• Riskable@programming.dev
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    2 days ago

    Collateral and, historically, age, race, sex, and ethnicity. They’d also look at how well you were dressed because 100% of the time you went to the bank in-person to get a loan. Also, your bank wouldn’t be far from where you lived and the local population wasn’t so large that they couldn’t just “ask around” the local social network to see if this man before them was upstanding enough to warrant giving them money.

    Also note that people didn’t need to borrow money as much as they do today. You wanted a new home appliance like an oven or refrigerator? You saved for quite some time to buy it.

    There weren’t as many things to spend your money on either!

    • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I’m a bit confused by your response. Are you suggesting going back to the old ways (as your description of those old ways encapsulates) or are you pointing out the shortcomings of the old ways (of which there are many)?

      • Riskable@programming.dev
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        1 day ago

        I’m just telling it like it is. The old ways were terrible! However, being local and requiring proper collateral instead of just giving n people money en mass—knowing that the percentage that default will be outweighed by the percentage that pay the loan back (and ripping people off by making them pay the interest up front)—was probably better for the economy.

        Not everyone should be allowed to amass debt the way we currently allow it. Furthermore, if people couldn’t get loans for school so easily (in fact, guaranteed!) then college tuition would be but a fraction of what it is today.

        • partial_accumen@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          However, being local

          Local meaning what does local have to do with it unless you’re allowing that bank to make a subjective decision about lending to you because they know you or the area? That’s how we got people of color being denied loans for houses in certain areas of town via “Redlining”. If we allowed this we might also have discrimination based on being LGBTQ or being an unmarried mother.

          and requiring proper collateral instead of just giving n people money en mass

          So if you need to get a car loan, and you don’t own any assets to put forth for collateral you just don’t get a car?

          Furthermore, if people couldn’t get loans for school so easily (in fact, guaranteed!) then college tuition would be but a fraction of what it is today.

          Furthermore, if people couldn’t get loans for school so easily (in fact, guaranteed!) then college tuition would be but a fraction of what it is today.

          And college would only be available to the rich that already have money, or the middle class with assets (like a house) to borrow against. The poor, without money or assets, would be shut out entirely.