate.com quoted a spokesperson for one of the nation’s “leading service of refund anticipation loans” as saying, “We strive to ensure that every customer has the resources they need to make fully informed decisions.” It’s like a “customer” taking a loan from a smiling mob boss with the understanding it’s at a 100 percent rate – and the consequences for delinquency will be painful.

Today, lenders in corporate offices also cause enormous pain – it’s not physical – but it is pain nonetheless.

Search the Web and you will find hundreds of stories about an industry out of control. Commentators, social activists and consumer advocate groups increasingly write about this modern-day serfdom.

Sadly, leaders in religious communities remain quiet. Moneylenders purchase silence by making donations to parks, schools, colleges and other visible projects that disguise greed. There is already enough evidence in the public domain about their practices. The issue now is whether there are any spiritual leaders willing to publicly press state and federal lawmakers to cap and reduce interest rates.

The Right Rev. Paul Peter Jesep, an auxiliary bishop in the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church-Sobornopravna, is studying at Bangor Theological Seminary. The views expressed are his own and do not reflect the church’s position. He may be reached at VladykaPaulPeter@aol.com.