The banking industry is sketchy, but in the end, they are offering a service with stated terms and costs. That said, our society has been pushed more and more to embrace debt as "financial management" instead of saving and investing. The banks and credit card companies profit off people with high time preference and little thought to long-term costs. This is a cultural problem.
The government central banks are another matter. They are inflating the money supply, which is the primary cause of price inflation for consumers; and they are manipulating interest rates on the cost to borrow for financial institutions and other corporate interests, which distorts the market in myriad ways with false signals about supply, demand, and time preference. These are the factors which create pressure for those of us just trying to get by. It is a deliberate choice by the political class to plunder society while others get the blame for the outcomes.
I agree completely, they have a lot to answer for, however, as I've said in another comment on this post, people have a choice, it might not be a good one, but they have it nonetheless. Go without something or put it on credit. Sometimes I tough decision however I know for a fact that much of what people buy on credit is avoidable, like gambling, cigarettes, alcohol, a pair of shoes in every colour because they're cute, a new phone because Apple brought out the 10 and one only has the 9. I think you get my point.
It's just humans being humans I guess, the banks and consumers/general population...Greed rules many decisions and actions.
Indeed, and too many are eager to blame the banks for the consequences of their own choices. If you borrowed, you owe.
In the US, student loans are a major topic of discussion. I didn't borrow. I don't owe. Now people who did borrow want "student loan forgiveness" that amounts to asking the government to saddle me with a portion of their debt. Yes, I think there is a predatory aspect to those loans, but the lender eager for profit and borrower making poor choices need to take the hit, not everyone who chose not to borrow in the first place, or paid back what was owed.
Dave Ramsey is a radio host and financial advisor who generally seems on the right track. If you're in a hole, stop digging. Make a budget. Sell luxuries. "Live like no one else so later on you can live like no one else" is his way of saying "suck it up and address the problem instead of keeping up with the Joneses if you want to build a foundation for future prosperity." He also advocates personal financial independence because it means opportunity for charity and public service when you aren't in the debt trap yourself.
Student debt (HECS) is in the news here as the government are upping the minimum repayment on it - interest doesn't apply - but people don't pay them seeing at the least important loan to repay. It'll be going up around seven percent when it increases with CPI.
I like the ethos that fellow has. I mean sure, I understand that banks are underhanded in many ways, but ultimately the human, the individual, makes the choice to spend on credit, to gamble, consume excessively, be wasteful and so on. Debt is a trap, one many put themselves into willingly and (sometimes unwittingly.)